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Another Gospel?: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity
A Movement Seeks to Redefine Christianity. Some Think that It Is a Much-Needed Progressive Reformation. Others Believe that It Is an Attack on Historic Christianity.
Alisa Childers never thought she would question her Christian faith. She was raised in a Christian home, where she had seen her mom and dad feed the hungry, clothe the homeless, and love the outcast. She had witnessed God at work and then had dedicated her own life to leading worship, as part of the popular Christian band ZOEgirl. All that was deeply challenged when she met a progressive pastor, who called himself a hopeful agnostic.
Another Gospel? describes the intellectual journey Alisa took over several years as she wrestled with a series of questions that struck at the core of the Christian faith. After everything she had ever believed about God, Jesus, and the Bible had been picked apart, she found herself at the brink of despair . . . until God rescued her, helping her to rebuild her faith, one solid brick at a time.
In a culture of endless questions, you need solid answers. If you or someone you love has encountered the ideas of progressive Christianity and aren't sure how to respond, Alisa's journey will show you how to determine--and rest in--what's unmistakably true.
Alisa Childers never thought she would question her Christian faith. She was raised in a Christian home, where she had seen her mom and dad feed the hungry, clothe the homeless, and love the outcast. She had witnessed God at work and then had dedicated her own life to leading worship, as part of the popular Christian band ZOEgirl. All that was deeply challenged when she met a progressive pastor, who called himself a hopeful agnostic.
Another Gospel? describes the intellectual journey Alisa took over several years as she wrestled with a series of questions that struck at the core of the Christian faith. After everything she had ever believed about God, Jesus, and the Bible had been picked apart, she found herself at the brink of despair . . . until God rescued her, helping her to rebuild her faith, one solid brick at a time.
In a culture of endless questions, you need solid answers. If you or someone you love has encountered the ideas of progressive Christianity and aren't sure how to respond, Alisa's journey will show you how to determine--and rest in--what's unmistakably true.
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2020
1019 people are currently reading
8168 people want to read
About the author
Alisa Childers
17 books422 followersAlisa Childers is a wife, a mom, an author, a blogger, a speaker, and a worship leader. She was a member of the award-winning CCM recording group ZOEgirl. She is a popular speaker at apologetics and Christian worldview conferences, including reThink. She has been published at The Gospel Coalition, Crosswalk, the Stream, For Every Mom, Decision magazine, and The Christian Post. Her blog post “Girl, Wash Your Face? What Rachel Hollis Gets Right . . . and Wrong” received more than one million views. You can connect with Alisa online at alisachilders.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,021 reviews
November 16, 2021
I went into Alisa Childers’ Another Gospel not knowing how I’d feel about it. In many ways, her journey mirrors mine. Grew up deeply entrenched in conservative evangelicalism. Lived in a conservative, white bubble. And slowly but surely had my perspectives stretched by people I would have called “liberal.” Basically, our only differences are that while Childers retreated toward the center, I’ve found myself firmly identifying with a lot of “Progressive Christianity” and that I was never a member of an award-winning CCM band.
Given that the subtitle was A lifelong Christian seeks truth in response to Progressive Christianity, I went into the book a bit defensive. I would define myself as a progressive Christian. I’m a firm believer in social justice. But there was just something about Another Gospel that made me want to pick it up.
I soon found that I pretty much agreed with Childers on almost everything—except maybe the definition of Progressive Christianity. Her own personal experiences surround growing up with a pastor who was a self-proclaimed agnostic who had jettisoned much of the historical Jesus. The beginning chapters focus on her story and growth in the faith and how it was challenged by a pastor who had left orthodoxy.
In the chapter “Fixing What Isn’t Broken,” Childers attempts to make the claim that progressive Christianity softens the moral demands of historic Christianity. To make this case, she uses the topic of same-sex sexual behavior. Historic Christianity says that it is wrong; progressive Christianity says that it is allowable. Progressive Christianity softens the moral demands of historic Christianity. Except no work is done to prove that historic Christianity generally frowned upon same-sex sexual behavior. Not even the stereotypical “clobber texts” are trotted out. There’s just an assumption of what the Bible says without even a perfunctory attempt to look at the text, let alone how progressive Christians understand those texts.
Further, the assumption then becomes—since the book’s title is Another Gospel—that one’s position on same-sex sexual behavior is a matter of theological orthodoxy. This elevation of a moral command to the level of determining salvation is very dangerous. Placing it on such a high pedestal without even attempting to work through the various interpretations of the passage shows that Childers is catering to an audience that already has made up their minds on the issue.
A second example comes in the chapter “Cosmic Child Abuse,” which is a takedown of progressive Christianity’s distancing from penal substitution as the primary metaphor of the atonement. What many progressives try to do is widen the viewpoint of the atonement to show that Christ’s death was not simply an intra-Trinitarian transaction. (And yes, some do go too far in decrying it). But while the reality of the Atonement is a matter of orthodoxy, the nature of the metaphor of the Atonement is not.
That’s what we have to focus on. The various theories of atonement are all based on Scripture’s description of the indescribable. And each of them hold value—even if we see penal substitution as being the primary metaphor. But again, because the book is entitled Another Gospel, the assumption becomes if you don’t believe in this particular type of atonement, you don’t just have an interpretive difference, you’ve committed heresy. And by this metric many of the Church Fathers would be considered heretics, from Origin to Augustine to C.S. Lewis.
This is a good book when it focuses on the majors, when it accurately attacks actual orthodoxy. Unfortunately, it sometimes seems that Childers doesn’t know how to identify the difference between first-order and second-order doctrines. It focuses on the social differences between conservative Christianity and progressive Christianity rather than the theological differences, and ultimately offers mediocre social critiques instead of substantive theological ones.
And progressive Christianity needs hit with substantive theological critiques. I stand as someone who leans progressive in my actions and conservative (historic?) in my beliefs. I don’t agree with those who try to redefine the historical Jesus or deny the Resurrection or downplay the validity of Scripture. That’s what this book needed to focus on: that you can love the other and seek social justice while yet remaining theologically faithful to historic Christianity. Instead, Another Gospel gets sidetracked on social issues.
So here’s what I’d like to tell Childers: There’s a part of Progressive Christianity that’s much different than what you’ve painted here. Sure, we’ll disagree on some ancillary matters of faith, but we’re not questioning orthodoxy. Or, when we do, it’s to be sure we have a better understanding of what it is. I won’t be the apologist for everyone you quote here—least of all your agnostic pastor—but many of the people you dismiss as heretics who proclaim another gospel love Jesus and hold to all the foundations of the faith. I would encourage you to use your position to reach out to these individuals and do the work of engaging with them—not just their books—and seeing their love for Jesus. Another Gospel is obviously sincere, it’s conversationally written, it’s a good primer to introductory apologetics, but it overstates any perceived errors of most of progressive Christianity as heresy.
Given that the subtitle was A lifelong Christian seeks truth in response to Progressive Christianity, I went into the book a bit defensive. I would define myself as a progressive Christian. I’m a firm believer in social justice. But there was just something about Another Gospel that made me want to pick it up.
I soon found that I pretty much agreed with Childers on almost everything—except maybe the definition of Progressive Christianity. Her own personal experiences surround growing up with a pastor who was a self-proclaimed agnostic who had jettisoned much of the historical Jesus. The beginning chapters focus on her story and growth in the faith and how it was challenged by a pastor who had left orthodoxy.
In the chapter “Fixing What Isn’t Broken,” Childers attempts to make the claim that progressive Christianity softens the moral demands of historic Christianity. To make this case, she uses the topic of same-sex sexual behavior. Historic Christianity says that it is wrong; progressive Christianity says that it is allowable. Progressive Christianity softens the moral demands of historic Christianity. Except no work is done to prove that historic Christianity generally frowned upon same-sex sexual behavior. Not even the stereotypical “clobber texts” are trotted out. There’s just an assumption of what the Bible says without even a perfunctory attempt to look at the text, let alone how progressive Christians understand those texts.
Further, the assumption then becomes—since the book’s title is Another Gospel—that one’s position on same-sex sexual behavior is a matter of theological orthodoxy. This elevation of a moral command to the level of determining salvation is very dangerous. Placing it on such a high pedestal without even attempting to work through the various interpretations of the passage shows that Childers is catering to an audience that already has made up their minds on the issue.
A second example comes in the chapter “Cosmic Child Abuse,” which is a takedown of progressive Christianity’s distancing from penal substitution as the primary metaphor of the atonement. What many progressives try to do is widen the viewpoint of the atonement to show that Christ’s death was not simply an intra-Trinitarian transaction. (And yes, some do go too far in decrying it). But while the reality of the Atonement is a matter of orthodoxy, the nature of the metaphor of the Atonement is not.
That’s what we have to focus on. The various theories of atonement are all based on Scripture’s description of the indescribable. And each of them hold value—even if we see penal substitution as being the primary metaphor. But again, because the book is entitled Another Gospel, the assumption becomes if you don’t believe in this particular type of atonement, you don’t just have an interpretive difference, you’ve committed heresy. And by this metric many of the Church Fathers would be considered heretics, from Origin to Augustine to C.S. Lewis.
This is a good book when it focuses on the majors, when it accurately attacks actual orthodoxy. Unfortunately, it sometimes seems that Childers doesn’t know how to identify the difference between first-order and second-order doctrines. It focuses on the social differences between conservative Christianity and progressive Christianity rather than the theological differences, and ultimately offers mediocre social critiques instead of substantive theological ones.
And progressive Christianity needs hit with substantive theological critiques. I stand as someone who leans progressive in my actions and conservative (historic?) in my beliefs. I don’t agree with those who try to redefine the historical Jesus or deny the Resurrection or downplay the validity of Scripture. That’s what this book needed to focus on: that you can love the other and seek social justice while yet remaining theologically faithful to historic Christianity. Instead, Another Gospel gets sidetracked on social issues.
So here’s what I’d like to tell Childers: There’s a part of Progressive Christianity that’s much different than what you’ve painted here. Sure, we’ll disagree on some ancillary matters of faith, but we’re not questioning orthodoxy. Or, when we do, it’s to be sure we have a better understanding of what it is. I won’t be the apologist for everyone you quote here—least of all your agnostic pastor—but many of the people you dismiss as heretics who proclaim another gospel love Jesus and hold to all the foundations of the faith. I would encourage you to use your position to reach out to these individuals and do the work of engaging with them—not just their books—and seeing their love for Jesus. Another Gospel is obviously sincere, it’s conversationally written, it’s a good primer to introductory apologetics, but it overstates any perceived errors of most of progressive Christianity as heresy.
December 1, 2020
If you're struggling with questions because you've been confronted by progressive Christianity in some way, shape or form then I'd highly suggest you pick up this book. It's a great starting point, a solid rebuttal to wayward progressive teaching, and the content is reader friendly.
I think most believers go through a period of questioning their faith. It's often a turbulent and lonely journey that needs to be taken. I remember reading the late Rachel Held Evans book "Searching for Sunday" about her journey out of an orthodox or evangelical faith into the progressive church. I kept asking, where did she go to get answers? If she keeps disagreeing with the Bible at every turn, why in the world does she still call herself a Christian? After the dust settled from her journey, the Bible (for her) had more holes in it than swiss cheese.
Then we come to Alisa Childers, confronted with modern progressive teachings, which was shocking to her, she goes about it a completely different way. What do scholars all agree on about Jesus? Are the progressives correct about church history, the early church fathers? She goes to the primary sources. What did the early fathers understand about scripture and the disciples etc.? What does scripture actually say? Can it be twisted to mean something different or do we have to be honest about what it says, commands, reveals and teaches? She comes to the end of her journey.....and is a stronger, more devout believer in Jesus Christ than when she began.
I'd encourage the reader, the doubter, and the believer that Christianity, the historic, biblical, orthodox faith can withstand questions. It can absorb personal doubts. The bible can endure hostile skepticism and honest inquiry. That to "progress" away from from the historic faith isn’t really progress, but an intellectually dishonest walk into an invented philosophy which will not submit to revelation. The Bible at best becomes an evolving document which has to surrender to progressive whims or be deemed irrelevant. Birthing a faith that cost nothing, is in step with the world, and where Jesus is only partially Lord or no Lord at all.
Pick this book up, it’s worth your time.
I think most believers go through a period of questioning their faith. It's often a turbulent and lonely journey that needs to be taken. I remember reading the late Rachel Held Evans book "Searching for Sunday" about her journey out of an orthodox or evangelical faith into the progressive church. I kept asking, where did she go to get answers? If she keeps disagreeing with the Bible at every turn, why in the world does she still call herself a Christian? After the dust settled from her journey, the Bible (for her) had more holes in it than swiss cheese.
Then we come to Alisa Childers, confronted with modern progressive teachings, which was shocking to her, she goes about it a completely different way. What do scholars all agree on about Jesus? Are the progressives correct about church history, the early church fathers? She goes to the primary sources. What did the early fathers understand about scripture and the disciples etc.? What does scripture actually say? Can it be twisted to mean something different or do we have to be honest about what it says, commands, reveals and teaches? She comes to the end of her journey.....and is a stronger, more devout believer in Jesus Christ than when she began.
I'd encourage the reader, the doubter, and the believer that Christianity, the historic, biblical, orthodox faith can withstand questions. It can absorb personal doubts. The bible can endure hostile skepticism and honest inquiry. That to "progress" away from from the historic faith isn’t really progress, but an intellectually dishonest walk into an invented philosophy which will not submit to revelation. The Bible at best becomes an evolving document which has to surrender to progressive whims or be deemed irrelevant. Birthing a faith that cost nothing, is in step with the world, and where Jesus is only partially Lord or no Lord at all.
Pick this book up, it’s worth your time.
October 7, 2020
Another Gospel by Alisa Childers is much needed literature in a time such as this when so much of the world of Christian influencers today is saturated with either a watered down or completely different gospel altogether. Beautifully written, she tells about her personal experience with progressive Christianity, her deconstruction story and reconstruction of her faith going back to historic Christian roots. This book is so eloquent in the way apologetics is seamlessly strung in with her testimony. You literally laugh and cry with her as she walks you through her journey, and it’s not something that is only for those who have gone through seminary and know the “lingo”. This is such an easy read! If you have friends or loved ones in your life who are knee deep in or just dipping their toes into progressive Christianity, this book is for you. If you are just coming out of progressive Christianity or think your church may be leaning that way, this book is for you. If you feel like something is off at your church and you just can’t put your finger on it, this book might just be for you. If you have no idea what progressive Christianity is and want to know more, this book is for you. I genuinely believe that anyone, proclaiming Christian or not, can get something out of Alisa’s testimony and the research she has done into the deteriorating affects that progressive church’s worldview has on the Christian church today. I had no idea what progressive Christianity was and the real depth of deceit until finding Alisa’s apologetics ministry and reading this book. Highly recommend.
April 18, 2025
This book is a wonderful resource for distinguishing between historic and progressive Christianity. Alisa shares her personal experience encountering progressive Christianity, how it led her to question and struggle with what she grew up believing to be true, and how she sought answers for truth. She goes through several different topics that progressive Christians hold, and counteracts them through logic, history, and Scripture.
I highly recommend this book, and checking out Alisa's podcast!
I highly recommend this book, and checking out Alisa's podcast!
October 29, 2020
This is not a serious engagement with what progressive Christians believe. This is denouncement of what the author doesn’t believe. She chooses to define Christians as created in her image and dismisses those who do not. She was right about one thing. She is a fundamentalist.
The most troubling part of the book for me is that I don’t think I ever saw the word grace. I think grace is a non-negotiable part of the faith.
The most troubling part of the book for me is that I don’t think I ever saw the word grace. I think grace is a non-negotiable part of the faith.
January 4, 2023
There are generally two kinds of apologetics books: those that list arguments and facts, and those that present arguments and facts through a story, usually a memoir or biography. Of the former, “I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist” (Turek, Geisler) and “Evidence That Demands a Verdict” (McDowell) might be the most famous. Of the latter, “The Case for Christ” (Strobel) and “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus” (Qureshi).
The former are excellent books for classes, for studying, for referencing. The latter are excellent for growing, for learning, for understanding. Rote facts are often less memorable than a good and solid lesson in which such facts can be presented in context. Together, along with the few books like Tactics (Koukl) and Conversational Evangelism (Geisler), they make up a whole that every Christian should learn from.
Alisa Childers is adding a new book to the latter group, to the stories. While most such books talk about things outside the faith, usually someone coming to Christ, Alisa talks about nearly leaving the church because of threats from within. This is a lesson sorely needed today in the church as people, young and old, are leaving the church by the hundreds and thousands.
The particular threat that Alisa addresses is that of Progressive Christianity. For those who may not be familiar with it, Alisa has made a list of 9 denials that mark and define Progressive Christianity:
1) Denial of the atonement
2) Denial of the authority and inspiration of the Bible
3) Denial of the sin nature of man
4) Denial of the reality of sin that separates us from God
5) Denial of the deity of Jesus
6) Denial of the physical resurrection of Jesus
7) Denial of the virgin birth of Jesus
8) Denial of the Trinity
9) Denial of the sinlessness of Jesus
These are doctrines that have been held by the church virtually since inception, even if they weren’t articulated clearly for some time. To deny them is to reject original and historic Christianity, which together embody the biblical faith.
As former singer of ZoeGirl, and current recording artist on her own, Alisa knows how to entertain an audience. As a popular blogger, she knows how to write clearly and effectively. And as a student of apologetics and speaker with STR and various Christian worldview conferences, she understands sound doctrine and how to present such doctrine to the world. This trifecta, plus her own history with Progressive Christianity, leaves her as the perfect person to address this challenge.
Another Gospel is an engaging book that is at once thoroughly theological and deeply personal, at once rigorous and merciful. Alisa isn’t a discernment blogger out to throw punches, but she also doesn’t mince words where truth is on the line.
This is not an academic text that will bore you, but neither is it a feel-good anecdote. This book will challenge you to take your beliefs seriously. But please, don’t take my word for it, and definitely don’t take her word for it: instead, be like the Bereans, and test what she says. Test it by logic and sound reason, test it with history, but most importantly: test it against Scripture, the Word of God itself.
Originally posted at:
https://www.bravedaily.com/2020/09/30...
The former are excellent books for classes, for studying, for referencing. The latter are excellent for growing, for learning, for understanding. Rote facts are often less memorable than a good and solid lesson in which such facts can be presented in context. Together, along with the few books like Tactics (Koukl) and Conversational Evangelism (Geisler), they make up a whole that every Christian should learn from.
Alisa Childers is adding a new book to the latter group, to the stories. While most such books talk about things outside the faith, usually someone coming to Christ, Alisa talks about nearly leaving the church because of threats from within. This is a lesson sorely needed today in the church as people, young and old, are leaving the church by the hundreds and thousands.
The particular threat that Alisa addresses is that of Progressive Christianity. For those who may not be familiar with it, Alisa has made a list of 9 denials that mark and define Progressive Christianity:
1) Denial of the atonement
2) Denial of the authority and inspiration of the Bible
3) Denial of the sin nature of man
4) Denial of the reality of sin that separates us from God
5) Denial of the deity of Jesus
6) Denial of the physical resurrection of Jesus
7) Denial of the virgin birth of Jesus
8) Denial of the Trinity
9) Denial of the sinlessness of Jesus
These are doctrines that have been held by the church virtually since inception, even if they weren’t articulated clearly for some time. To deny them is to reject original and historic Christianity, which together embody the biblical faith.
As former singer of ZoeGirl, and current recording artist on her own, Alisa knows how to entertain an audience. As a popular blogger, she knows how to write clearly and effectively. And as a student of apologetics and speaker with STR and various Christian worldview conferences, she understands sound doctrine and how to present such doctrine to the world. This trifecta, plus her own history with Progressive Christianity, leaves her as the perfect person to address this challenge.
Another Gospel is an engaging book that is at once thoroughly theological and deeply personal, at once rigorous and merciful. Alisa isn’t a discernment blogger out to throw punches, but she also doesn’t mince words where truth is on the line.
This is not an academic text that will bore you, but neither is it a feel-good anecdote. This book will challenge you to take your beliefs seriously. But please, don’t take my word for it, and definitely don’t take her word for it: instead, be like the Bereans, and test what she says. Test it by logic and sound reason, test it with history, but most importantly: test it against Scripture, the Word of God itself.
Originally posted at:
https://www.bravedaily.com/2020/09/30...
December 15, 2021
I would give this 6 stars if I could. I listened to it on audio (it is read by the author), but then decided to purchase a physical copy. By the time I received the book in the mail, I finished reading the last few chapters and immediately started rereading it to highlight her main points in each chapter. I found this book extremely helpful to me both times that I've read it. Several of my close family members have been persuaded by progressive Christian leaders in their thinking. Alisa Childers quotes those very leaders in her book, and I felt like a sponge soaking up all she had to say about her fight for faith amidst her doubts. She has a list of further resources and references in the back of her book that I really appreciate.
May 17, 2021
Alarming and thought provoking. Alarming by how sneaky the devil can be entering into our churches and coloring truth.
The author goes through her faith struggle and how her journey to truth caused her to question and eventually get answers to so many truths. This book is a deeper look into Apologetics. Mama Bear Apologetics was a great start and this takes it deeper.
This is a warning to Christians- Progressivism is rampant and growing. Our basic tenant of truth are being questioned.
I slowed down and took breaks on the deeper parts The Textual Criticism part I had my hubby listen w me and answer some questions. Of course he gave me more books to read.
Why do I believe what I believe? The main essential tenants to the Christian faith: inerrancy and soul authority of the Bible, the resurrection, salvation through Christ’s alone, the virgin birth and so much more. I appreciated the author’s approach to hyper fundamentalism as well and explanation of legalism in the church.
Definitely recommend to those wanting to delve in and study what the Fathers of Christianity set forth years before. Many reference books at the end for other resources.
The author goes through her faith struggle and how her journey to truth caused her to question and eventually get answers to so many truths. This book is a deeper look into Apologetics. Mama Bear Apologetics was a great start and this takes it deeper.
This is a warning to Christians- Progressivism is rampant and growing. Our basic tenant of truth are being questioned.
I slowed down and took breaks on the deeper parts The Textual Criticism part I had my hubby listen w me and answer some questions. Of course he gave me more books to read.
Why do I believe what I believe? The main essential tenants to the Christian faith: inerrancy and soul authority of the Bible, the resurrection, salvation through Christ’s alone, the virgin birth and so much more. I appreciated the author’s approach to hyper fundamentalism as well and explanation of legalism in the church.
Definitely recommend to those wanting to delve in and study what the Fathers of Christianity set forth years before. Many reference books at the end for other resources.
October 17, 2020
I’ve read a lot of apologetics in the course of my life, much of it excellent and clear. But this book is, outside C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity, the most accessible I’ve encountered. That’s actually a big deal. I have some favorite texts that are more academic or challenging, but apologetics aren’t helpful if they’re not easily read and apprehended by regular folks. This is well researched, well argued, and so well articulated. I would recommend it to anyone.
November 8, 2022
2022: Really enjoyed rereading this!
2020: I found Alisa’s podcast after having a spiritual attack after reading a Progressive Christian book. I had no idea these ideas were made into a full belief system. It blew my naive Christian mind and it opened my discerning eyes to many teachers and authors that met this criteria. It made me so very sad...just plain upset actually.
This book has been extremely educational for me as I feel the urge to correctly defend my faith. The book is very easy to follow and understand for someone without any theology background. Alisa has good stories that are relatable and quite funny. I highlighted up my copy and will refer to it often as I’m learning.
I highly recommend this book for anyone!
2020: I found Alisa’s podcast after having a spiritual attack after reading a Progressive Christian book. I had no idea these ideas were made into a full belief system. It blew my naive Christian mind and it opened my discerning eyes to many teachers and authors that met this criteria. It made me so very sad...just plain upset actually.
This book has been extremely educational for me as I feel the urge to correctly defend my faith. The book is very easy to follow and understand for someone without any theology background. Alisa has good stories that are relatable and quite funny. I highlighted up my copy and will refer to it often as I’m learning.
I highly recommend this book for anyone!
January 21, 2025
Alisa's arguments felt less like an honest look at the tenets of Progressive Christianity as a whole and more as a hyper-specific analysis of her very personal experience with one toxic pastor (which, at best, significantly oversimplifies the arguments of this denomination and, at worst, misrepresents and misunderstands their beliefs entirely). This problem permeates throughout the book, with many sweeping assumptions, a culture-war mentality, and polarizing defense of her personal theological views.
March 18, 2021
If I'm honest, this book left me a little sad. I felt like it brought a tight group of Christians even tighter. The term progressive was never clearly defined, and I know a number of people who are progressive and still hold a historic view of the gospel. The group she was a part of should have been called something else. Emergent? Deconstructers? Not sure but I had trouble getting past it.
She briefly touched on atonement and canon but I felt like the answers offered were too easy. I've learned some about varying understandings of atonement and the deuterocanonical books, and both are worthy of discussion based on her target audience.
I liked the way she presented her own experience with the apologetics work she did. I just wish it had left a little more space for the complexities of the non-salvific theology Christians have.
In a polarized world where we desperately need to have good conversations, I felt like this book shut many conversations down.
She briefly touched on atonement and canon but I felt like the answers offered were too easy. I've learned some about varying understandings of atonement and the deuterocanonical books, and both are worthy of discussion based on her target audience.
I liked the way she presented her own experience with the apologetics work she did. I just wish it had left a little more space for the complexities of the non-salvific theology Christians have.
In a polarized world where we desperately need to have good conversations, I felt like this book shut many conversations down.
May 4, 2024
This book is a wonderful resource for distinguishing between historic Christianity and progressive Christianity. Childers has a gift for making complex concepts accessible to the average reader. I recommend!
November 10, 2020
Solid, clear presentation of standard apologetic arguments.
This book seems like it would be most effective with people who are committed to historic Christian teaching, but are concerned about trends away from orthodoxy. It serves as a good warning against false teaching. It would probably solidify the faith of someone who believes orthodox Christianity, but doesn’t know why those views are true.
Unfortunately, I’m not convinced this book will be effective for someone who is actually going through a deconstruction of their faith.
The main problem with the book is book a rhetorical one. Childers initially presents her experience with the class at the progressive church as something that rattled her faith and raised questions she couldn’t shake. It sounded initially like she was genuinely drawn toward the progressive ideas she was hearing and had to wrestle her way back to the truth. But as the book continued, the story of the class sounded more and more like Childers was always a traditional believer who heard things she disagreed with and what troubled her was finding out that people thought these things and that she didn’t know the answers to refute them. She never came across as if she felt the draw of progressive Christianity, more the discomfort of being among people who believed these ideas. Childers doesn’t need to have been seduced by false teaching to write a book responding to these bad ideas, but, in terms of classical rhetoric, it undermined her ethos to picture her as the one traditional believer sitting in a class week after week shocked and trying to rebut the teacher. That is not the kind of person my friends who have gone through a deconstruction of their faith would listen to, because it didn’t feel like she wrestled with honest doubt personally, even though that’s how it was framed at the beginning of the book and in the promotional blurbs.
So, while I’d recommend this to a solid Christian who wants to think through some of the false ideas coming from the progressive side of Christianity, or maybe bolster the faith of a young person prior to them being drawn into these ideas, I wouldn’t find this useful in addressing people already convinced by the views the book aims to refute.
This book seems like it would be most effective with people who are committed to historic Christian teaching, but are concerned about trends away from orthodoxy. It serves as a good warning against false teaching. It would probably solidify the faith of someone who believes orthodox Christianity, but doesn’t know why those views are true.
Unfortunately, I’m not convinced this book will be effective for someone who is actually going through a deconstruction of their faith.
The main problem with the book is book a rhetorical one. Childers initially presents her experience with the class at the progressive church as something that rattled her faith and raised questions she couldn’t shake. It sounded initially like she was genuinely drawn toward the progressive ideas she was hearing and had to wrestle her way back to the truth. But as the book continued, the story of the class sounded more and more like Childers was always a traditional believer who heard things she disagreed with and what troubled her was finding out that people thought these things and that she didn’t know the answers to refute them. She never came across as if she felt the draw of progressive Christianity, more the discomfort of being among people who believed these ideas. Childers doesn’t need to have been seduced by false teaching to write a book responding to these bad ideas, but, in terms of classical rhetoric, it undermined her ethos to picture her as the one traditional believer sitting in a class week after week shocked and trying to rebut the teacher. That is not the kind of person my friends who have gone through a deconstruction of their faith would listen to, because it didn’t feel like she wrestled with honest doubt personally, even though that’s how it was framed at the beginning of the book and in the promotional blurbs.
So, while I’d recommend this to a solid Christian who wants to think through some of the false ideas coming from the progressive side of Christianity, or maybe bolster the faith of a young person prior to them being drawn into these ideas, I wouldn’t find this useful in addressing people already convinced by the views the book aims to refute.
March 4, 2023
I can’t believe I never reviewed this book after reading it last year. Besides the fact that I’ve become an Alisa Childers superfan and I’ve listened to every single one of her podcasts, more importantly I’ve become fascinated with apologetics and progressive Christianity since reading this and other books on the subjects.
Alisa’s pastor shared that he had learned “new” things about the Bible and he began questioning every truth that she thought she knew. Her whole faith was rocked to the core. My extreme admiration for her begins with what she chose to do then: she went straight to the ancient Biblical texts and researched for herself if the Bible was true. She took classes, went to libraries, researched online, and then wrote it all out in this book.
Alisa did “deconstruct” her faith like the cool kids do. She threw out everything her parents taught her, the church’s rules, the Christian traditions, and she started at the very beginning. All her studies led her straight back to the truth of the Bible, and the fact is that it offers no “new” truths. It’s the same yesterday and today and forever.
Have you heard about your friends “deconstructing” or maybe questioning long held beliefs about God and his Word? Are you yourself wondering why you believed in the Bible in the first place? This is the book for you. And while you are it listen to some of @alisachilders podcasts too.
I love to talk about my faith. Please message me! I don’t get offended or angered easily, and I can admit when I don’t know the answers. I’d love to talk.
Alisa’s pastor shared that he had learned “new” things about the Bible and he began questioning every truth that she thought she knew. Her whole faith was rocked to the core. My extreme admiration for her begins with what she chose to do then: she went straight to the ancient Biblical texts and researched for herself if the Bible was true. She took classes, went to libraries, researched online, and then wrote it all out in this book.
Alisa did “deconstruct” her faith like the cool kids do. She threw out everything her parents taught her, the church’s rules, the Christian traditions, and she started at the very beginning. All her studies led her straight back to the truth of the Bible, and the fact is that it offers no “new” truths. It’s the same yesterday and today and forever.
Have you heard about your friends “deconstructing” or maybe questioning long held beliefs about God and his Word? Are you yourself wondering why you believed in the Bible in the first place? This is the book for you. And while you are it listen to some of @alisachilders podcasts too.
I love to talk about my faith. Please message me! I don’t get offended or angered easily, and I can admit when I don’t know the answers. I’d love to talk.
November 28, 2023
Super important book and I'm glad I read it. I almost didn't because I thought it was preaching to the choir (me) who has read several apologist books, study my Bible every day, and generally feel like I have a pretty good handle on my faith. Not only is a refresher always good, but this is very easy to read and doubles as a memoir of Alisa's own journey with faith.
What was also valuable to me was seeing for myself what progressive church leaders are saying. I haven't studied them that much because I don't think they're worth my time. But Alisa doesn't have to twist your arm and talk you into seeing the gospel they preach as being contrary to the one in the Bible. She just had to quote them verbatim, open up scripture, and you can see it for yourself. I don't think I realized that progressive Christians weren't just Jesus- lovers who prioritize social justice more than conservatives do, but they actually deny the authority of Scripture, the atonement of Jesus, and other key components of Christianity. What they by their own words is teaching is not Christianity at all and should not be called such. I'm glad to have a clearer understanding of that now.
What was also valuable to me was seeing for myself what progressive church leaders are saying. I haven't studied them that much because I don't think they're worth my time. But Alisa doesn't have to twist your arm and talk you into seeing the gospel they preach as being contrary to the one in the Bible. She just had to quote them verbatim, open up scripture, and you can see it for yourself. I don't think I realized that progressive Christians weren't just Jesus- lovers who prioritize social justice more than conservatives do, but they actually deny the authority of Scripture, the atonement of Jesus, and other key components of Christianity. What they by their own words is teaching is not Christianity at all and should not be called such. I'm glad to have a clearer understanding of that now.
July 15, 2023
I agreed with many of the author’s points, but I have an issue with her thesis. She believes that the true Gospel is the Reformed/Calvinistic/Fundamentalist understanding. To her, the only true atonement theory is penal substitutionary atonement. Any other theological understanding is considered progressive and is “another gospel”. I’m not a progressive. My theological perspective is Wesleyan/Methodist so it doesn’t line up with her viewpoint and it doesn’t line up with her description of the progressives. There are many churches that are not progressive and not fundamentalist either. Her generalizing can really confuse people. For a different perspective, I recommend “King Jesus Gospel” by Scot McKnight, “Gospel Allegiance” or “Gospel Precisely” by Matthew Bates, or anything by NT Wright.
October 25, 2020
This is one of my most anticipated reads for this year. And the most important too.
Christian, has your faith been rocked by progressive views of the gospel? I know mine has. Some of the views are obvious and you know they are false. But some are sneaky and subtle and play on your feelings. I encourage you to read this book. Alisa lays it all out here. This book talks about her journey through doubt after being introduced to these new ideas in a church bible class. This book was so graciously written. Throughout the book she has a quote from a progressive leader. Some of those quotes sounds so off base and others sound almost right. Alisa goes through several different topics that many progressive Christians hold. It was fascinating and also alarming because I too was almost swayed by some of these ideas. And it breaks my heart that people close to me are adopting these ideas.
Alisa Childers book is so important and I encourage you to please read this book! And I highly recommend her podcast too. Her blog and podcast were life boats to me in a season of doubt after I was seeing so many things shared on social media and wondered if I had it all wrong.
Thank you so much Alisa for writing this book!
May 6, 2021
More of a 2.5 but while I agreed with most of her points, I felt she did not actually define what “Progressive theology” is in the context of her argument. This lead to generalizations and cherry picking of statements that felt muddled in stating what the progressive point of view is...which is ironic given that she is trying to give more conservative theology nuance. I would have liked to have seen fewer blog posts as sources for progressive theology and more actually theological works (no actual citations from Barth struck me). I was hoping for a more substantive work here given all the hype but this was ultimately disappointing.
July 27, 2023
“Faith is trust in a person - Jesus. That trust is based on truth and evidence.”
This was a surprisingly easy read. That being said, it was not lacking in information!
I ended the book feeling like I better understand the progressive Christian movement and how culture greatly impacts the church. The book has a lot of Christian history (which was so interesting and inspired me to do more research), and the ratio of progressive to traditional Christian argument was perfect.
Biggest takeaway ➡️ Culture affects our beliefs more than we could imagine.
“We, like all the people who have gone before us, are influenced by our cultural paradigms, societal norms, and collective intellectual assumptions. Just because our culture has come to a consensus on something does not make it true or right.”
*and*
It’s up to us, as Christians, to solidify our beliefs; to be able to actually stand on them. As Childer’s says, “The strength of evidence for the Christian worldview is so strong that one would have to willfully shut their eyes to it. But discovering that information takes time and effort and determination. Learning logic and philosophy is not easy. Examining the evidence and digging for truth takes mental energy.“
It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.
More favorite quotes:
“With a Bible remade in our own image, we are no longer obeying God; instead we’re following our own thoughts, feelings, and preferences.”
“But the fact is that the gospel demands everything of all of us. If someone thinks the gospel has somehow slotted into their life quite easily, without causing any major adjustments to their lifestyle or aspirations, it is likely that they have not really started following Jesus at all.”
This was a surprisingly easy read. That being said, it was not lacking in information!
I ended the book feeling like I better understand the progressive Christian movement and how culture greatly impacts the church. The book has a lot of Christian history (which was so interesting and inspired me to do more research), and the ratio of progressive to traditional Christian argument was perfect.
Biggest takeaway ➡️ Culture affects our beliefs more than we could imagine.
“We, like all the people who have gone before us, are influenced by our cultural paradigms, societal norms, and collective intellectual assumptions. Just because our culture has come to a consensus on something does not make it true or right.”
*and*
It’s up to us, as Christians, to solidify our beliefs; to be able to actually stand on them. As Childer’s says, “The strength of evidence for the Christian worldview is so strong that one would have to willfully shut their eyes to it. But discovering that information takes time and effort and determination. Learning logic and philosophy is not easy. Examining the evidence and digging for truth takes mental energy.“
It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.
More favorite quotes:
“With a Bible remade in our own image, we are no longer obeying God; instead we’re following our own thoughts, feelings, and preferences.”
“But the fact is that the gospel demands everything of all of us. If someone thinks the gospel has somehow slotted into their life quite easily, without causing any major adjustments to their lifestyle or aspirations, it is likely that they have not really started following Jesus at all.”
October 16, 2020
3.5 This book is a good start for anyone wanting to understand the basic claims of progressive Christianity. It offers a helpful snapshot response to the main tenets of their gospel. I appreciate that the author addresses a variety of claims, but one of my criticisms is that because there are many, she does not delve deeply into each one. I did find her chapters about the atonement and judgment helpful, and I really liked her emphasis on the early Christian writers. She definitely inspired me to read them for myself. I liked that she connected many of the "new" progressive claims to old, historic herecies. It's the same old claims recycled and reframed. I do wish she could have given more detail about what her season of "deconstruction" and doubt was like. Her descriptions of that time seemed simplistic to me and do not do justice to the heart-wrenching and spiritual angst many who have walked that path endure. I also did not appreciate her writing style; it was conversational and too informal for my liking, considering some of the weighty topics being discussed. Overall, this book serves as a good springboard for further research and reading and offers a good start for anyone contending for the faith as they encounter this other gospel.
November 22, 2021
I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into when I opened this book, but by page 20 it became immensely clear that Alisa strongly disagrees with and dislikes anyone who claims to be a progressive Christian.
Alisa went through a traumatic experience and has allowed her limited experience with “progressive Christians” to paint all progressive Christians in an extremely negative light. Her tone is condescending and she makes many crude accusations based on her limited traumatic experience.
While reading I found three instances in which she quotes progressive Christian authors and takes their words out of context or eliminates some of their words in her quotes to achieve her purposes. In doing so, she implies (or outright states) that these authors said or meant things that they never said or meant. This left me wondering how many of the other quotes she used were also butchered for her agenda and I felt like I couldn’t trust her use of other progressive Christian authors.
Unfortunately she also seems to lack any self awareness - she talks about bias (not hers though) and straw men (that progressives make) and admonishes her readers not to judge a belief system by its abusers. And yet, her entire book is literally nothing but that. She is blind to her own biases, creates straw men often, and has completely judged all progressive Christians by the pastor who described himself as a hopeful agnostic.
I identify as a progressive Christian. I have been in the process of deconstructing for at least four years now. Are there people who identify as progressive Christians who claim the things she has concerns with? Of course. Is that the majority of deconstructing or progressive Christians? In my (also limited) personal experience, no. I have experienced far more deconstructing and progressive Christians who desperately want to follow Jesus and who throw themselves into studying theology and the Bible seeking truth.
Her hate and disdain for Christians like me were palpable and truthfully, it was hurtful. Her judgmental approach and condemning words confirm many fears of Christians who are going through a process of deconstruction - we are not welcome and we are not wanted.
Alisa went through a traumatic experience and has allowed her limited experience with “progressive Christians” to paint all progressive Christians in an extremely negative light. Her tone is condescending and she makes many crude accusations based on her limited traumatic experience.
While reading I found three instances in which she quotes progressive Christian authors and takes their words out of context or eliminates some of their words in her quotes to achieve her purposes. In doing so, she implies (or outright states) that these authors said or meant things that they never said or meant. This left me wondering how many of the other quotes she used were also butchered for her agenda and I felt like I couldn’t trust her use of other progressive Christian authors.
Unfortunately she also seems to lack any self awareness - she talks about bias (not hers though) and straw men (that progressives make) and admonishes her readers not to judge a belief system by its abusers. And yet, her entire book is literally nothing but that. She is blind to her own biases, creates straw men often, and has completely judged all progressive Christians by the pastor who described himself as a hopeful agnostic.
I identify as a progressive Christian. I have been in the process of deconstructing for at least four years now. Are there people who identify as progressive Christians who claim the things she has concerns with? Of course. Is that the majority of deconstructing or progressive Christians? In my (also limited) personal experience, no. I have experienced far more deconstructing and progressive Christians who desperately want to follow Jesus and who throw themselves into studying theology and the Bible seeking truth.
Her hate and disdain for Christians like me were palpable and truthfully, it was hurtful. Her judgmental approach and condemning words confirm many fears of Christians who are going through a process of deconstruction - we are not welcome and we are not wanted.
November 17, 2020
Crisis of faith - you never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you. CS Lewis
I have listened to Alisa Childers' podcast for several years now. She tackles controversy of Progressive Christianity but she remains true to the gospel. The importance of creation, the fall, redemption and restoration. Progressive Christianity and their teachers put a different spin on these issues. What became a crisis of faith for Alisa was her invitation to a bible study led by progressive teacher. Asking her questions that she struggled with but always believed. The Progressive camp foundation is not necessarily on solid theology and the only way to God is Jesus but community, friendship, justice and unity (unity without truth). All good things but digging deeper do they deal with the individual relation to God. Meaning do I struggle with who God is. His holiness, the blood that covers sin, sacrifice, and heaven and hell.
Childer's crisis led her to dig deeper into faith and to how historical Christianity can lead to the answers she seeks. I liked how her book was always moving forward. How she grew up in a Christian home, her family served the community and the church and then when she was challenged with what she really believed. The bible makes plain that truth will be hard to digest in the end times. I believe we are there. I encourage Christians to read Alisa's account, listen to her blog, and be reminded the importance of good theology.
A Special thank you to Tyndale House Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
I have listened to Alisa Childers' podcast for several years now. She tackles controversy of Progressive Christianity but she remains true to the gospel. The importance of creation, the fall, redemption and restoration. Progressive Christianity and their teachers put a different spin on these issues. What became a crisis of faith for Alisa was her invitation to a bible study led by progressive teacher. Asking her questions that she struggled with but always believed. The Progressive camp foundation is not necessarily on solid theology and the only way to God is Jesus but community, friendship, justice and unity (unity without truth). All good things but digging deeper do they deal with the individual relation to God. Meaning do I struggle with who God is. His holiness, the blood that covers sin, sacrifice, and heaven and hell.
Childer's crisis led her to dig deeper into faith and to how historical Christianity can lead to the answers she seeks. I liked how her book was always moving forward. How she grew up in a Christian home, her family served the community and the church and then when she was challenged with what she really believed. The bible makes plain that truth will be hard to digest in the end times. I believe we are there. I encourage Christians to read Alisa's account, listen to her blog, and be reminded the importance of good theology.
A Special thank you to Tyndale House Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
July 5, 2021
I don’t belong to a Progressive Church but my social beliefs are progressive. I thought this book would be good for my growth. But after the first 50+ pages I realised this is just another conservative book adjudicating their skewed beliefs. They abhor homosexuality. I expected that to be covered. But when Childers explained that critical race theory is going against Jesus’ teachings, I knew she was just another white, American evangelical. Jesus taught to stand up for the oppressed. But she believes we shouldn’t learn how racism existed, became ingrained into our society and continues.
Not sure how anyone rated this book higher than one star. There must have been a lot of other white, American evangelicals who have read it.
Not sure how anyone rated this book higher than one star. There must have been a lot of other white, American evangelicals who have read it.
May 24, 2023
This is the story of one devout and strong Christian who came to doubt her faith after attending several sessions of a new class led by her progressive preacher who promised it would “change her life forever.” At the first class, the preacher introduced himself as an "Optimistic Agnostic," and every class after that was an affront against her beliefs. After several sessions, Alisa Childers quit attending with serious questions about her faith. She started researching heavily, looking for truth. This book tells her story from her personal experience in the class as well her several year's research to come to the conclusion as to what is unmistakably true. A must read for all Christians in our culture today.
September 20, 2023
She is well-spoken and writes in a level-headed tone. This would be a helpful resource for those looking to think through the implications of Progressive Christianity. She explores the atonement, the historical reliability of the scriptures, conflicts with critical theory, divine wrath in the Old Testament, hell as punishment, and other common questions. Not the strongest, but a good starting place.
March 1, 2026
Zero stars. Alisa Childers needs to take a course on steelmanning.
In Another Gospel?: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity, Alisa Childers takes the already rather heated and unnecessarily divisive discourse between progressive and conservative Christians and proceeds to deepen the wounds through half-truths and sweeping overgeneralizations that can lead only to further misunderstanding. In her zealous attempt to establish the obtuse claim that progressive Christianity has become another religion altogether from "true," "historic" conservative Evangelical Christianity and establish the offensive premise that progressive Christians are outward wolves in sheep’s clothing, knowingly (and presumably intentionally) endeavoring to lead others astray, Childers presents a wealth of gross oversimplifications and jarring falsehoods. It would make for a profound understatement to merely assert that the author strawmans her opponents. From my perspective, this proves especially unfortunate because Childers represents the majority voice within Christianity, and many of her readers may not have engaged in an honest discourse with progressive Christians themselves; they will merely accept her words at face value.
Childers’s depiction of Christian history proves grossly oversimplified at best and simply erroneous at worst—while her consideration of progressive interpretations of scripture is entirely nonexistent. For example, she asserts that the Bible clearly condemns same-sex relationships, but she makes zero effort to break down the so-called ‘clobber texts’ and illustrate why affirming interpretations will not suffice. That said, her rhetoric becomes even more problematic and more insufficient when she discusses issues like atonement and post-mortem punishment.
To begin with, Childers repeatedly makes the outrageous claim that people who reject penal substitution “deny the atonement” without acknowledging that various atonement theories exist and have always existed throughout church history. She fails to mention that most progressive Christians have robust atonement theories of their own or that almost no progressive Christians would claim that they reject the atonement; in fact, many of them would even go so far as to emphasize that reconciliation between God and man would not be possible without Christ’s sacrificial death. Most progressive Christians are merely not convinced by the way that Evangelicals usually claim that the mechanics work—with Christ paying the penal debt for humanity's sins or Him suffering the Father’s wrath against human sin. And a few progressive-leaning Christians, myself included, even uphold variations of penal substitution as one of the several things that they believe were through Christ’s death. Yet Childers largely ignores all this, repeatedly claiming that progressive Christians are completely united in “denying the atonement.” In her attempt to establish penal substitution as the historic stance of what occurred through the cross, Childers provides a list of quotes from church fathers discussing the atonement that sound vaguely like penal substitution—albeit only vaguely and certainly not systematically. However, she fails to mention that even many ardent defenders of penal substitution atonement (including the likes of William Lane Craig) concede that penal substation did not emerge as the most dominant and systematic way of discussing atonement throughout the first roughly 1,000 years of church history.
Likewise, when discussing Hell, Childers makes no effort to consider the scriptural passages that annihilationists and Biblical universalists use in order to defend their positions on post-mortem punishment; instead, she merely declares that eternal conscious torment is the clear message of scripture, and she quotes the most common go-to verses in order to back this assertion up. Yeah. Sorry, Alisa, but a one-sided scriptural case will not suffice—especially when defending the current majority position within Christianity, such that most readers will already be deeply familiar with sympathetic to this position. The truth is that all Christians interpret scripture in light of scripture; we all have control texts that we use to interpret verses that, on the surface, seem to challenge our theology. Just as believers in eternal conscious torment interpret the texts that seem to teach annihilation or universal reconciliation in light of the scriptures that seem to teach eternal torment, so also Biblical universalists interpret the texts that seem to teach that some will be forever lost in light of those texts that seem to teach that all will eventually be redeemed. If one intends to claim that eternal conscious torment is the clear and unambiguous teaching of scripture, then it is incumbent upon this person to discuss, at least briefly, some of the scriptures that push against their view. Anyway, after making the too-often perpetuated and demonstrably fallacious claim that Origen “created universalism,” (I’m looking at you, St Paul and Clement of Alexandria), Childers proceeds to claim that the earliest creeds of the church clearly taught eternal conscious torment, and she speculates that the doctrine of everlasting Hell must have been regarded as an integral aspect of Christianity in its earliest centuries. All of these comments are nearly laughably absurd, seeing that one needs merely to check the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed in order to discover that they contain no mention of the nature or duration of post-mortem punishment. And just a little more digging into history will reveal that all three views (eternal torment, annihilation, and universal reconciliation) were widely held within the early church. Alisa Childers is no scholar, and it shows. But from the research that she has done, she certainly must know that she is stretching the truth through some of her claims. I must accuse her of precisely the same vice that she accuses progressive Christians of: dishonesty. Furthermore, Childers fails to ever directly acknowledge annihilationism, thereby failing to clarify that a third alternative exists to universalism and eternal conscious torment.
I could go on at length and probably write several thousand more words. I could, for instance, write a paragraph questioning what makes Childers uniquely qualified to make for such a vocal and prominent opponent of progressive Christianity—or discuss how Childers erroneously views Christianity primarily as a set of doctrines rather than a faith movement that centers on belief in Jesus Christ—or reflect on why the author views Evangelical Christianity as more authentically historic than Catholic or Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which were systems out of which protestant (and subsequently Evangelical) Christianity “progressed”—or point out how both Jesus and the apostle Paul came down most harshly on those false teachers that acted in legalism or made life more difficult than it needed to be for other people that were trying to follow God. However, nearly all of these shortcomings of the work have already been sufficiently highlighted by Randal Rauser in his response book “Progressive Christians Love Jesus, Too.” If a conservative Christian wishes to understand what progressive Christians believe and how they justify their positions, then one ought to ask simply a progressive Christian.
One might fathom that progressive Christians sell out to culture, as Childers implies and some have personally accused me of doing—but, speaking for myself as a somewhat progressive-leaning Christian, I can attest that it amounts to an exceedingly lonely life to feel entirely at home neither in the mainstream Christian world nor secular society. Contrary to popular rhetoric, progressive Christians often carry their crosses, too.
Nevertheless, I will close this review by making a somewhat positive remark. Surprisingly, I actually resonated with Alisa Childers during a few sections of this work. From her personal testimony, I gathered that Childers—when she began to grow confused and question her faith—ended up clinging to those aspects of Christianity that she most cherished in her youth: such penal substitutionary atonement and a historically literal, inerrant reading of scripture. These aspects of her Christian faith seem to have been what likely most moved her when she first gave her life to Christ and began her Christian journey. As a now progressive-leaning Christian, it truly was not much different for me during my deconstruction process. When I found myself at my lowest and most confused spiritually, I clung to what was always most important to me in my faith: the idea that God is love incarnate, as John proclaims repeatedly in 1 John 4. And this revelation propelled me to adopt very different positions than Childers adopted. To some extent, she and I both likely experience cognitive dissonance, seeing what we want and/or expect to see in scripture; certainly, she and I both see through a glass darkly. However, I aspire to be more charitable toward those that I disagree with than Childers is. I am deeply disappointed in Alisa Childers and her followers for marginalizing and smearing a group of people through this half-truths and misinformation.
In Another Gospel?: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity, Alisa Childers takes the already rather heated and unnecessarily divisive discourse between progressive and conservative Christians and proceeds to deepen the wounds through half-truths and sweeping overgeneralizations that can lead only to further misunderstanding. In her zealous attempt to establish the obtuse claim that progressive Christianity has become another religion altogether from "true," "historic" conservative Evangelical Christianity and establish the offensive premise that progressive Christians are outward wolves in sheep’s clothing, knowingly (and presumably intentionally) endeavoring to lead others astray, Childers presents a wealth of gross oversimplifications and jarring falsehoods. It would make for a profound understatement to merely assert that the author strawmans her opponents. From my perspective, this proves especially unfortunate because Childers represents the majority voice within Christianity, and many of her readers may not have engaged in an honest discourse with progressive Christians themselves; they will merely accept her words at face value.
Childers’s depiction of Christian history proves grossly oversimplified at best and simply erroneous at worst—while her consideration of progressive interpretations of scripture is entirely nonexistent. For example, she asserts that the Bible clearly condemns same-sex relationships, but she makes zero effort to break down the so-called ‘clobber texts’ and illustrate why affirming interpretations will not suffice. That said, her rhetoric becomes even more problematic and more insufficient when she discusses issues like atonement and post-mortem punishment.
To begin with, Childers repeatedly makes the outrageous claim that people who reject penal substitution “deny the atonement” without acknowledging that various atonement theories exist and have always existed throughout church history. She fails to mention that most progressive Christians have robust atonement theories of their own or that almost no progressive Christians would claim that they reject the atonement; in fact, many of them would even go so far as to emphasize that reconciliation between God and man would not be possible without Christ’s sacrificial death. Most progressive Christians are merely not convinced by the way that Evangelicals usually claim that the mechanics work—with Christ paying the penal debt for humanity's sins or Him suffering the Father’s wrath against human sin. And a few progressive-leaning Christians, myself included, even uphold variations of penal substitution as one of the several things that they believe were through Christ’s death. Yet Childers largely ignores all this, repeatedly claiming that progressive Christians are completely united in “denying the atonement.” In her attempt to establish penal substitution as the historic stance of what occurred through the cross, Childers provides a list of quotes from church fathers discussing the atonement that sound vaguely like penal substitution—albeit only vaguely and certainly not systematically. However, she fails to mention that even many ardent defenders of penal substitution atonement (including the likes of William Lane Craig) concede that penal substation did not emerge as the most dominant and systematic way of discussing atonement throughout the first roughly 1,000 years of church history.
Likewise, when discussing Hell, Childers makes no effort to consider the scriptural passages that annihilationists and Biblical universalists use in order to defend their positions on post-mortem punishment; instead, she merely declares that eternal conscious torment is the clear message of scripture, and she quotes the most common go-to verses in order to back this assertion up. Yeah. Sorry, Alisa, but a one-sided scriptural case will not suffice—especially when defending the current majority position within Christianity, such that most readers will already be deeply familiar with sympathetic to this position. The truth is that all Christians interpret scripture in light of scripture; we all have control texts that we use to interpret verses that, on the surface, seem to challenge our theology. Just as believers in eternal conscious torment interpret the texts that seem to teach annihilation or universal reconciliation in light of the scriptures that seem to teach eternal torment, so also Biblical universalists interpret the texts that seem to teach that some will be forever lost in light of those texts that seem to teach that all will eventually be redeemed. If one intends to claim that eternal conscious torment is the clear and unambiguous teaching of scripture, then it is incumbent upon this person to discuss, at least briefly, some of the scriptures that push against their view. Anyway, after making the too-often perpetuated and demonstrably fallacious claim that Origen “created universalism,” (I’m looking at you, St Paul and Clement of Alexandria), Childers proceeds to claim that the earliest creeds of the church clearly taught eternal conscious torment, and she speculates that the doctrine of everlasting Hell must have been regarded as an integral aspect of Christianity in its earliest centuries. All of these comments are nearly laughably absurd, seeing that one needs merely to check the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed in order to discover that they contain no mention of the nature or duration of post-mortem punishment. And just a little more digging into history will reveal that all three views (eternal torment, annihilation, and universal reconciliation) were widely held within the early church. Alisa Childers is no scholar, and it shows. But from the research that she has done, she certainly must know that she is stretching the truth through some of her claims. I must accuse her of precisely the same vice that she accuses progressive Christians of: dishonesty. Furthermore, Childers fails to ever directly acknowledge annihilationism, thereby failing to clarify that a third alternative exists to universalism and eternal conscious torment.
I could go on at length and probably write several thousand more words. I could, for instance, write a paragraph questioning what makes Childers uniquely qualified to make for such a vocal and prominent opponent of progressive Christianity—or discuss how Childers erroneously views Christianity primarily as a set of doctrines rather than a faith movement that centers on belief in Jesus Christ—or reflect on why the author views Evangelical Christianity as more authentically historic than Catholic or Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which were systems out of which protestant (and subsequently Evangelical) Christianity “progressed”—or point out how both Jesus and the apostle Paul came down most harshly on those false teachers that acted in legalism or made life more difficult than it needed to be for other people that were trying to follow God. However, nearly all of these shortcomings of the work have already been sufficiently highlighted by Randal Rauser in his response book “Progressive Christians Love Jesus, Too.” If a conservative Christian wishes to understand what progressive Christians believe and how they justify their positions, then one ought to ask simply a progressive Christian.
One might fathom that progressive Christians sell out to culture, as Childers implies and some have personally accused me of doing—but, speaking for myself as a somewhat progressive-leaning Christian, I can attest that it amounts to an exceedingly lonely life to feel entirely at home neither in the mainstream Christian world nor secular society. Contrary to popular rhetoric, progressive Christians often carry their crosses, too.
Nevertheless, I will close this review by making a somewhat positive remark. Surprisingly, I actually resonated with Alisa Childers during a few sections of this work. From her personal testimony, I gathered that Childers—when she began to grow confused and question her faith—ended up clinging to those aspects of Christianity that she most cherished in her youth: such penal substitutionary atonement and a historically literal, inerrant reading of scripture. These aspects of her Christian faith seem to have been what likely most moved her when she first gave her life to Christ and began her Christian journey. As a now progressive-leaning Christian, it truly was not much different for me during my deconstruction process. When I found myself at my lowest and most confused spiritually, I clung to what was always most important to me in my faith: the idea that God is love incarnate, as John proclaims repeatedly in 1 John 4. And this revelation propelled me to adopt very different positions than Childers adopted. To some extent, she and I both likely experience cognitive dissonance, seeing what we want and/or expect to see in scripture; certainly, she and I both see through a glass darkly. However, I aspire to be more charitable toward those that I disagree with than Childers is. I am deeply disappointed in Alisa Childers and her followers for marginalizing and smearing a group of people through this half-truths and misinformation.
September 11, 2025
This was a follow on to Alisa Childers' book, THE DECONSTRUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY. Our culture of atheism, evolution, and agnosticism demands the redefining of Christianity and the Christian Gospels to suit their needs and tickle their ears. Consider what the Bible states rather emphatically:
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." ~2 Timothy 4:3-4 KJV
The LGBTQIA+++ community reads and redefines the Gospel message to their liking. You can even say the Jehovah's Witness, Mormons and others have also redefined what the Bible has actually said and/or uses another book in order to further explain the Biblical text says to their own followers. Be careful what you read and how you read it that you shall get the message from reliable sources. If you genuinely seek God, with all of your hear...you will find Him right where you are and you will grow from there into a new person! Great book!
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." ~2 Timothy 4:3-4 KJV
The LGBTQIA+++ community reads and redefines the Gospel message to their liking. You can even say the Jehovah's Witness, Mormons and others have also redefined what the Bible has actually said and/or uses another book in order to further explain the Biblical text says to their own followers. Be careful what you read and how you read it that you shall get the message from reliable sources. If you genuinely seek God, with all of your hear...you will find Him right where you are and you will grow from there into a new person! Great book!
October 10, 2021
In “Another Gospel?: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity,” Childers weaves in her own personal interaction with progressive Christianity [pC] while showing weaknesses, contradictions, and shakiness of pC through logical argument.
My favorite parts in this book: her admission of traumatic abuses, excuses, and failures of the church that seem to nudge “wounded sheep" to progressive Christianity to be “validated and accepted” but “ultimately left to bleed out” (46); her demonstration of doubt verses unbelief; the stressed importance of defining terms; the explanation of the doctrine of a literal hell verses the pC view of universalism; a provision of an apologetics launching pad; and a robust explanation of pC tenets.
“Like the unorthodox movements that came before them, progressive Christians are not teaching anything new. They are simply giving old ideas a new voice, a distinct spin, and an updated image” (112-13). As Childers reminds us, it is important to remember that culture is not the driving force of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ himself is. (110)
This book is written as though we were chatting over coffee about her conflicting time in a pC church as she sought answers to the questions she had never even thought to ask. She is kind, generous, and gentle while remaining firm, unwavering, and direct in her rebuttal to the actual heresy of pC and the “my truth” movement. (10)
“…progressive Christianity is not simply a shift in the Christian view of social issues. It’s not simply permission to embrace messiness and authenticity in Christian life. It’s not simply a response to doubt, legalism, abuse, or hypocrisy. It’s an entirely different religion—with another Jesus—and another gospel” (76).
Childers has strong words for Christians who”delight” in hunting down genuine believers and labelling them heretics and false teachers; while simultaneously pointing out the imperative need to stand firm on “matters of first importance” (1 Cor 15:3) which is the gospel of Jesus Christ of the Bible (63). “With a Bible remade in our own image, we are no longer obeying God; instead we’re following our own thoughts, feelings, and preferences” (164).
I think one of this book’s strengths is the abundant use of quotes by acclaimed and professed progressive Christians like Pete Enns, Rachel Held Evans, Sarah Bessey, Brian McLaren, and Rob Bell.
One of the weaknesses of this book, in my opinion, was her use of the word ‘deconstruction’ with her experience. Childers reconstructs to the standard of God’s infallible, inerrant word, where pC deconstructionists tend to reconstruct based on cultural norms and trends. I think her use of deconstruction may be unhelpful and confusing and ‘knowledge sanctification’ may be a better term?
Overall, this book is highly informative for genuine believers living in a social media age of click bait heresy and itching ears. It may not be the most helpful book to give someone who has already been given over to pC, but it will help you answer questions, be more understanding of your pC friends, and help you better love your own local church.
My favorite parts in this book: her admission of traumatic abuses, excuses, and failures of the church that seem to nudge “wounded sheep" to progressive Christianity to be “validated and accepted” but “ultimately left to bleed out” (46); her demonstration of doubt verses unbelief; the stressed importance of defining terms; the explanation of the doctrine of a literal hell verses the pC view of universalism; a provision of an apologetics launching pad; and a robust explanation of pC tenets.
“Like the unorthodox movements that came before them, progressive Christians are not teaching anything new. They are simply giving old ideas a new voice, a distinct spin, and an updated image” (112-13). As Childers reminds us, it is important to remember that culture is not the driving force of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ himself is. (110)
This book is written as though we were chatting over coffee about her conflicting time in a pC church as she sought answers to the questions she had never even thought to ask. She is kind, generous, and gentle while remaining firm, unwavering, and direct in her rebuttal to the actual heresy of pC and the “my truth” movement. (10)
“…progressive Christianity is not simply a shift in the Christian view of social issues. It’s not simply permission to embrace messiness and authenticity in Christian life. It’s not simply a response to doubt, legalism, abuse, or hypocrisy. It’s an entirely different religion—with another Jesus—and another gospel” (76).
Childers has strong words for Christians who”delight” in hunting down genuine believers and labelling them heretics and false teachers; while simultaneously pointing out the imperative need to stand firm on “matters of first importance” (1 Cor 15:3) which is the gospel of Jesus Christ of the Bible (63). “With a Bible remade in our own image, we are no longer obeying God; instead we’re following our own thoughts, feelings, and preferences” (164).
I think one of this book’s strengths is the abundant use of quotes by acclaimed and professed progressive Christians like Pete Enns, Rachel Held Evans, Sarah Bessey, Brian McLaren, and Rob Bell.
One of the weaknesses of this book, in my opinion, was her use of the word ‘deconstruction’ with her experience. Childers reconstructs to the standard of God’s infallible, inerrant word, where pC deconstructionists tend to reconstruct based on cultural norms and trends. I think her use of deconstruction may be unhelpful and confusing and ‘knowledge sanctification’ may be a better term?
Overall, this book is highly informative for genuine believers living in a social media age of click bait heresy and itching ears. It may not be the most helpful book to give someone who has already been given over to pC, but it will help you answer questions, be more understanding of your pC friends, and help you better love your own local church.
September 12, 2020
Childers, Alisa. Another Gospel?. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale Momentum, 2020. $16.99
Alisa Childers writes Another Gospel? with the average Christian in mind. This book is not meant only for Christians. Those who have left Christianity because of doubts and questions under the influence of the various forms of Progressive Christianity would benefit from Another Gospel. Childers also seeks to build up the Christian to be able to stand up against mounting pressure and questions. Many Christians are not prepared to respond to questions related to the authority of Scripture, Scripture’s historical accuracy and trustworthiness, and how to understand the God who both ordered the killing of people in the Old Testament.
Childers provides an approachable defense of orthodox Christianity. She provides references to more academic works (many of which I wholeheartedly recommend) and Church Fathers. Yet, the tone is welcoming and sets an example of how to create a defense on a popular level. It is also encouraging to see God using attempts at deconstructing a believer’s faith to drive them back to his Word. Childers engages with the popular arguments leveled against historical Christianity by the likes of McLaren, Enns, Bell, and Ehrman.
I would be glad to put this book in the hands of the average Christian to begin engaging with the arguments of Progressive Christianity.
I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley for review purposes. My comments are independent and my own.
Alisa Childers writes Another Gospel? with the average Christian in mind. This book is not meant only for Christians. Those who have left Christianity because of doubts and questions under the influence of the various forms of Progressive Christianity would benefit from Another Gospel. Childers also seeks to build up the Christian to be able to stand up against mounting pressure and questions. Many Christians are not prepared to respond to questions related to the authority of Scripture, Scripture’s historical accuracy and trustworthiness, and how to understand the God who both ordered the killing of people in the Old Testament.
Childers provides an approachable defense of orthodox Christianity. She provides references to more academic works (many of which I wholeheartedly recommend) and Church Fathers. Yet, the tone is welcoming and sets an example of how to create a defense on a popular level. It is also encouraging to see God using attempts at deconstructing a believer’s faith to drive them back to his Word. Childers engages with the popular arguments leveled against historical Christianity by the likes of McLaren, Enns, Bell, and Ehrman.
I would be glad to put this book in the hands of the average Christian to begin engaging with the arguments of Progressive Christianity.
I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley for review purposes. My comments are independent and my own.
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