Putting the “Protest” Back in Protestant: Reclaiming the Spirit of Resistance

Peter Laarman of Religion Dispatches writes a provocative piece about how the Protestant tradition was originally a movement that actually "protested" beliefs and practices understood to be detrimental to the the common good, spiritual growth, and the life of faith. Laarman points out the central impulse of the Protestant Reformers was one of questioning the status quo, affirming universal individual rights (whether it be socio-political or soteriological), and arguing for action -- concrete steps made by the devoted toward the desired change.

Laarman's article is geared toward the historical side of the issue, tracing the formation and development of some prominent Reformers and advocating that Protestants today should learn from their forefathers and bring back that spirit of resistance to institutional, social, and individual evils.

The point Laarman raises is a good one. But I think it holds true for the entirety of the Christian tradition. That is, though Protestants have in their history and name the principle of protesting both for truth and justice and against the contrary as they see it, this is a heritage that spans the whole of Christianity. This value of protesting for and against extends back to the life and teaching of Jesus himself who stood firmly in the prophetic tradition, where a prophet (pro- for; phetes- to speak) wasn't so much a fore-teller of the future but a forth-teller of divine love, power, and justice in the present. The prophetic spirit is fundamental to Jesus' social-spiritual message of sacrificial love and equality, and is inherent throughout the plurality of Christian denominations.

There are many different positions within Unity circles as to whether or not Unity should even be explicitly called "Christian" since it incorporates so much of other traditions into its fold. This is a debate I'll enter into in more detail at a later time. Suffice it to say that, for the present purposes, Unity has historically, culturally, linguistically, and spiritually grown out of the Christian tradition and is thus a part of Christianity (Fillmore's leaned toward a Christian identity of Unity, our central authoritative texts are Christian, the theological language we employ is God and Christ-centered, etc.). Thus, Unity could take some cues from Laarman and/ perhaps use some of his arguments and research to corroborate social action that is already taking place within Unity congregations and even help to sculpt a more prophetic voice for Unity that's relevant to our present modern/post-modern context of globalization, plurality, and apparent ambiguity.

Read Laarman's article at Religion Dispatches.

(Above photo from Religion Dispatches website.)