An editorial in the May 31 issue of The Christian Century proposes a new term for what some refer to as “liberal” Christians:
Mainline or liberal Protestants need a better term to describe themselves. Mainline implies cultural and social dominance, which is hard to assert given the numerical realities. * * * Liberal has its own problems, beginning with vagueness. Liberal in what way, and compared to what? Some might specify that liberal refers to self-conscious modernizers of the faith …. But such modernizers are at the margins, not the heart, of liberal theology, which has been largely engaged in a constructive argument with, not an abandonment of, tradition.
Is there an alternative to the vague liberal and anachronistic mainline? We have a suggestion: Christian humanism.…
Humanism captures liberal Protestantism’s emphasis on intellectual exploration, on doing theology in conversation with other modes of knowledge. Since the Renaissance, humanism has designated a movement that takes learning seriously and celebrates the ability of scientists, poets and historians to expand knowledge and shape the world.
Christian specifies that this appreciation of human freedom and potential is not ungrounded or unlimited, and that human identity is not simply whatever humans want it to be. As creatures of God, humans are most truly themselves when fulfilling divine purposes. And it is “in Christ,” the divine and human one, that we learn what it means to be fully human. * * *
So the next time someone asks if you are liberal or conservative, mainline or evangelical, try saying, “I’m a Christian humanist.”
(Bold-faced emphasis and extra paragraphing added.)
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