The Mick-Rick Debates Controversies in Contemporary Christianity

Controversies in Modern Christianity

Liberal Christian theology has challenged traditional beliefs about the Church and the meaning of the life of Jesus Christ. Decline in Church membership, especially in Western Europe, has been attributed to an out-of-date concept of Christian reality by the Church hierarchy. This is a series of debates between a liberal Christian thinker, member of an Anglican religious community, and a physician of conservative views raised in the traditions of the ELCA. The debates were conducted on the Radical Faith web site (http://homepages.which.net/~radical.faith/index.htm). The debates engage, in topical fashion, some fundamental issues highlighting the differences distinguishing traditional believers from those of the liberal movement. They uncover many hidden attitudes that shape belief and influence change in the modern church. Basically, the debates are odysseys of personal journeys of faith in the context of widely different circumstances. One debater (Mick) is a member of an Anglican religious community, The Society of the Sacred Mission. He was born, raised and educated in South Africa experiencing the raw realities of apartheid and the trials of poor South Africans. After careers as a businessman and parish priest he has devoted himself to writing on matters of faith and maintaining a web site concerning current problems in Christianity. The other debater is a physician (Rick), retired from the Mayo Clinic, who synthesizes his experience both as a medical counselor and life-long Lutheran (ELCA) into his current world view. The discussions are frank but civil bearing on the gaps between traditional and radical notions of Christianity. Often the debates swirl about questions of non-material versus strictly material realities that mirror the day to day doubts, hopes and aspirations of Christians in the 21st century.