The American Religion

The American Religion

In this six-part series the hosts will explore the extent to which our message has become more American than Christian. Tracing the effects of moralism, sentimentalism, consumerism and pragmatism, the hosts will argue that God has essentially been tamed and reduced to the role of public mascot. Has the salt of the American church lost […]

Revivalism

Is conversion man’s work or God’s? Revivalist preacher Charles Finney argued that since it was a work of man’s will, it is the church’s responsibility to use various kinds excitements in order to change that will and to induce conversion. What have been the effects of this revivalistic spirit?

Consumerism

Church shopping has become another branch of our consumer culture. In fact, many churches in attempt to make their worship services relevant and entertaining in order to attract people in the marketplace of competing options. But what are the historic roots of this approach to ministry, and do we end up distorting the gospel message […]

Pragmatism

We live in a day in which truth is downplayed, while handbooks for discovering the right spiritual technique to get God’s blessings end up selling like hotcakes. The ultimate question of pragmatism is not, “Is this true, good, or beautiful?,” but rather, “Will it work?” On this program, the hosts will trace this pragmatic spirit […]

Sectarianism

Sentimentalism

Does the spiritual insight and advice that you hear in church sound a lot like the kind of platitudes you find on Hallmark cards? Is the main purpose of religion to provide emotional comfort, and spiritual uplift? On this program the hosts will trace these emphases back to the triumph of sentimentalism in the history […]