I expect my conservative to moderate Christian readers are scratching their heads over why such a question might be hard for some. Beyond our values and politics there is so much good news in the gospel. Things like the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of eternal life.
Trouble is, for a lot of moderate to progressive Christians, those blessings aren't anything they much believe in anymore. Which is exactly why I had my class pursue this thought experiment, to expose how, for many of us, the gospel has been reduced to social justice. Social justice is a wonderful thing but, as I pointed out in the last post, a person doesn't need the gospel to pursue social justice.
All that said, many progressive Christians do have a possible answer to the question, "What is the gospel minus your politics?" And that answer is this: "God loves you."
That God unconditionally loves you seems like an obvious winner when it comes to defining the gospel. And the message of "Love Wins" is pretty much the main sermon you hear from progressive Christians. You are loved. You are included. You have a place here at the table.
Knowing this, in my Bible class I sharpened the subtraction from last post:
I asked the class, "If you subtract 'God loves you', along with your values, morality and politics from the gospel, what is left over? If anything?"
Now, I know, this is an absolutely crazy thought experiment. But I'm trying to make a point, so stay with me.
Many progressive Christians were once conservative and fundamentalist Christians. They are ex-evangelicals. And raised as they were in more conservative Christian spaces, where the wrath and judgment of God featured prominently, it surely was "good news" to discover a God of unconditional love and radical grace.
The point should be clear: If you once believed that God was wrathful and judgmental, hearing that God is a God of love is an experience of Good News. And because of this experience, many progressive Christians assume that the message "God loves you" just is the gospel. Which is a common temptation, mistaking the biographical for the universal.
But "God loves you" cannot be the whole story when it comes to the gospel. Let me illustrate why.
Imagine this conversation. You're a progressive Christian visiting with a co-worker who doesn't believe in God. You want to share the gospel with this co-worker. So you say, "A lot of fundamentalist and evangelical Christians will tell you that you're a sinner. That you stand under the judgment of God. That you're facing eternal punishment in hell. But I'm here to tell you the 'Good News': Those Christians are wrong! God loves you, just the way you are. You are loved!" Hearing this, your co-worker shrugs and says, "Happy to know I have nothing to worry about from your imaginary friend."
Basically, why would a non-believer care that God loves them? Telling people that God loves them is, practically speaking, telling people that they don't need to care about God at all.
Let me say this clearly if you're still not seeing the point. In evangelicalism, the gospel proclamation begins with this premise: Everyone Has a God Problem. This "God problem" is described as sin, judgment and eternal punishment. Rejecting that view, progressive Christians proclaim that God loves you, just as you are. Thus, the progressive gospel becomes the opposite of the evangelical message: No One Has a God Problem. Which, if you ponder it, is a really weird sermon to preach to an unbelieving world. "Hello world! Gather round! I have some Good News for you! Here it is: No one here today has a God problem. Don't let the evangelicals scare you! You have absolutely nothing to worry about! All is good between you and God. Have a nice day!" I ask you, why would anyone care about this gospel, that they don't have a problem they never cared about in the first place?
The message "You don't have a God problem" (aka, "God loves you") is only a relief to people walking around terrified that they have a God problem. Many progressive Christians were once these sort of people. And while it is wonderful that so many progressive Christians have been relieved of this worry, the gospel isn't just "Good News" for a small subset of formerly scared, conservative Christians. Which means the gospel has to be larger than the message "God loves you." And if that's true, then what is over there in the most righthand box? Subtract out "God loves you" and your values, morality and politics. What's left over?
