In this first of a three-volume, comprehensive series, Gary Dorrien mixes theological analysis with historical and biographical detail to present the first comprehensive interpretation of American theological liberalism. Arguing that the indigenous roots of American liberal theology existed before the rise of Darwinism, Dorrien maintains that this tradition took shape in the nineteenth century and was motivated by a desire to map a progressive "third way" between authority-based orthodoxies and atheistic rationalism. Dorrien characterizes American liberal theology by its openness to historical criticism and evolutionary theory, its commitment to the authority of individual reason and experience, its conception of Christianity as an ethical way of life, and its commitment to make Christianity credible and socially relevant to modern people.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Published: 10/01/2001
ISBN: 9780664223540
Pages: 528
Weight: 1.52lbs
Size: 8.98h x 6.10w x 1.12d

Review Citations: Library Journal 11/01/2001 pg. 99
Christian Century 07/31/2002 pg. 36
Christian Century 05/01/2007 pg. 38