Gnostic preaching

  Throughout Against the Protestant Gnostics, Philip J. Lee moves back and forth between liberalism and evangelicalism as he explores manifestations of gnosticism.  Interestingly, he does not clarify which of these two Protestant traditions he has in view in this comment on preaching, which in my experience applies equally well to both.  "These various secular attempts at line-blurring, which have largely been prompted by a gnosticized Protestant thought, ironically are now indirectly exerting an effect on church life itself.  ...A typical Protestant sermon is a verbal essay on a contemporary theme, sometimes employing biblical illustrations in support of the essayist's point of view.  The preacher who is bound to the text, confined to what he or she perceives as the biblical point of view, is a curiosity."