Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Was Jesus Conservative or Progressive in His Faith?


Who is the Founder of Progressive Christianity?

by James F. McGrath
July 16, 2022

Rather than give “Jesus” as a one-word answer to the question of who founded progressive Christianity, let me begin with a quote from something I wrote here on my Patheos blog some years ago which makes that same point but in more words and with more detail, which those who are skeptical of my assertion will need if they are to be persuaded:

If “liberal Christianity” means Christianity that reflects the cosmology and worldview of a particular era, then the earliest Christianity is liberal Christianity. It is only later, as cosmologies and worldviews changed, that some insisted on clinging to the views of an earlier era, because those happened to be part of the worldview of previous generations of Christians, including the Bible’s authors. That is why “conservative” Christianity ends up being a very radical departure from earliest Christianity, even in the process of fighting to try to keep the same worldview as they had to the minimal extent that that is even possible. By making the assumptions of prior generations into articles of faith, they stand against and not with the approach of the earliest Christians, even while claiming to defend their specific beliefs.

Let me immediately add that it may not be helpful to speak of Jesus as the “founder” of Christianity, as though he was seeking to start a new world religion. Jesus, like most “founders” of new religions, did not intend to do so but was instead a reformer within his own religion, Judaism. The process of getting from there to here reflects the progressiveness of Jesus that I’ll be seeking to highlight here. My point is that, to the extent that progressive Christianity has a beginning, that beginning is with Jesus and has continued unabated ever since.

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Everyone is more progressive or liberal than some people and less so than others. Progressive and liberal are tendencies along a spectrum and not absolute binary categories. In the case of Jesus, can anyone really deny that he was open to taking things in a new direction, to innovation and change? He taught his followers to do the same. This doesn’t mean that there weren’t elements in which Jesus was conservative, just as is true of his progressive followers today. Many progressives are also interested in getting back behind developments in doctrine and institutional structures to a simplicity they associate with Jesus and his first disciples. That’s very Protestant, and in one sense is inherently conservative. 

Those who are defined as conservatives today often claim to be doing (or at least trying to do) the same thing. But those who are most often labeled conservative are seeking to go back to the supposed original beliefs and practices of Christians and to replicate them irrespective of the changes that have taken place since then and the differences between our own context and that in which Christianity first arose.

Progressives, on the other hand, seek to implement in our time the same openness, the same guiding principles, that Jesus emphasized. Just as he was open to recognizing genuine and even superior faith among those who tended to be defined out of the people of God in his time (Matthew 8:10), today’s progressive Christians seek to do likewise. As Jesus envisaged Gentiles coming to the messianic banquet to dine alongside the Israelite Patriarchs (Matthew 8:11), Paul and others went against the clear teaching of Genesis which required the circumcision of all who were part of Abraham’s household. Instead these Christians insisted (over against the conservative Christians of their own time) that if God had shown that uncircumcised Gentiles are accepted by pouring out the Holy Spirit on them, circumcision must not be essential (Galatians 3:2-5).

As I have said here on my blog before, “Conservative Christians often claim to be the most faithful interpreters of Scripture. But it seems to me that if we have ears to hear what the Spirit was saying to the churches down the ages, it will become clear that focusing on written words and using them to argue against what the Spirit is doing often led people to be on the ‘wrong side’ as far as the Bible’s own perspective is concerned. And part of the message of many parts of the Bible is a warning to learn from such mistakes of the past.” Paul did not feel that pointing out “what the Bible says” settled a matter. Neither did Jesus, who famously said that Moses was the one who permitted divorce in scripture but God’s ideal for human beings was lifelong fidelity (Matthew 19:8).

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Those who wrote the Gospels in Greek were likewise progressive inasmuch as they cared less about preserving the exact words of Jesus in his native tongue Aramaic, than they did about communicating the core of his message as they understood it to as wide an audience as possible, which meant writing in Greek, the lingua franca of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Early Christian apologists like Justin Martyr (the original “apologists” before modern internet debaters sullied the term) stood in this tradition as well, being open to Greek and Roman philosophies and the insights they offered. All through the ages there have been those who have stood in this tradition, and so in that sense there is an unbroken lineage of progressive Christianity that connects Jesus to the present day.

Liberal Protestants closer to our time - such as Martin Luther King Jr. - must also be included. Many conservatives embrace his emphasis on racial equality, completely unaware that he represents a liberal Baptist position. If one reads his essay on the topic of the divinity, virgin birth, and resurrection of Jesus that he wrote while a student at Crozer Theological Seminary, one will find things that reflect the stance of today’s liberal and progressive Christians.

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Having put matters in those terms let me now pose an important question: Why Switch to Progressive?

I realize that sounds like a slogan in a car insurance ad but that’s not what I mean here, as is hopefully clear from the context.

In the first instance the question is about the terminology (which I confess I don’t find all that helpful). Why do people tend to identify as “progressive” Christians nowadays when a generation ago they tended to use the label “liberal”? 

Progressive doesn’t have a meaning that is clearly distinct from liberal. Moreover, some progressive, or liberal Christians, are theologically conservative but politically liberal, while others are the exact reverse. There’s potential for misunderstanding, to say the least. However, because liberalism reflected a stance that was very modern and shaped by the values of the Enlightenment (just as fundamentalism is shaped by that same context as the flip side of liberalism and a reaction against it), those who have accepted postmodern critiques of liberalism tend to prefer the term “progressive.”

Yet the same openness to new insights (whether from biblical study, history, science, psychology, or anywhere else) characterize the two. Progressive Christianity thus reflects the present-day iteration of a liberal/progressive approach to God, faith, and other human beings that we can trace back as far as the very beginnings of Christianity, to Jesus himself.

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Hopefully the above makes clear another sense in which I want to answer the question, “Why switch to Progressive?”

Why do I think others should embrace progressive Christianity? Because it reflects the outlook of Jesus and his earliest followers.

Christianity has always been bridging gaps, including outsiders, challenging assumptions, and innovating new beliefs and structures.

Some deny that, and so, rather than speak about progressive Christianity, I’d much rather talk simply about Christianity, or about honest Christianity, one that doesn’t pretend that there is no picking and choosing going on, just a preservation of a faith in static stagnant sameness.

[But], that has never been the case.

The key difference between progressive Christians and conservatives is that progressives acknowledge the fact that we preserve things selectively, that we pick and choose, and that we never fail to experience change. We do not view this process negatively the way conservatives do, even though they participate in the same processes, however much they might try to deny this is so.

That’s the answer in a nutshell.

It could have been briefer, as I indicated at the outset. I could have said “Jesus is the founder of progressive Christianity” and left it at that. But many people today treat conservative forms of Christianity as the default, as though they genuinely represent the classic historic Christian faith. In actual fact they merely preserve a dogmatic rejection of change that arose in that specific form relatively recently in history.

There were conservatives among the earliest Christians, and we read about them because they did things like opposing Paul’s proclamation to Gentiles of a gospel that did not require circumcision. It is ironic that today’s conservatives cite Paul’s letters as authoritative when they represent the stance of Paul’s opponents.

TL; DR: The core of Christianity was progressive from its beginning, and today’s progressives continue that tradition.


Also related to this topic:
Finally, a couple of memes you can share:





Diana Butler Bass - Understanding Christian Nationalism, Parts 1-3

Vote Common Good is trying to get Pennsylvania voters to understand the dangers of Christian nationalism. https://www.votecommongood.com/penn-live-in-billboards-evangelical-group-urges-faith-voters-to-ditch-support-of-mastriano/

Understanding Christian Nationalism

An invitation to explore the movement shaping American politics

by Diana Butler Bass
September 14, 2022

I got an email this week from a reader letting me know that his adult education group was using the recent Christian nationalism posts from The Cottage as a multi-week study leading up to the fall elections.

What a great idea! Until I read his note, however, I didn’t realize that I’d written a post each month since July on the subject. It certainly wasn’t a planned series. It just happened in conjunction with the news — and the intense interest in the subject of Christian nationalism.

He inspired me to turn the Christian nationalism essays into a three-part discussion curriculum that you can use.

Today’s post links all three of the essays in a single newsletter. I hope this will be helpful to you. Some may want to use these posts as my friend’s congregation is — for others that may be too controversial and you might want to read them in a small group. I do suggest that you engage them with others if possible.

I invite you to re-read them as a group — and with a group. I’ve enclosed some discussion questions for you to think about the ideas presented in each essay as well.

This three-part exploration of Christian nationalism involves terminology, theology, and history. It isn’t exhaustive (there’s much more that can be said), but it is provocative, thoughtful, and timely. And, since the essays are short, you needn’t read an entire book to engage important issues.

Of course, you may agree or disagree with various points and interpretations. That’s expected! Talking about a subject is often a good way toward greater understanding — and moderating fear we might have. Each of these posts comes from my own wrestling with these difficult days.


ESSAY #1: CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM EVERYWHERE?

In this essay, I explore the term “Christian nationalism” and suggest we might need to make finer distinctions in how we define political impulses in white evangelicalism.

Christian Nationalism Everywhere?



2 months ago · 60 comments · Diana Butler Bass

For discussion:
  • What do you think about the central claim of this essay? “Both of these things are true: America is not a Christian nation. And the United States was shaped by Protestantism.”
  • Why is it important to understand this paradoxical proposition? What might it mean for politics to grasp this history?


* * * * *


ESSAY #2: BAD BLOOOD

In recent weeks, talk of Civil War has skyrocketed. This essay looks at the connection between political conflict and theology that lends itself toward violence. This was one of the most widely read, shared, and discussed posts of the year at The Cottage.




a month ago · 90 comments · Diana Butler Bass

For discussion:
  • Do you worry that the central claim of Christianity involves blood and violence?
  • What do you make of this statement?: “Not every Christian who holds to the theory of blood-atonement is a Christian nationalist, but Christian nationalism depends on this theology and can’t survive without it.”
  • How might Christian theology, churches, and preachers address this? Where do you see these ideas in the news? Have you ever considered how bad theology might inspire political violence?


* * * * *


ESSAY #3: BAD HISTORY

Although most political commentators haven’t paid attention, white evangelical politics has been supported by and is twinned with a particular view of providential history. This essay returns to the theme of “Christian nation-ism” vs. “Christian nationalism” and explores it through history.




6 days ago · 63 likes · 58 comments · Diana Butler Bass

For discussion:
  • What do you make of the popularity of a book like The Light and the Glory?
  • And what does it mean that two best-selling histories — The Light and the Glory and A People’s History of the United States — seem to have helped create the political divisions today?
  • Why is history so often a contentious subject? Why do people fight over the past? Do you know someone who believes in this providential history?

Public Witness on Substack has been running some very good pieces about Christian nationalism. I particularly appreciated this recent post on Doug Mastriano. I recommend both their newsletter and their news and opinion website, Word and Way.

* * * * *

INSPIRATION

If you understand your own place and its intricacy and the possibility of affection and good care of it, then imaginatively you recognize that possibility for other places and other people. If you wish well to your own place and you recognize that your own place is part of the world, then this requires a well-wishing toward the whole world. In return you hope for the world's well-wishing to your place.

This is a different impulse from the impulse of nationalism. This is what I would call patriotism, the love of a home country that's usually much smaller than a nation. Nationalism always implies competition, always the wish that your nation might thrive even at the expense of other nations. Patriotism is the love of a home place or a home country that recognizes the obligation of charity toward other places and other people, and it recognizes that the prosperity of your place need not come at the expense of the prosperity of other places. There is a generosity, a charity, in what I recognize is the true patriotism, which is not necessarily implied by nationalism.

— Wendell Berry

 

The Cottage is a reader-supported publication. You can sign up to receive The Cottage for free or upgrade to a paid subscription.

 

Friday, September 16, 2022

Why did Neanderthals become extinct?



Why did Neanderthals become extinct?


Who were the Neanderthals? | DW Documentary
Oct 17, 2022

Long before Homo sapiens populated the earth, the Neanderthals lived in Eurasia. Now, paleoanthropologists in England and France are using new archeological methods to shed light on some previously unexplained Neanderthal mysteries.

In an age clouded by the mists of time, the first early humans colonized the Eurasian continent. They settled on land that had only recently been covered by glaciers. This species, called Neanderthals, died out about 30,000 years ago -- but at one time, they formed the largest group in an area that stretched from northern France to the Belgian coast and from the Channel Islands to southern England.

During the last Ice Age, the North Sea was frozen over -- and the English Channel was a small river that could easily be crossed on foot. The Neanderthals lived in close harmony with their perpetually changing environment. They had everything they needed to survive: the meat of prey animals, edible wild plants, water and wood for cooking and heating. How did these early humans develop over almost 300,000 years? What were their lives like before they became extinct?

Our documentary is based on the latest research. We investigate various populations of Neanderthals, and visit archaeological sites in northern France, southern England, and on the island of Jersey.

Renowned researchers such as the British paleoanthropologist Chris Stringer and his French colleague Ludovic Slimak describe how the Neanderthals lived, and discuss their cognitive abilities. Was this species capable of structured thinking? Did they have cultures, languages, and societies? How intelligent were they, and what sort of adaptive strategies kept them alive for 300,000 years? How similar were they to modern-day humans?

* * * * * * *

Related Reference:


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Neanderthals 101 | National Geographic
Oct 13, 2017

Who were the Neanderthals? Do humans really share some of their DNA? Learn facts about Neanderthal man, the traits and tools of Homo neanderthalensis, and how the species fits into our evolution story.
Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe

A Neanderthal Odyssey:
Everything We Know about the Neanderthals
NORTH 02  |  May 16, 2023  |  3:16:34

In this documentary, we discuss everything we know about the enigmatic Neanderthals. We dive deep into the latest scientific discoveries, archaeological findings, and genetic research to uncover the truths about Neanderthals. Through expert interviews, immersive visuals, and engaging storytelling, we shed light on their physical characteristics, intelligence, social structures, and cultural achievements.

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Thursday, September 15, 2022

THE RINGS OF POWER - Episode by Episode Breakdown & Interviews


Explanation of Resources
by R.E. Slater

RESOURCE 1 - VID LIBRARY
I chose video-author "Nerd of the Rings" for his full historical overviews of Tolkien's Middle-Earth which histories are viewable here.  On that link you will find a vast library of short videos explaining Tolkien's Middle-Earth.
Below, however, will be all things related to "The Rings of Power" which are not from Tolkien's pen but are speculative stories based upon Tolkien's incomplete histories of the First and Second Ages of Middle-earth.
In essence then, I have developed two indexes... one index related to Tolkien and the other index here to derivatives works from Tolkien's writings imagined in Prime Video's film series of "The Rings of Power." Enjoy.

 

RESOURCE 2 - WRITTEN LIBRARY
I have created an even fuller list of Middle-Earth articles over the past month to further assist in understanding Middle-Earth's vast fictional histories. This will include:
  • my take on Christian process philosophy and theology including relevant indexes related to that subject. Like Tolkien's writings, this is the subject matter which has captivated me to invest ten years of updating a Christianity which has become radically out-of-date with its source, Jesus, requiring its deconstruction and reconstruction on better grounds than it has had traditionally.
  • Next, there will be found a very full list of Tolkien's legendarium which I felt is related to "The Rings of Power" (Ages 1 and 2 of Middle-Earth); and finally,
  • An Index of five (5) videos discussing Tolkien's Middle-Earth from a contemporary Intersectional-Process view through a series of podcasts hosted by Homebrewed's Tripp Fuller.

 

RESOURCE 3 & 4 - THE RINGS OF POWER
  • Here, on this site today, with the help of "Nerd of the Rings" we will complete Prime Video's remake of Tolkien's Second Age of Middle-Earth, The Rings of Power week to week. as they come out. Enjoy! 

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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Official Trailer | Prime Video
Jul 14, 2022
The legend begins. #TheRingsOfPower

The Rings of Power brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.
Beginning in a time of relative peace [beginning of Middle-Earth's Second Age], the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.


The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Official Trailer | Prime Video
Aug 23, 2022

The Rings of Power brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.
Beginning in a time of relative peace [beginning of Middle-Earth's Second Age], the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.

Rings of Power Episode 1 BREAKDOWN
Lord of the Rings on Prime Explained
Sep 2, 2022 

Deep dive into Rings of Power Episode 1: "Shadow of the Past" !  We'll look for all the references to Tolkien's deeper lore, explain what is happening, and I'll give some thoughts along the way.

Rings of Power Episode 2 BREAKDOWN
Lord of the Rings on Prime Explained
Sep 2, 2022



Rings of Power Episode 3 BREAKDOWN
Lord of the Rings on Prime Explained
 Sep 9, 2022



Episode 4 - missing

Episode 5 - missing


Rings of Power Episode 6 BREAKDOWN
Lord of the Rings on Prime Explained
 Sep 30, 2022



The History of Mordor & Mount Doom
Tolkien Explained
Oct 1, 2022



LIVE with Tyroe Muhafidin (Theo, The Rings of Power)
Streamed live on Oct 4, 2022



Rings of Power Episode 7 WATCH PARTY
Streamed live on Oct 6, 2022



Rings of Power Episode 7 BREAKDOWN
Lord of the Rings on Prime Explained
Oct 7, 2022



Sauron the Shapeshifter
Tolkien Explained
Oct 8, 2022



LIVE with Jed Brophy, Phil Grieve, Luke Hawker,
& Robert Strange - Uruks in The Rings of Power!
Streamed live on Oct 12, 2022



Rings of Power Episode 8 Finale WATCH PARTY
Streamed live on Oct 13, 2022



Rings of Power Episode 8 FINALE BREAKDOWN
Lord of the Rings on Prime Explained
Oct 14, 2022



The Complete Travels of Celeborn
Tolkien Explained
Oct 15, 2022



LIVE with Jamie Wilson, Head of Prosthetics on The Rings of Power
Streamed live Oct 18, 2022




A Complete Video History of Middle-earth - by Nerd of the Rings





Recommended: View by "Full Playlist"
for chronological historical ordering
R.E. Slater
I chose video-author "Nerd of the Rings" for his historical overviews of Middle-Earth. Here, on this page I've tweaked the main lists to jive chronologically with Tolkien's dates. Otherwise, all sub-lists are as the video-author intended. Many thanks to his efforts and the help they may provide to traveller's journeying through Tolkien's vast lands and legends of Middle-Earth!

By Nerd of the Rings 

Sharing a passion for all things Tolkien!  On Nerd of the Rings, I'll post videos explaining characters and concepts from Middle-earth history, map the travels and events, gaming, Amazon's Rings of Power series ( #LOTRonPrime ), and more!

If you love the Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, the Silmarillion, the books, the movies, the music - any and all of Middle-earth, please subscribe and join me in this adventure.  I am honored to share this love of Tolkien with such excellent and admirable hobbits!





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TOLKIEN THEORY

In these videos, we speculate on some of the mysteries
of Middle-earth and play out some "What If" scenarios!



What if Gandalf Took the Ring? | Tolkien Theory




Tuesday, September 13, 2022

CI - Course Offering: Whitehead's Process Philosophy by Andrew Davis




Live Session Info

Dates: October 5, 2022 – November 2, 2022
Times: Wednesdays, 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM Pacific
Zoom Info: Click on the session links below to access. (You must be enrolled in the course.)

Course Summary

While “process philosophy” is wider than the work of Alfred North Whitehead, the depth and dynamism of his thought principally inspire its modern expression. This five-part course introduces students and life-long learners to the central themes, contours, and ideas of Whitehead’s “philosophy of organism.”

Course Description

Whitehead’s “philosophy of organism” is one of the most significant attempts in all of philosophy to think through what reality must be like because you are apart of it. His philosophical vision is at once vast, various, and prismatic. His wife Evelyn once used the wonderful metaphor of a prism to describe his thinking, saying: “It must be seen not from one side alone but from all sides, then from underneath and overhead. So seen, as one moves around it, the prism is full of changing lights and colours. To have seen it from one side only is to not have seen it.” The five sessions of this course aim to reveal the various sides, lights, and colors belonging to Whitehead’s process philosophy from the microscopic to the macroscopic, and in direct relation to your experience as an expression of the universe.

Session one surveys the basic thematic and historical dimensions of “process philosophy” as a current of philosophical thinking with both ancient antecedents and creative modern expressions. Session two dives into Whitehead’s analysis of human experience, clarifies the fundamentals of his “philosophy of organism,” and considers some of the challenges, problems or questions that often emerge from his theory. Session three clarifies the fundamental place of possibility, novelty and value in Whitehead’s philosophy, particularly in relation to human experience as an expression of both biological and cosmological evolution. Session four explores Whitehead’s understanding of the philosophical function of God, including the roles of the “primordial” and “consequent” natures, as well as other important philosophical principles. Session five concludes the course by considering Whitehead’s critiques of the theological tradition and the relevance and/or religious availability of “process panentheism” as a fruitful means of modeling the God-world relationship.

Course Resources



Course Content










P&F / Sherri Kling - The Universal God:Integral Consciousness & Process Theology



A Special Invite from Process & Faith

P&F / Sherri Kling - The Universal God:
Integral Consciousness & Process Theology


Process & Faith (a program of the Center for Process Studies at Claremont School of Theology)
is a multi-faith network for relational spirituality and the common good, and my friends there have announced some pretty zesty offerings that I thought you’d want to know about.

First, there’s an online class that begins Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 7:30 EDT called “The Biblical Narrative and Universal God Identity: Integral Theology and Process Approaches.” In this six-session course, Doug King (founder of Presence International) and Sheri Kling (director of Process & Faith and the John Cobb Legacy Fund) will guide students through an exploration of integral consciousness and spiral dynamics using integral and process theologies to reveal the message of universal God identity in the Judeo-Christian biblical narrative.

Could it be that Jesus and Paul both promoted a world-centric identity? If so, the implications may dramatically affect the future of long-held Christian views of identity and might actually point to something beyond exclusionary models and separation thinking.

“The convergence of quantum physics, evolutionary biology and ecology are pointing to an underlying field of unity. If God is all in all, how would the Biblical Narrative align with these scientific findings?” Doug King.

All sessions will be recorded and available through the learning platform. Learn more here.





If you’re still hungry for more, then take a look at the 3-hour online seminar P&F is offering on Sept. 30 at 8pm EDT called “*Process Thinking and Human Living*.” This one features Patricia Adams Farmer (“Beauty in Troubled Times”), Andrew Davis (“Ideas in Process: Five Whiteheadian Transitions”), Bruce Epperly (“Healing Politics: Process and Political Theology”), and Sheri Kling (“Wholeness and Transformation: A Process Spirituality”). Co-convened along with the Network of Spiritual Progressives (Australia) and the Centre for Interfaith Understanding (Singapore), and co-sponsored by the Cobb Institute, this event is meant to spark reflection on the way we think about the workings of our cosmos and the impact of those beliefs on the way we live. Our unquestioned assumptions can negatively affect our world, and so these four speakers will offer some zesty alternatives!

Process thought often has more in common with ways of thinking that are found in the East – such as in the traditions of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism – than it does with the dominant worldview in the West. How might we apply these resources in both East and West to address the division and suffering we see in our world today?

Six Sessions Exploring Universal God Identity In the Biblical Narrative Through the Lenses of Integral Consciousness and Process Theology

WHO: Doug King and Sheri D. Kling
WHAT: Six Online Sessions
WHEN: Tuesdays @ 4:30 - 6:00 PM PST
Begins September 13th
WHERE: Online via Zoom

In this six-session course, Doug King (founder of Presence International) and Sheri Kling (director of Process & Faith) will guide students through an exploration of integral consciousness and spiral dynamics using integral and process theologies to reveal the message of universal God identity in the Judeo-Christian biblical narrative.

"The convergence of quantum physics, evolutionary biology and ecology are pointing to an underlying field of unity. If God is all in all, how would the Biblical Narrative align with these scientific findings?" -Doug King

Course Description

Both process thought and integral consciousness provide a developmental approach to the evolution of human consciousness. Process philosophy and theology have been used as life-giving tools in interpretation of the biblical narrative and this course will investigate the use of integral consciousness models as complementary to biblical interpretation as well. Our primary question will be whether the biblical narrative has always been evolving toward and into universal God identity. The implications of the possible answers to that question can dramatically affect the future of long held Christian views of identity. This is especially true if the biblical narrative points to something beyond separation thinking with regard to identity.

In this course, we will use models like Spiral Dynamics to trace biblical history, finding meaning both in its original setting and as a process story of the evolution of spiritual consciousness with regard to God identity. Spiral Dynamics uses a two-tier framework, and we’ll begin by seeing how it is applied to various fields of study. Next, we’ll apply this approach to the biblical narrative, examining each first-tier level or stage and comparing it to biblical history. Then we’ll look at Tier 2 and the development of integral consciousness as a unitive step. As we go, we’ll build on the principles behind the process to see how each level or stage of development produces necessary values that become part of a “transcend and include” understanding of identity. Finally, we’ll explore the implications of process or developmental models for religion itself, particularly the religion of Christianity and its future. The possibilities are literally world changing.

Course Outline

Session 1: Introduction: Spiral Dynamics and the Biblical Narrative
Session 2: Archaic, Tribal, Identity & Separation
Session 3: Warrior, Traditional, and the Seeds of Integral
Session 4: Modern, Postmodern, and Second Tier
Session 5: Christology and Eschatology, Form and Transform
Session 6: Universal God Identity

“There is a unity in the universe, enjoying value and (by its immanence) sharing value. When we survey nature and think however flitting and superficial has been the animal enjoyment of its wonders, and when we realize how incapable the separate cells and pulsations of each flower are of enjoying the total effect – then our sense of the value of the details for the totality dawns upon our consciousness. This is the intuition of holiness, the intuition of the sacred, which is at the foundation of all religion.” - Alfred North Whitehead

About the Instructors


Doug King is CEO of Presence International, a growing network that engages emergent, integral, and interspiritual organizations and idea leaders to facilitate a “global conversation for a new earth.” Doug is steeped in biblical scholarship and worked alongside his father Max King to develop Presence to offer events, a podcast, and other teaching resources.


Sheri D. Kling, Ph.D., is the director of Process and Faith with the Center for Process Studies of the Claremont School of Theology and director of the John Cobb Legacy Fund. In her teaching and writing, Sheri draws from wisdom and mystical traditions, relational worldviews, depth psychology, and the intersection of spirituality and science to help people transform their lives. She is a faculty member of the Haden Institute, the author of A Process Spirituality: Christian and Transreligious Resources for Transformation, and can be found online at www.sherikling.com.

If you’d like to join the P&F community, you can also sign up for a free membership and join one or more of the 19 Paths (from Harvard’s Pluralism Project) if you’d like to connect with others interested in relational spirituality and the common good.

Head over here to join



Meet the Instructors

Presence Joins Process and Faith
New Course Offering
Sep 1, 2022

Course Description:
Both process thought and integral consciousness provide a developmental approach to the evolution of human consciousness. Process philosophy and theology have been used as life-giving tools in interpretation of the biblical narrative and this course will investigate the use of integral consciousness models as complementary to biblical interpretation as well. Our primary question will be whether the biblical narrative has always been evolving toward and into universal God identity. The implications of the possible answers to that question can dramatically affect the future of long held Christian views of identity. This is especially true if the biblical narrative points to something beyond separation thinking with regard to identity.

In this course, we will use models like Spiral Dynamics to trace biblical history, finding meaning both in its original setting and as a process story of the evolution of spiritual consciousness with regard to God identity. Spiral Dynamics uses a two-tier framework, and we’ll begin by seeing how it is applied to various fields of study. Next, we’ll apply this approach to the biblical narrative, examining each first-tier level or stage and comparing it to biblical history. Then we’ll look at Tier 2 and the development of integral consciousness as a unitive step. As we go, we’ll build on the principles behind the process to see how each level or stage of development produces necessary values that become part of a “transcend and include” understanding of identity. Finally, we’ll explore the implications of process or developmental models for religion itself, particularly the religion of Christianity and its future. The possibilities are literally world changing.