Kissing Fish
Christianity for
people who
don’t like Christianity
By
Reviewed by
“This book is an
attempt to understand and explain how I, a postmodern,[3] politically liberal
Gen-Xer, have come to be an intentional follower of Jesus—who actually calls
himself a “Christian.” My larger purpose is to share about progressive
Christianity—the approach to the Christian faith that inspires and feeds me. I
probably couldn’t be a Christian if it were not for this approach to the faith.”
Wolsey, p. 17
**********
Roger Wolsey was raised
as a Methodist. Following a call to vocational ministry, he attended seminary
and became a pastor. He perceived that his liberal beliefs would not be
acceptable to most in his first congregation. Like many educated clergy, he
learned religious double-speak—he did not feel safe to share his views about
God and faith. His spiritual journey is the subject of Chapter 1 and provides
the context for this book.
In Chapter 2, Wolsey
introduces us to his bifurcation of Christianity into “conservative and
progressive” camps. This sounds familiar to me—it’s the way I presented the
moral diversity in A House Divided. His definition of the two groups is
worth considering (see pp. 50-51).
Conservative
Christianity focuses on the religion about Jesus and getting people to agree
with certain intellectual truth claims; for example, “people are sinners who
aren’t right with God” and “Jesus is their personal Lord and savior;”[43] and
it asserts that it’s important for people to believe these things here and now
if they want to go to heaven when they die.
Instead
of getting people to agree with certain assertions about various dogmas,
doctrines, or “truth claims,” progressive Christianity focuses more upon
following a certain, radical way of life; namely, following the
countercultural, subversive, and life-giving teachings and example of Jesus.
Chapter 3 is about God.
He presents a view of God as loving people. He answers the challenge to God’s
alleged destruction in the Old Testament in two ways. First, some of the events
in stories did not happen but the stories convey truth. Second, if a town was
destroyed by natural events, he suggests the views are those of people who
interpreted the tragedies as events caused by God.
Jesus is the subject of
chapter 4. He contrasts the conservative emphasis on the death of Jesus and
personal salvation with a progressive view focused on Jesus’ mission, which he
declared when he read from Isaiah 61:1-2 in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth.
The emphasis is on restoring people to society.
Perhaps you noticed
that Wolsey is working through classic theological topics? So, the next chapter
is about the nature of humans and sin with an emphasis on redemption. Next, he
offers a progressive take on salvation as a focus on right relationships with
people in community. “Salvation is about showing loving kindness…to people in
need (p. 152).”
The existence of hell
and the non-Christians are addressed in chapter 7. Wolsey appears to take a “no
worries” approach. He encourages readers to focus on God’s grace and love. And
he asserts that God is at work among those who are not following Jesus’ path
that is, not identified as Christians.
The Bible is the focus
of chapter 8. I won’t quibble with the placement but I think interpretations of
the Bible are a key difference among the Christian groups so, perhaps placing
this chapter first would be worth considering in a future edition. Here, Wolsey
invites readers to consider different ways to understand the stories in the
Bible. He treads carefully as if afraid of being accused of rejecting the
Bible.
The problem of evil
discussed in chapter 9 shows that Wolsey is not afraid of taking on the big
topics. He affirms what many intelligent young Christians see as a poor answer
saying that God’s ways are a mystery. Alas, I don’t think Wolsey has a useful
answer here yet, perhaps some readers will find his musings helpful. The end is
near. This is a short chapter (10) summarizing the views of those who hold end
times doctrines. Wolsey attempts to focus his readers on living in the present.
In the final three
chapters, Wolsey presents the key tenets of a progressive Christianity with a
focus on love, spiritual practices like centering prayer, and promoting peace
and justice.
There is a postlude and
eight appendixes, which add additional features for readers who want to go deeper
into progressive Christian thought.
**********
I recommend Kissing Fish for those who are fed
up with forms of Christianity focused on hostile political actions, demonizing
people of other faiths, nations, or groups, and lacking a focus on helping
Christians live lives demonstrating a love for God manifest in loving others as
oneself.
I think the book would
be useful for group discussions and I think some of the detailed notes could be
skipped without a loss of appreciating the points he is making. The book fits
well with those of other writers who offer various takes on appreciating a
nonliteral interpretation of the biblical texts and an emphasis on the many
metaphors Jesus and his followers used to understand the new way at the heart
of Jesus’ ministry.
Cite this review
Sutton, G. (2021, June
28). Kissing fish- Progressive Christians – a book review. SuttonReviews.
Retrieved from https://suttonreviews.suttong.com/2021/06/kissing-fish-progressive-christians.html
Reference
Wolsey, R. (2011). Kissing fish: christianity for people who don’t
like christianity. xlibris.
See other
books on Progressive Christianity
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