Ethan Walker
The Third Way is a term that has been used in both secular and ecclesiastical contexts. In the ecclesiastical context, it refers to Third Way churches that seek to chart a middle course between conservative and liberal theology. These churches emphasize social justice, inclusion and affirmation of women in leadership roles, openness to diversity in sexual orientation, and a thoughtful approach to interpreting the Bible. They also emphasize spiritual formation and ancient spiritual practices, such as prayer, fasting, and confession, alongside modern expressions of worship and community. In the secular context, the Third Way refers to a middle ground between two perceived extremes, such as political liberalism and conservatism.
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What You'll Learn
- The Third Way is a middle ground between two extremes
- Third Way churches reject the polarization of society
- Third Way churches emerged as a response to disillusionment with partisan divisions
- Third Way churches seek to recover historic orthodoxy
- Third Way churches emphasise orthopraxy over narrow orthodoxy
The Third Way is a middle ground between two extremes
The Third Way is a concept that has been used in both secular and ecclesiastical contexts. In the former, it refers to a "middle ground" between two perceived extremes, such as political liberalism and conservatism. Followers of Third Way thinking often refer to themselves as "Moderates" and attempt to draw on the values of both sides of an issue.
In a church context, Third Way congregations have emerged as a response to disillusionment with partisan divisions between evangelical and progressive strands of Christianity. They seek to recover historic orthodoxy and cultivate generous orthopraxy in a postmodern context. While specific Third Way congregations have diverse theologies and practices, they generally emphasize issues of social justice, caring for the poor and marginalized, inclusion and affirmation of women in leadership roles, and openness to diversity in sexual orientation while upholding biblical standards of marriage and sexuality.
Third Way churches position themselves as an alternative to the polarity between conservative evangelicalism, with its emphasis on doctrinal purity and moral traditionalism, and liberal forms of Christianity, which have accommodated contemporary culture and espouse more relativistic views of faith and ethics. They emphasize spiritual formation and ancient spiritual practices alongside modern expressions of worship and community, seeking to move beyond old liberal/conservative splits and find new ways of expressing historic Christian faith.
In terms of church practice, Third Way congregations are characterized by contemplative and creative worship styles, informal community life and decentralized leadership, and the integration of ancient spiritual practices like prayer, fasting, confession, and lectio divina. They embrace mystery and are less focused on theological precision, willing to live with ambiguities and paradox rather than seeking to define doctrines rigidly.
The Third Way is touted as the way of acceptance, love, equality, and interaction. Theological positions take a secondary place to "love." Concerning the issue of homosexuality, Third Way proponents try to promote peace, saying that the issue of sexual orientation should not divide Christians. While they reject the church’s traditional stance that homosexuality is sinful, they may stop short of performing gay weddings, instead teaching that homosexuals can be true Christians who are in need of affirmation and support.
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Third Way churches reject the polarization of society
The Third Way is a term that has been used in politics and economics for about a hundred years. In recent times, the term has been used in an ecclesiastical context, with some churches referring to themselves as "Third Way congregations".
In secular contexts, the Third Way refers to a "middle ground" between two perceived extremes. For instance, political liberalism and conservatism are sometimes deemed too "extreme", necessitating a Third Way between the two. People who follow Third Way thinking often refer to themselves as "Moderates" and attempt to draw from the values of both sides of an issue.
In a church context, Third Way commonly refers to those seeking a "middle ground" on the issue of homosexuality or gay marriage. Third Way churches reject the polarization of society and seek to engage with culture without being judgmental of others and without redefining their own core beliefs. They do not wish to withdraw from society, nor do they want to abandon their convictions. Instead, they choose a way of acceptance, love, equality, and interaction, with theological positions taking a secondary place to "love".
Third Way proponents promote peace and argue that the issue of sexual orientation should not divide Christians. They reject the church's traditional stance that homosexuality is sinful, but they may not perform gay weddings. They teach that homosexuals can be true Christians, who are in need of affirmation and support, and that it is time to include them in the church.
Third Way churches have emerged as a response to the disillusionment with partisan divisions between evangelical and progressive strands of Christianity. They aim to recover historic orthodoxy and cultivate generous orthopraxy in a postmodern context. While specific Third Way congregations have diverse theologies and practices, they share certain characteristics, such as an emphasis on issues of social justice, caring for the poor and marginalized, and the inclusion and affirmation of women in leadership roles. They also tend to have a thoughtful approach to interpreting the Bible, avoiding strict literalism while affirming scriptural authority.
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Third Way churches emerged as a response to disillusionment with partisan divisions
Third Way churches have emerged as a response to the disillusionment with partisan divisions between evangelical and progressive strands of Christianity. They seek to recover historical orthodoxy and cultivate generous orthopraxy in a postmodern context. The term "Third Way" refers to a middle ground between two perceived extremes. In a secular context, it can refer to the middle ground between political liberalism and conservatism.
Followers of Third Way thinking often call themselves Moderates and attempt to draw from the values of both sides of an issue. They reject the idea of choosing between fighting or surrendering and instead choose acceptance, love, equality, and interaction. Theological positions take a secondary place to "love". Third Way churches reject the polarization of society and seek to engage with it without being judgmental of others and without redefining their core beliefs.
In a church context, Third Way commonly refers to those seeking a middle ground on the issue of homosexuality or gay marriage. They reject the church's traditional stance that homosexuality is sinful but may stop short of performing gay weddings. They teach that homosexuals can be true Christians and that it is time to include them in the church rather than fight against them.
Key theological touchstones for Third Way churches include Christocentrism, generous orthodoxy, and a focus on orthopraxy over narrow orthodoxy. They emphasize social justice, caring for the poor and marginalized, inclusion and affirmation of women in leadership roles, and openness to diversity in sexual orientation while upholding biblical standards of marriage and sexuality. They also emphasize spiritual formation and ancient spiritual practices alongside modern expressions of worship and community.
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Third Way churches seek to recover historic orthodoxy
Third Way churches have emerged as a response to the disillusionment with partisan divisions between evangelical and progressive strands of Christianity. They seek to recover historic orthodoxy and cultivate generous orthopraxy in a postmodern context.
Third Way churches position themselves as an alternative to the polarity between conservative evangelicalism and liberal forms of Christianity. Conservative evangelicalism emphasizes doctrinal purity and moral traditionalism, while liberal forms of Christianity accommodate contemporary culture and espouse more relativistic views of faith and ethics. Third Way churches aim to find a middle ground between these two extremes.
They emphasize social justice, caring for the poor and marginalized, inclusion and affirmation of women in leadership roles, and openness to diversity in sexual orientation while upholding biblical standards of marriage and sexuality. They take a thoughtful approach to interpreting the Bible, avoiding strict literalism but affirming scriptural authority.
Third Way churches promote a more holistic spirituality that integrates faith across all areas of life, including justice, creativity, and community. They embrace mystery and are less focused on theological precision, recognizing the limitations of human knowledge. They also emphasize spiritual formation and ancient spiritual practices alongside modern expressions of worship and community.
In summary, Third Way churches seek to recover historic orthodoxy by finding a balanced approach that avoids the extremes of both conservative and liberal theology. They emphasize social justice, inclusion, and spiritual formation while navigating a thoughtful path between strict literalism and relativism in their interpretation of the Bible.
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Third Way churches emphasise orthopraxy over narrow orthodoxy
The Third Way is a term that has been used in a secular context for about a hundred years, referring to a middle ground between two perceived extremes. In politics, for example, Third Way thinking attempts to draw from the values of both liberalism and conservatism.
In a church context, Third Way congregations have emerged as a response to the partisan divisions between evangelical and progressive Christianity. They seek to recover historic orthodoxy and cultivate generous orthopraxy in a postmodern context. While specific congregations have diverse theologies and practices, they emphasise orthopraxy over narrow orthodoxy. This means they focus more on practical action and living a Christian life than on doctrinal purity and theological precision.
Third Way churches emphasise spiritual formation and ancient spiritual practices, such as prayer, fasting, confession, and lectio divina, alongside modern expressions of worship and community. They embrace mystery and are characterised by a willingness to live with ambiguities and paradox rather than seeking to define doctrines rigidly. They also emphasise holistic spirituality, integrating faith across all areas of life, including justice, creativity, and community.
In terms of theological touchstones, Third Way churches emphasise Christocentrism, with Jesus as the centre of Christian faith and the source of meaning and morality. They hold to generous orthodoxy, adhering to historic creedal Christian beliefs while allowing diversity in matters of secondary importance, such as sexual orientation. They reject the polarisation of society and seek to engage with culture without being judgmental of others or compromising their core beliefs.
While Third Way churches may take a middle ground on certain issues, they do not simply split the difference between opposing sides. Instead, they seek to let the Bible set its own table and unfold its own categories and story rather than squeezing it between existing ideologies. They emphasise love and acceptance, promoting peace and inclusion on issues such as homosexuality while upholding their understanding of biblical standards of marriage and sexuality.
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Frequently asked questions
Third Way Catholics are those who seek a middle ground between conservative and liberal theology. They emphasise social justice, inclusion, affirmation of women in leadership roles, openness to diversity in sexual orientation, and a thoughtful approach to interpreting the Bible.
Third Way congregations emphasise spiritual formation and ancient spiritual practices alongside modern expressions of worship and community. They also embrace mystery and take a less literal approach to interpreting the Bible, focusing on orthopraxy over narrow orthodoxy.
The term "Third Way" has been used in politics and economics for about a hundred years to describe a middle path between two perceived extremes. More recently, the term has been applied to ecclesiastical contexts to describe congregations that seek to engage with culture without compromising their core beliefs.
Some influential voices in the Third Way movement include Brian McLaren, a pastor and author associated with the Emergent Church movement; Jim Wallis, a leading voice on progressive evangelical social ethics; and Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest known for his teachings on spiritual transformation.
Critics argue that Third Way thinking assumes that the truth is always found halfway between two opposing sides, giving equal weight to both camps in every debate. This approach is seen as a simplistic compromise that fails to provide a bold alternative.
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