Red Letter Christians are a movement within Christianity that focuses on the words of Jesus Christ. The name comes from some Bibles that print the words of Jesus in red ink. Red Letter Christians emphasize living out the teachings of Jesus, especially his calls to compassion, justice and peacemaking.
Core Beliefs and Values
Here are some of the core beliefs and values of Red Letter Christians:
- A commitment to the teachings, life and example of Jesus Christ as the guide for living
- A focus on the words of Jesus (printed in red letters in some Bibles) as the center of authority
- Seeing the Bible through the lens of Jesus’s teachings, life and sacrifice
- A belief that following Jesus involves a commitment to social justice, peacemaking and lifting up the poor and oppressed
- An emphasis on unity among Christians across denominational, political and theological lines
- A rejection of partisan politics and culture wars in favor of Jesus’s ethic of compassion and care
- A holistic pro-life ethic that is just as concerned about poverty, health care, war, capital punishment and ecology as abortion
- A call to bridge divisions between evangelical Christians and progressive Christians for cooperation in living out Jesus’s gospel
In essence, Red Letter Christians want to truly live out the words and pattern of Jesus Christ in today’s world, regardless of political or theological labels. They place loving God and neighbor at the center of Christian discipleship.
History and Origins
The phrase “Red Letter Christian” was coined by Christian author Tony Campolo in 2007. However, the principles behind the movement have earlier roots. Here is a brief overview of the history and origins of Red Letter Christians:
- Some of the values of the movement reflect those of the “Social Gospel” movement of the late 19th/early 20th century, which applied Christian ethics to social problems like poverty, exploitation and violence.
- It has similarities to progressive Christianity, which emerged in the 1960s and focused on social justice, environmental stewardship and liberal theology.
- The concept of Red Letter Bibles originates from 1899, when publisher Louis Klopsch printed the words of Jesus in red ink.
- In the 1940s, members of the Confessing Movement within German Protestant churches (like Dietrich Bonhoeffer) organized around core Christian principles to counter the Nazis.
- In 1973, Latin American theologians developed Liberation Theology, which interpreted the Bible and Christian faith from the perspective of the poor and oppressed.
- The actual term Red Letter Christians was coined by Tony Campolo in articles in 2007. It quickly caught on as a movement, especially among younger evangelical Christians.
- Jim Wallis of Sojourners ministry and Shane Claiborne, founder of The Simple Way, are two prominent Red Letter Christian leaders.
- Several books further explain and promote Red Letter Christian beliefs, such as Campolo’s Red Letter Revolution (2012) and Claiborne’s Jesus for President (2008).
So while the name and organization around the term Red Letter Christian is newer, its values have earlier roots in various movements to re-focus Christianity on the life and teachings of Jesus within their social context.
Distinctive Interpretations and Practices
Red Letter Christians have some distinctive approaches to interpreting and living out the Bible and Christian faith. Here are some key examples:
- Jesus-Centered Hermeneutic: They read and apply the Bible through the words and model of Christ as the fullest revelation of God, valuing his direct teachings and example above all.
- Sermon on the Mount: The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is considered the epitome of Jesus’ moral and ethical teachings. Red Letter Christians emphasize putting its revolutionary values like mercy, peacemaking, integrity and sacrifice into action.
- Orthopraxy over Orthodoxy: Right living and actions focused on justice and compassion are valued over right beliefs and dogma.
- Reject Partisan Politics: Red Letter Christians criticize partisan fights and culture wars, instead focusing on reconciliation, working for the common good and seeking Jesus.
- Embrace Diversity: They believe in uniting with other Christians across political, denominational, ethnic and theological diversity to live out the gospel.
- Holistic Pro-Life Ethic: Every human life is sacred from conception to death, which means equally valuing unborn lives,poor lives, elderly lives, immigrant lives and more.
- Peacemaking: They take Jesus’ call to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9) seriously, promoting conflict resolution, non-violence, anti-war efforts and demilitarization.
- Environmental Stewardship: Caring for God’s creation is seen as a biblical mandate, inspiring advocacy and activism around climate change, conservation and sustainability.
In these ways and more, Red Letter Christians strive to interpret and live out the Bible in the spirit of Christ’s words, teachings and ministry.
Criticism and Controversy
As a movement attempting to redirect the focus of Christianity, Red Letter Christians have faced some criticism and controversy, including:
- Accusations of picking and choosing certain words/acts of Jesus and downplaying other parts of the Bible and historic Christianity.
- Charges of watering down the creeds and confessions of established church traditions.
- Criticism for aligning with left-leaning political ideologies in their social justice focus.
- Concern from conservatives that their approach undervalues biblical authority, truth and evangelism.
- Debates over which words in the Gospels are directly from Jesus versus the narrator.
- Questions about whether Red Letter Christians take Jesus’ hard sayings on judgment and holiness seriously enough.
- Accusations of universalism from strongly Reformed/Calvinist Christians.
- Charges of compromising too much with secular society instead of challenging its sins and values.
Red Letter Christians respond to these criticisms by claiming they are not diminishing the Bible, but highlighting Jesus’ words and model as the center of its message. They believe his life and teachings call Christians to greater compassion, service, peacemaking, inclusion, and justice instead of partisan division and conflicts.
Red Letter Christian Leaders and Organizations
Here are some of the key leaders and organizations that have promoted Red Letter Christian beliefs:
- Tony Campolo – Baptist minister and sociologist who coined the term Red Letter Christian in articles in 2007.
- Jim Wallis – Founder of Sojourners magazine and ministry focused on peace/justice issues.
- Shane Claiborne – Leading figure in the New Monasticism movement; founded The Simple Way community.
- Richard Rohr – Franciscan priest and writer with the Center for Action and Contemplation.
- Brian McLaren – Pastor and author who has advocated for progressive, emerging Christianity.
- Robin Meyers – United Church of Christ pastor and author of books like Saving Jesus from the Church.
- Frank Schaeffer – Author who has critiqued the religious right and appealed for common ground.
- The Simple Way – Christian community led by Shane Claiborne promoting social justice and peacemaking.
- Sojourners – Progressive Christian magazine and ministry headed by Jim Wallis.
- Red Letter Christians – Ecumenical movement and website promoting Red Letter values.
- Christians for Social Action – Organization advocating for justice, peace and environmental stewardship.
These individuals and organizations represent a diversity of denominations but are united in focusing Christianity on emulating the words and model of Jesus Christ.
Key Issues and Social Justice Focus
Red Letter Christians emphasize a social justice and peacemaking focus which leads them to actively address many key social, economic and political issues. Some of the main categories include:
- Poverty/Inequality: Tackling economic injustice, predatory capitalism and the gross inequalities of wealth, advocating for the poor and marginalized.
- Racial Justice: Confronting systemic racism, white privilege, mass incarceration and police brutality.
- Immigration: Calling for more humane immigration policies and comprehensive reform; standing with undocumented immigrants and refugees.
- Healthcare: Promoting universal access to affordable healthcare as a human right.
- Environmentalism: Advocating for policies and lifestyles that address climate change and promote sustainability, conservation and care for God’s creation.
- War/Violence: Opposing unjust wars, seeking nonviolent solutions, reducing military spending to fund social needs instead.
- Death Penalty: Calling for the abolition of capital punishment as inconsistent with the sanctity of life.
- Women’s Rights: Supporting full equality, empowerment and opportunities for women in church and society.
- LGBTQ Rights: Affirming the full inclusion and equal human dignity of LGBTQ persons.
- Politics: Transcending partisan divides to seek unity, justice, reconciliation, and the common good.
Red Letter Christians support these and other compassion-driven causes because they see them as legitimate implications of taking Jesus’ words and example seriously. They criticize Christians who focus narrowly on one or two issues while ignoring other major justice concerns central to Jesus’s kingdom ethics. Instead, they advocate for a consistent ethic of life and justice.
Relationship to Evangelicalism
Red Letter Christians have a complex relationship with evangelical Christianity. On the one hand:
- Many leaders like Campolo and Wallis identify as evangelicals theologically.
- The movement originated partly among young evangelicals looking for a social justice orientation.
- Their high view of biblical authority and call to evangelism/conversion overlap with evangelicalism.
- They share common doctrinal beliefs like Christ’s divinity and resurrection.
However, Red Letter Christians also criticize parts of evangelicalism for:
- Making conservative partisan politics a primary focus.
- Conflating faith with support for militarism and free-market economics.
- Demonizing their political opponents and fostering culture wars.
- Focusing on personal morality over social justice, peace and environmental stewardship.
- Being too insular from society instead of engaged with solving its problems.
So while sharing some common history and theology with evangelicalism, Red Letter Christians argue that the movement has lost its way from Christ’s focus on living justly and loving others. They call evangelicals back to the core values and practices at the heart of Jesus’s life and teachings.
Growth and Influence
Over the past two decades, the Red Letter Christian movement has grown substantially, gaining influence especially among younger progressive evangelicals and helped shape American Christianity in several ways:
- It has connected many evangelicals to a social justice and peacemaking platform they felt was lacking in the traditional evangelical political framework.
- It has built strong bridges between evangelicals focused on justice issues and the broader progressive Christian community.
- It has helped give evangelicalism a framework for engaging social problems and not just personal morality issues.
- It provides a justice-focused interpretation of the Bible to counter more fundamentalist approaches.
- It offers an alternative political voice from the previous evangelical linkage with the Republican party and conservative movement.
- It fosters greater unity between Christians across racial, denominational and political divides.
- It highlights the radical countercultural force of Jesus’s teachings on money, power, violence, inclusion and love.
- It keeps a strong focus on emulating the character, ethics and mission of Jesus Christ in the public square.
Through its authors, conferences, campus groups and online presence, the Red Letter Christian movement continues to gain influence. While not immune from critique, it provides an important justice-centered perspective on Christianity that appeals to many believers concerned with following Jesus’s challenging but life-giving teachings.