Daniel Schultz. Changing the Script: Authentically Faithful and Authentically Progressive Political Theology for the 21st Century. Ig Publishing: 2010. ISBN: 9781935439141.
Meet the Author
Daniel Schultz is pastor of Salem United Church of Christ in Wayne, Wisconsin. He is also the co-founder and contributor to Street Prophets, which is an offspring of Daily Kos that seeks to mobilize “progressive people of faith to name, discuss and take action on critical political and religious issues.” Schultz has written for multiple online communities, most recently on Religion Dispatches. Changing the Script: Authentically Faithful and Authentically Progressive Political Theology for the 21st Century is the first book written by this graduate of Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
Book Basics
In Changing the Script, Daniel Schultz attempts to formulate a progressive political theology to unite the Religious Left. In an effort to replace the diverse political theologies that have been ineffectively leveraged on behalf of progressive Christians in recent years, he builds a case for a new theology that is “consistent with broadly progressive values, yet incisive enough that it is able to establish clear responsibility for living up to those values” (p.14). The new political theology relies heavily upon the work of the renowned Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann. While the premise of working through Brueggemann’s four scripts (the therapeutic, technological, consumerist, and militarist) that exercise unseen power in our society provides the framework for the book, unfortunately none are developed as fully or richly as one might anticipate. More to the point, Schultz spends considerable time setting the stage by providing background data on issues most readers know well (including abortion and torture) and relies far too heavily on Brueggemann (if I had a digital copy of the book, I would do a search for Brueggemann as I suspect his name is mentioned well over 100 times) and too lightly on other sources.
So What?
Compared to the Religious Right, the Religious Left has been politically ineffective in recent years. Through his blogging and in this book, Schultz has been a constructive voice for naming issues that matter, suggesting possible systemic changes that are adaptive rather than technical, and retaining the religious element within the political theology of the Religious Left that makes the group unique from other progressive movements. He calls for humility as the movement moves forward: ” . . . the Religious Left must forever be seekers, without being so arrogant as to assume they have found God’s answers. To be true to our faith and our politics, we must continually question the assumptions that undergird the structures of social power” (p. 208)
- The more singular purpose and recognition of authority within the Religious Right have been key elements to recent political successes. Do you believe there is a way that the Religious Left can learn from this and appropriately contextualize those lessons in ways that will unite currently independent voices?
- I would encourage anyone interested in changing the conversation to begin with James Davison Hunter’s recent book: To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, & Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World. (You can read my review here.) Which of the three models of interacting with culture do you believe fits best with the actions of the Religious Left in recent years: defensive against, relevance to, purity from, or faithful presence within? How might the Religious Left benefit from uniting around the idea of being a faithful presence within culture and leveraging the power of elites to reshape culture from within?