Whose Gospel?: A Concise Guide to Progressive Protestantism (Whose Religion?) - Hardcover

Forbes, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1595583971 ISBN 13: 9781595583970

Publisher: The New Press, 2010

Synopsis

A passionate call to justice from the man Newsweek calls “one of the twelve most effective preachers in the English-speaking world.”
 
In Whose Gospel?, one of America’s greatest living preachers offers a compelling vision of progressive social change. Known as “the preacher’s preacher,” Dr. James A. Forbes Jr. has tirelessly advocated progressive views on the crucial issues of our time―from poverty, war, and women’s equality to racial justice, sexuality, and the environment.
 
Long a powerful voice for progressive Protestants, Forbes draws on a record of political commitment ranging from the civil rights movement to his stirring address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, in addition to his eighteen years at the helm of New York City’s historic Riverside Church. Reflecting on insights of his years as a pastor, a teacher, and an adviser to political leaders, this inspiring manifesto “for the healing of the nations” epitomizes the best thinking of one of the country’s foremost religious leaders. Published with a foreword by longtime Riverside Church member Bill Moyers, Whose Gospel? is a pithy and insightful introduction to Forbes’s thought and a welcome source of inspiration in this era of hope and change.
 
“Forbes . . . looks back over his life as a pastor and a black man to make a strong connection between the gospels of Christian faith and life as lived in a dynamic and changing world . . . [He] intersperses passages from the Bible with his experiences to offer a full and compelling look at making faith and humane ideals real in the lives of church members and the nation.” ―Booklist

About this title

About the Author

The Reverend Dr. James A. Forbes Jr. is founder and president of the Healing of the Nations Foundation, senior minister emeritus of Riverside Church, and Harry Emerson Fosdick Distinguished Professor at Union Theological Seminary. He has hosted The Time Is Now on Air America Radio. Forbes is the author of Whose Gospel?: A Concise Guide to Progressive Protestantism (The New Press). He lives in New York City.

Reviews

Forbes, former pastor of the famously ecumenical Riverside Church, looks back over his life as a pastor and a black man to make a strong connection between the gospels of Christian faith and life as lived in a dynamic and changing world. As he examines issues of faith and values, he offers a primer for progressive churches and individuals on six issues: sexuality, gender equality, racial justice, economic class, war, and the environment. Forbes recalls his personal struggle with the traditions of the conservative Baptist church of his childhood and requests by gay couples for services, from communion to marriage rites. He parallels the lifelong development of individual sexuality with the challenge of dealing with church members’ sexual issues. On the issue of race, Forbes juxtaposes the gospel of racial exceptionalism so embedded in American culture against the gospel of human equality. Forbes intersperses passages from the Bible with his experiences to offer a full and compelling look at making faith and humane ideals real in the lives of church members and the nation. --Vanessa Bush

Edition details

• Publisher: The New Press
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1595583971
• ISBN 13: 9781595583970
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192