Moderate Christianity is a
theological movement in
Christianity that seeks to make decisions based on spiritual
wisdom.
Origin
Moderation in
Christianity is related to the spiritual
wisdom that is addressed in
Epistle of James in chapter 3 verse 17. In
First Epistle to Timothy, moderation is also referred to as
temperance
Temperance may refer to:
Moderation
*Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed
*Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion
Culture
* Temperance (group), Canadian dan ...
and is a required characteristic to be
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
in the Church.
Characteristics
Moderate Christianity is characterized by its concern to bring hope, to include cultural diversity and creative collaboration, by not being
fundamentalist or
liberal, predominantly
conservative and avoids
extremism in its decisions.
Catholicism
Moderate
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
mainly became visible in the 18th century, with Catholic groups taking more moderate positions, such as supporting
ecumenism
Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
and liturgical reforms. These moderates are also overwhelmingly in favor of state autonomy and the independence of Church doctrine from the state. After
Vatican Council II
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and 1 ...
, moderate Catholics distanced themselves from
traditionalist Catholicism
Traditionalist Catholicism is the set of beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions, and presentations of Catholic teaching that existed in the Catholic Church before the liberal reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1 ...
.
Evangelical Christianity
Moderate
evangelical Christianity emerged in the 1940s in the United States in response to the
Fundamentalist movement of the 1910s. The
Fuller Theological Seminary
Fuller Theological Seminary is an interdenominational Evangelical Christian seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature.
Fuller consistently has a student body that compri ...
founded in
Pasadena, California in 1947 had considerable influence in the movement. The study of the
Bible has been accompanied by certain disciplines such as
Biblical hermeneutics
Biblical hermeneutics is the study of the principles of interpretation concerning the books of the Bible. It is part of the broader field of hermeneutics, which involves the study of principles of interpretation, both theory and methodology, for ...
,
Biblical exegesis
Biblical criticism is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical criticism,'' it was based on two distinguishing characteristics: (1) the concern to ...
and
apologetics
Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...
. Moderate theologians have become more present in
Bible colleges
A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological e ...
and more moderate theological positions have been adopted in evangelical churches. In this movement called neo-
evangelicalism, new organizations, social agencies, media and
Bible colleges
A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological e ...
were established in the 1950s.
[ Axel R. Schäfer, ''Countercultural Conservatives: American Evangelicalism from the Postwar Revival to the New Christian Right'', University of Wisconsin Press, USA, 2011, p. 50-51]
See also
*
Christian fundamentalism
Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and ...
*
Conservatism
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
*
Liberal Christianity
Liberal Christianity, also known as Liberal Theology and historically as Christian Modernism (see Catholic modernism and Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy), is a movement that interprets Christian teaching by taking into consideration m ...
*
Political moderate
Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In America ...
References
{{Portal, Christianity}
Christian philosophy
Christian theological movements
Christian terminology