All Is Forgiven

Slick brochures about Protestantism in America speak of the social and psychological benefits of church attendance, with no mention of spirituality or God. Finding the sermon to be central to mainstream Protestantism, this book looks there for evidence of this secular approach in the mainstream.

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In recent years mail deliveries have included a new kind of invitation to Protestant Christianity: slick brochures enumerating the social and psychological advantages of church attendance--with no mention whatsoever of spiritual striving, suffering, or faith in God. Does this kind of secularity prevail not only in direct-mail Christianity but also in mainline Protestant churches? Finding the sermon to be the centerpiece of Protestant worship, Marsha Witten looks for the answer to this question in an in-depth analysis of preaching on an important New Testament text: the Parable of the Prodigal Son.