Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Food for Thought: Andrew Sullivan and Retrofitted Christianity
Food for Thought: Andrew Sullivan and Retrofitted Christianity
Nov 24, 2025 9:08 PM

The Hugh Hewitt/Andrew Sullivan kerfuffle has been mentioned a few times on the PowerBlog (here and here, for example), and while the dust has largely settled from that event, the issues that it raised continue to be addressed in various corners of the blogosphere. The most interesting (and mentary that I’ve read on Sullivan and his new book is by the Rev. Dr. Mark Roberts, who serves as Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California. Roberts’ critique is well worth a read in full, but here’s a sample to get you going:

I find Sullivan’s thoughts about Christianity fascinating for several reasons. One is that he epitomizes something I’d call “Retrofitted Christianity.” What do I mean by this? If you look up “retrofit” in the dictionary, one definition reads: “To provide with parts, devices, or equipment not in existence or available at the time of original manufacture.” If you retrofit a classic car, for example, you might give it a new engine that wasn’t available when the car was first built. So retrofitted Christianity is a version of classic faith that includes new parts that weren’t there at first. Some people, like Andrew Sullivan, think this is a better or even more authentic version of the faith. Others, like me, for example, are concerned that the retrofitted version of Christianity exemplified by Sullivan lacks some essential parts, even though it gets some things right.

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Profile of an Acton University Attendee
Acton University 2015 Participants After working in the DC area for nearly twenty years, Judi Niedercorn recently moved to the Northern Appalachian area of New York where she founded the Northern Appalachian Socio-Economic Collaborative (NASEC) and is in the midst of transferring pany, SysTactics. pany, SysTactics provides technical and managerial consulting services mercial and government clients. NASEC is a non-profit enabling munities of Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties in New York to improve the economy and fight poverty. NASEC is a...
Greece: By The Numbers
Greece’s economic problems are so prehension is difficult. Over at NPR, Greg Myre breaks it down for us. 25: The unemployment rate, and that’s probably low-balling. For those under the age of 25, the unemployment rate hovers around 50 percent. 92: The average e earned by a typical citizen is under-reported by 92 percent, on average, to the government. Tax evasion is endemic in Greece and a major contributor to the government’s budget shortfalls. Creditors are demanding this be addressed...
Hard Hearted Lutherans Behind Greece’s Problems?
Martin Luther: Inventor of Austerity?On the The Economist’s religion and public policy blog, the writer Erasmus pokes holes in a theory put forth by Giles Fraser, a left wing Anglican priest, who sees conflicting theories of the atonement of Christ as one of the causes of so much misunderstanding in the European Union. Erasmus explains: … traditional Protestant and Catholic teaching has presented the self-sacrifice of Christ as the payment of a debt to God the Father. In this view,...
Does ‘Laudato Si’ Lead Inevitably to Fossil Fuel Divestment?
The unfortunate fallout of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si continues apace. One wishes the pontiff would’ve released it in four separate installments to avoid misinterpretation and seeming – to this reader, at least – contradictions throughout a somewhat unwieldy 180-some pages in which he alternately praises and disparages human technological improvements over the past two centuries. On one hand, he admires mankind’s ingenuity as an example of God’s blessing, but, on the other hand, he doth protest too much methinks...
Five fundamental First Amendment freedoms in five minutes
Thirty-three percent of Americans cannot name any of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment. That’s a startling finding in the 2015 State of the First Amendment Survey, a project sponsored by the Newseum Institute. Since the question was first asked in 2000, the percentage of citizens who can’t name a single right protected by First Amendment has ranged from 27 to 40 percent. Many of us might be tempted to shake our head in despair at the ignorance of...
The Economy of Order: Justice Requires Love
Jean Valjean in “Ep. 4: The Economy of Order” “Seeking justice isn’t a matter of designing the right programs or delivery systems… Seeking order means acting in accord with a true vision of our brothers and sisters.” –Evan Koons American society and public discourse seem to be stuck in a state of feverish discord, rightly concerned with severe acts and systems of injustice, even as we continue to dig deeper cultural divides over everything from healthcare to sexual ethics, race...
CRC Leadership on Climate Change
Would the denominational leadership of the Christian Reformed Church (CRCNA) rather talk about climate change than abortion or marriage? The CRCNA has a website for that. Based on the launch of a denominational “Climate Change Witness Project,” which I explore at Acton Commentary today, I think thisis a legitimate question. The Office of Social Justice, which is leading the project, has previously been criticized by synod for its lack of attention to life issues. A quick scan of the quarterly...
Greece, America, and the Pension Tipping Point
“Massive government and public-sector bined with runaway deficit spending on increased welfare and pension programs has, in part, led to Greece’s economic downfall,” says Zack Pruitt in this week’s Acton Commentary. Could America be heading down the same path? While America does not have the same problems collectively as Greece, similar pension debt vulnerabilities are arising across the country. Unfunded state public pension liabilities (the shortfall between promises made to retirees and workers and the funds currently available to pay...
Does Buying Fair Trade Goods Help Poor Workers?
Over the past decade, fair trade products, such as coffee, chocolate, and fruit, have e an increasingly popular option for helping the global poor. But while the intentions are noble, does buying fair trade have the intended effect? Does it actually help the poorest workers? Economist Donald Boudreaux explains why it usually doesn’t, and why there are better ways to improve living standards in developing countries. ...
Walker: ‘Praised be technology’
In today’s Morning Sun, Bruce Edward Walker writes about the eco-encyclical’s short-sightedness when es to the merits of technological advancement. To be fair, much of Laudato Si dispenses with progressive calls for population control bat climate change, and goes to great lengths to reiterate Catholic doctrine on abortion and euthanasia and even includes a portion on human ecology wherein Francis discusses natural law regarding gender identity. Rather than wading into the muddy waters of climate-change hype, which, in any event,...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved