The Empty Church: The Suicide of Liberal Christianity

by Thomas C. Reeves

In this alarming expose of America's mainline Protestant churches, historian Thomas C. Reeves asserts that these once hallowed houses of worship do not matter nearly so much as they used to, and that, in fact, they are consistently unappealing and irrelevant. Mainline churches are spiritual home to almost a quarter of the American people. They include the American Baptist churches, the Disciples of Christ, Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches, and the United Church of Christ. Still, millions of parishioners have abandoned them in disgust. And the question is, why?
Reeves attributes this crisis, in part, to the growth of a liberal church leadership whose political interests have distorted faith and orthodoxy and replaced them with political correctness. In the hands of liberal organizers, mainline churches have become bastions of "progressive" politics, wherein Christian teaching has lost out to multiculturalism, and theology itself has tended to become secular, focusing more on liberal issues such as AIDS awareness and feminist critiques of God the Father than on the life and teachings of Christ. As a result, many churches have alienated their orthodox members and lost their strongest adherents. What, asks Reeves, can be done to reverse this disturbing trend?
Based on his own probing investigations, Reeves makes informed recommendations for revitalizing them, and argues that the most critical step in halting the slide of mainline churches is the restoration of their commitment to orthodox theology. Taking his cue from C. S. Lewis, Reeves argues that orthodoxy requires faith in an all-powerful God who was and is capable of the miraculous. Christianity without miracles is dead, and its founder and the apostles madmen.

Genres: Theology, Christianity, American, Nonfiction, History, Religion

Hardcover

First published October 1, 1996

About the author

A specialist in late 19th and 20th century American history, Thomas C. Reeves received his B.A. at Pacific Lutheran University, his M.A. at the University of Washington, and his Ph.D. in history at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1966. After four years at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, he went on to become a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin–Parkside, where he taught until his retirement in 2001.

Reviews

[Brian Griffith · Rating 1 out of 5]

An argument from the 1990s that the survival of Christian churches depended on clinging to doctrinal and moral traditionalism. For a few decades it seemed that Reeves was right. Then rising numbers of Catholic and mainstream Protestant leaders started returning to a different set of traditions, based on compassion and concern for justice.

[David Blankenship · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot to commend in this book that is now a quarter-century old. Its main thesis is that 'mainline' churches have lost their way because of the abandoning of orthodox Christian doctrine, which in turn has led to the dismissal of traditional moral behavior. By laying out a mass of both statistics and anecdotes, there's little to argue about with his overall point.

There are two main problems with this book, however. The first is that many of his illustrations are so quick and unrooted from their context as to make one suspicious. For instance, at the beginning of chapter 4 he speaks about the church's approval (both liberal and conservative) of America's entry into WWI as a proof of their stability and influence, a. without ever asking whether or not this approval was morally right from an orthodox Christian perspective and b. by ignoring the fact that many, if not most, Christians did not support such a war, at least initially. Knowing something about this part of history and seeing how casually the author tossed out this example (wrongly) in support of his thesis makes me suspicious of the many other examples he gives.

Secondly, there is a major problem with the author's assumption that the continued growth of more 'conservative' churches give evidence to their correctness. This, however, is debatable. Many more conservative churches may have been orthodox (and thus 'correct') in their doctrinal fidelity, but their actions have betrayed their faith just as badly as the wrong beliefs of liberals betrayed their faith. Could it be that many conservative churches grew not because of proper orthodox belief, but because those churches supported immoral actions such as racism, militarism, and a devotion to economic prosperity above all else? By not only being a prophetic witness to America's faults but even blessing them as the American way of life, many churches have lost their way and in fact betrayed their faith. Considering that 'evangelical' and conservative Christianity has in the years since the publication of this book moved in a wholly unChristian direction (capped off by its almost unanimous support of Trumpism), one wonders whether the problem with conservatism is even more dangerous than that of liberalism. Indeed, many today who are outside of Christianity equate it fully with GOP politics more so than Christian faith, and so want nothing to do with the core belief system that the author is so bold to save. Orthodox American Christianity is in great danger today, but not so much because of liberalism. The danger often comes from the people who claim to believe in it the most.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does organized religion matter any more? A study on the decline of mainstream Protestant churches with their left wing, moral relativism problems--very interesting.

[forky wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this book; it was a great meditation on modern Theology and the movements that have informed modern Christianity. Great suggested readings throughout the book!

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I hate to do so, I have to agree with many of the reviewers who commented on the writing style of this book. It is less a thoughtful analysis and more of a collection of footnotes joined together with comments. I do not dispute the author's premise as to why liberal Protestantism is dying. I just wish he wrote a better book.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reeves has some good points, but unfortunately the writing in this book is not very good. I skimmed and rushed through, hoping it would get better, but it remained tedious and rant-ish.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liberal denominations have lost the message and bowed to culture. ELCA, some Presbyterians