Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel has said that there is a new commandment: Thou shalt not stand idly by. This book articulates a progressive faith that represents a true marriage of the academic work of the modern biblical critical movement and the historical Jesus work of the Jesus Seminar applied within the life of an active parish. Setting aside the magic and superstition found in much of traditional religious life and affirming an evidence-based approach to faith, author Roger Ray strives to apply Wiesel's injunction to actively respond to the injustice, violence, and...

After a generation of being a leading progressive voice both in the pulpit and in the print media of Springfield, Missouri, Roger Ray has collected one hundred of his essays on topics of social justice, religion, sex, economics, warfare, and race as a collection for use in college classrooms, in adult discussion groups, and as an enjoyable collection of thought provoking articles that once appeared on the opinion page of the Springfield NewsLeader. ""Roger Ray has long been a voice crying out for progressive ideas in the conservative wilderness of the Midwest. His provocative essays ask...