Quotes & Sayings


We, and creation itself, actualize the possibilities of the God who sustains the world, towards becoming in the world in a fuller, more deeper way. - R.E. Slater

There is urgency in coming to see the world as a web of interrelated processes of which we are integral parts, so that all of our choices and actions have [consequential effects upon] the world around us. - Process Metaphysician Alfred North Whitehead

Kurt Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem says (i) all closed systems are unprovable within themselves and, that (ii) all open systems are rightly understood as incomplete. - R.E. Slater

The most true thing about you is what God has said to you in Christ, "You are My Beloved." - Tripp Fuller

The God among us is the God who refuses to be God without us, so great is God's Love. - Tripp Fuller

According to some Christian outlooks we were made for another world. Perhaps, rather, we were made for this world to recreate, reclaim, redeem, and renew unto God's future aspiration by the power of His Spirit. - R.E. Slater

Our eschatological ethos is to love. To stand with those who are oppressed. To stand against those who are oppressing. It is that simple. Love is our only calling and Christian Hope. - R.E. Slater

Secularization theory has been massively falsified. We don't live in an age of secularity. We live in an age of explosive, pervasive religiosity... an age of religious pluralism. - Peter L. Berger

Exploring the edge of life and faith in a post-everything world. - Todd Littleton

I don't need another reason to believe, your love is all around for me to see. – Anon

Thou art our need; and in giving us more of thyself thou givest us all. - Khalil Gibran, Prayer XXIII

Be careful what you pretend to be. You become what you pretend to be. - Kurt Vonnegut

Religious beliefs, far from being primary, are often shaped and adjusted by our social goals. - Jim Forest

We become who we are by what we believe and can justify. - R.E. Slater

People, even more than things, need to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. – Anon

Certainly, God's love has made fools of us all. - R.E. Slater

An apocalyptic Christian faith doesn't wait for Jesus to come, but for Jesus to become in our midst. - R.E. Slater

Christian belief in God begins with the cross and resurrection of Jesus, not with rational apologetics. - Eberhard Jüngel, Jürgen Moltmann

Our knowledge of God is through the 'I-Thou' encounter, not in finding God at the end of a syllogism or argument. There is a grave danger in any Christian treatment of God as an object. The God of Jesus Christ and Scripture is irreducibly subject and never made as an object, a force, a power, or a principle that can be manipulated. - Emil Brunner

“Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh” means "I will be that who I have yet to become." - God (Ex 3.14) or, conversely, “I AM who I AM Becoming.”

Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. - Thomas Merton

The church is God's world-changing social experiment of bringing unlikes and differents to the Eucharist/Communion table to share life with one another as a new kind of family. When this happens, we show to the world what love, justice, peace, reconciliation, and life together is designed by God to be. The church is God's show-and-tell for the world to see how God wants us to live as a blended, global, polypluralistic family united with one will, by one Lord, and baptized by one Spirit. – Anon

The cross that is planted at the heart of the history of the world cannot be uprooted. - Jacques Ellul

The Unity in whose loving presence the universe unfolds is inside each person as a call to welcome the stranger, protect animals and the earth, respect the dignity of each person, think new thoughts, and help bring about ecological civilizations. - John Cobb & Farhan A. Shah

If you board the wrong train it is of no use running along the corridors of the train in the other direction. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

God's justice is restorative rather than punitive; His discipline is merciful rather than punishing; His power is made perfect in weakness; and His grace is sufficient for all. – Anon

Our little [biblical] systems have their day; they have their day and cease to be. They are but broken lights of Thee, and Thou, O God art more than they. - Alfred Lord Tennyson

We can’t control God; God is uncontrollable. God can’t control us; God’s love is uncontrolling! - Thomas Jay Oord

Life in perspective but always in process... as we are relational beings in process to one another, so life events are in process in relation to each event... as God is to Self, is to world, is to us... like Father, like sons and daughters, like events... life in process yet always in perspective. - R.E. Slater

To promote societal transition to sustainable ways of living and a global society founded on a shared ethical framework which includes respect and care for the community of life, ecological integrity, universal human rights, respect for diversity, economic justice, democracy, and a culture of peace. - The Earth Charter Mission Statement

Christian humanism is the belief that human freedom, individual conscience, and unencumbered rational inquiry are compatible with the practice of Christianity or even intrinsic in its doctrine. It represents a philosophical union of Christian faith and classical humanist principles. - Scott Postma

It is never wise to have a self-appointed religious institution determine a nation's moral code. The opportunities for moral compromise and failure are high; the moral codes and creeds assuredly racist, discriminatory, or subjectively and religiously defined; and the pronouncement of inhumanitarian political objectives quite predictable. - R.E. Slater

God's love must both center and define the Christian faith and all religious or human faiths seeking human and ecological balance in worlds of subtraction, harm, tragedy, and evil. - R.E. Slater

In Whitehead’s process ontology, we can think of the experiential ground of reality as an eternal pulse whereby what is objectively public in one moment becomes subjectively prehended in the next, and whereby the subject that emerges from its feelings then perishes into public expression as an object (or “superject”) aiming for novelty. There is a rhythm of Being between object and subject, not an ontological division. This rhythm powers the creative growth of the universe from one occasion of experience to the next. This is the Whiteheadian mantra: “The many become one and are increased by one.” - Matthew Segall

Without Love there is no Truth. And True Truth is always Loving. There is no dichotomy between these terms but only seamless integration. This is the premier centering focus of a Processual Theology of Love. - R.E. Slater

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Note: Generally I do not respond to commentary. I may read the comments but wish to reserve my time to write (or write from the comments I read). Instead, I'd like to see our community help one another and in the helping encourage and exhort each of us towards Christian love in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. - re slater

Showing posts with label Evangelicalism's Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Evangelicalism's Challenge. Show all posts

Friday, December 15, 2023

What Is In a Christian Label? Examining Conservative, Progressive & Processual Christianity



EVERYDAY ATTITUDES

"Being is as much about Becoming
as Becoming is about Being." - R.E. Slater

Process Living is:

upLifting and uniting,
motivating and encouraging,
being and becoming...

bearing all things,
being all things,
becoming all things...

abiding all people,
reviving all relationships,
surviving all difficulties...

when pursuing faith,
overcoming obstacles,
suffering as Grace...

in sacrifice and service,
with diligence extended,
abiding, staying, doing...

reclaiming and redeeming,
renewing and resurrecting,
regenerating all about...

everyone,
everything,
everywhere,
ever and ever...

---

process amplification
is singing, throbbing,
all around and in us,

across heaven and earth,
hearts and lands,
about, within, and from us,

unstoppable,
instoppable,
withheld no hand,
no soul, no land,

we are... as creation is...
as life and death are,
immortal wonders,
are, and are becoming...


R.E. Slater
December 15, 2023
revised December 19, 2023


@copyright R.E. Slater Publications
all rights reserved




What Is In a Christian Label?
Examining Conservative, Progressive & 
Processual Christianity

by R.E. Slater

Introduction

When a Christian is advocating for social equality, nature, and justice, they are known as progressive Christians regarding their faith and denominational orientation.

Though labels should be unimportant we use them daily to identify who we are (rightly or wrongly), what is important to us, and why such things are important to us.

When speaking about today's present-tense church many wish to break free of the church-molds we find ourselves in but dare not because of the ostracism which may follow when doing so. Thus we continue to bind ourselves within societal structures which have become meaningless, useless, and unhelpful.

In the evangelical world of church-in-the-present-tense we hear a lot about conservative Christians but very little about progressive Christians... the kind which wish to live in a judgment-free world with people who are allowed to be who they chose to be or, are-in-themselves people who do not need to live up to another's (inappropriate, or binding) standards.

Conversely, progressive Christians are co-operating Christians co-ordinating their faiths with the disseparate (unlike) faiths of others. They yearn to live in co-hesive communities where difference is a strength and not a weakness.

If a progressive Christian attends a mainline church the fellowships therein are usually progressive... as in progressive Methodists, Lutherans, Nazarenes, etc. Here, one may discover diverse congregational attributes supportive of social equality, ecological, and social justice. Where people who have different cultures and backgrounds with one another are usually accepted, welcomed, and embraced.

In the Catholic Church, progressive Catholic faiths may be more equally divided with that of conservative Catholic faiths demographically.

Broadly, a conservative faith is more traditionally-orientated, keeping with the familiar, unwanting change, and refusing racial introspection regarding feminism, gender difference, or race and religious heritage. All congregants are to be as one and to be assimilated into one conservative attitude (much as Picard's crew on the USS Enterprise were assimilated into the Borg).

Hence, some Catholic Churches may be more conservatively evangelical in their outlook or character or they may be more progressively evangelical in the same.


What is Conservative Evangelicalism?

Evangelicalism is a recent descriptor of a traditionalized church's acclaimed creeds and doctrines:

  • They generally are Cross-centered in Christ;
  • Preach repentance from sin and salvation by Christ;
  • Assimilating in outreach community programs;
  • Broadly authoritative in their church's social and political structures; and,
  • Usually Patriarchal in orientation restricting women to serve under the guidance of men because women are thought to be unequal in the home, church, office, or generally, in society with men.
  • This is known as complementarianism:

 

Wikipedia - Complementarianism is a theological view in some denominations of Christianity, Rabbinic Judaism, and Islam, that men and women have different but complementary roles and responsibilities in marriage, family life, and religious leadership. Complementary and its cognates are currently used to denote this view. Some Christians interpret the Bible as prescribing complementarianism, and therefore adhere to gender-specific roles that preclude women from specific functions of ministry within the community. Though women may be precluded from certain roles and ministries, they are held to be equal in moral value and of equal status. The phrase used to describe this is "ontologically equal, functionally different".
Complementarians assign primary headship roles to men and support roles to women based on their interpretation of certain biblical passages. One of the precepts of complementarianism is that while women may assist in the decision-making process, the ultimate authority for the decision is the purview of the male in marriage, courtship, and in the polity of churches subscribing to this view.
The main contrasting viewpoint is Christian egalitarianism, which maintains that positions of authority and responsibility in marriage and religion should be equally available to both females and males.
Roles in the Church: Based on [a fellowship's] interpretation of certain scriptures complementarians view women's roles in ministry, particularly in church settings, as limited. The complementarian view holds that women should not hold church leadership roles that involve teaching or authority over men. For instance, Frank Page, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, has written that "...while both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of Pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture" while the office of deacon are open to both men and women (excluding Catholicism). According to complementarianism, women are not completely forbidden from speaking within a church since Paul speaks about women prophesying inside the church....

 

  • Further, a conservative faith, fellowship, or church are oriented to living for-and-in the future seeing the present day and its times as having little worth except in waiting for Jesus' thunderous return to put down all evil and wickedness in the Last Days Which is to say that except for providing for one's family or community all other things in life carry little value... such as the restoring of ecology, or ecological living, or building mansions for one's self. All are rags and meaningfully unimportant in light of dying and going to heaven to be with God.


And because Jesus' Return is of high importance to a conservative Christian faith this "biblical" form of governmental structure has carried over into their jargon relative to a preferred form of governance... that of a "theocratic kingdom" over-and-above all other forms of governance... including that of an open democracy.

  • A theocratic kingdom is a realm led by a godly king rather than by a people's republic. It is known as a theocracy and is at all times preferred, possible, and desired:
Wikipedia - Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs.

Consequently, the idea of the "divine-rights of kings (and queens)" is accepted into the conservative church's "kingdom language"... regardless the king or god.

In the cinema's 2023 flick on "Napoleon" we see the difficulty France had in overthrowing a bad king as they willing tried to establish a "people's government".  However, (New) France's revolutions repeatedly failed thus allowing figures like Napoleon to fill in as a quasi-emperor until the French form of democracy could finally prevail and survive.

  • Lastly, conservative evangelicalism fails or succeeds in growing love amongst it's assembly and with it's community. Usually they tend to be guarded and isolating to themselves and their practices with like-minded assemblies. At other times a congregation feels relatively comfortable in their witness and cooperative working relationships with their community.
  • However, being literal in their reading of the bible - rather than reading the bible as source-literary redactionists  qua the bible's era-specific cultures as progressives would do - conservative evangelics seek to emulate / institute a "biblical morality" rather than a societal "humane morality" as relating to all things civilly ethical and equal.

And so, various levels of discrimination are kept and maintained into naturally occurring societal fellowships. Anything less than some form of interpretive "biblical morality" is sinful and of the devil.

  • Lastly, conservative evangelics preach a God who is holy first, and loving second. Which means God's holiness informs all the rest of God's divine attributes of God's divine presence or divine separation from an unholy Christian or secular world.

Conservative fellowships live in binary worlds of their own making:
  • Holiness through Christ using forms of penal substitutionary atonement; that,
  • God may leave or stay, come or go, from an unholy society or sinful Christian; that,
  • God's sovereignty is measured in retributive divine power upon all God's enemies or wayward children; and that,
  • Outreach and assimilation into their interpretations of the bible and creedal beliefs of God is their main obligations in preparing the world for Christ's return.
And underneath all these character traits of a conservative fellowship is one last attribute... that of revering the past believing yesteryear (perhaps Eden? Victorian England? Etc.) held some form of utopia which made it more preferable than the present societies experiential dystopias.
  • That any traditionalism - such as Israel's early kingdom forms in the Old Testament - favoring an unequal patriarchal-based economy along with cultural standards are preferrable to conservative church in comparison to any other form of civil-societal arrangements such as those based upon constitutional forms of  governance allowing men and women, free and slave, rich and poor, black, red, white, or brown races to govern themselves in fully equal, fair, and just civil relationships with one another.

What is Progressive Evangelicalism?

In comparison, progressive Christians feel completely out-of-place in an open democracy or an open-form of progressive church ministry. This feeling of unethical treatment of the feared Other is what has motivated progressive Christians towards re-balancing the theological equations in their church or leaving altogether to find fellowships which are welcoming and affirming in their reception of all members of a community.
WikipediaProgressive Christianity represents a postmodern theological approach, and is not necessarily synonymous with progressive politics. It developed out of the liberal Christianity of the modern era, which was rooted in the Enlightenment's thinking.

Progressive Christianity is a postliberal theological movement within Christianity that, in the words of Reverend Roger Wolsey, "seeks to reform the faith via the insights of post-modernism and a reclaiming of the truth beyond the verifiable historicity and factuality of the passages in the Bible by affirming the truths within the stories that may not have actually happened." [Wolsey's statement confuses me... - re slater]

Progressive Christianity, as described by its adherents, is characterized by a willingness to question tradition, acceptance of human diversity, a strong emphasis on social justice and care for the poor and the oppressed, and environmental stewardship of the earth. Progressive Christians have a deep belief in the centrality of the instruction to "love one another" (John 15:17) within the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Progressive Christianity focuses on promoting values such as compassion, justice, mercy, and tolerance, often through political activism. Though prominent, the movement is by no means the only significant movement of progressive thought among Christians. It draws influence from multiple theological streams, including evangelicalism, liberal Christianity, neo-orthodoxy, pragmatism, postmodern theology, progressive Christian reconstructionism, and liberation theology. The concerns of feminism are also a major influence on the movement, as expressed in feminist and womanist theologies [I prefer the wider form of theology known as "intersectional theology. - re slater].

Although progressive Christianity and liberal Christianity are often used synonymously, the two movements are distinct, despite much overlap.

What Is Processual Christianity?

To conclude, I have personally discovered and chosen a third option. One that is not conservative but one that is also more broadly progressive than an evangelical basis can provide in itself, its traditions, and its histories.
To illustrate, say my heritage and education always preferred to painting with the bolder colors of the spectrum... however, with time's passage and cultural preference, I now wish to paint using the softer, pastel colours rather than with bold colours.
In the former instance I was a "conservative painter" whereas in the latter instance I had become more "progressive as a painter." That is, until science came along with a new "species" of paints fallen into the broader category of "quantum paint spectralysis applications".
In this new science of paints I find I no longer need to be defined by my preference between binary forms of painting but may approach painting in its truer quantum forms of spectralysis application.
And so, I have found a more naturalized foundation replacing the binary forms I was at first acquainted with. Let's call this naturalized process of growth "process-based painting" which speaks to both i) the foundation of the science as well as ii) its application of the science into my beliefs and ways I might chose to live within the many evolving forms of society.
Over the years as I deconstructed by conservative faith and explored others forms of Christian belief and living, I eventually tripped over AN Whitehead's process philosophy of cosmological metaphysics, ontology and ethics.

Much as Westernized philosophical forms have held biblical faiths to unnatural forms of inorganic, binary thinking (such as Platonic Hellenism, etc) so as Whitehead's process-based thinking provided a more natural way of looking at God and creation, humanity and society.

I found it was unnecessary to force progressive beliefs out of a culturally bound, unevolving, binary system of Christian belief such as present day forms of evangelicalism. But in process philosophy I could participate fully and freely in its derivative... that of process theology. It is more organic, naturally relational and intersecting within-and-about itself with greater or lesser forms of processual metaphysics and cosmology. And at its core, process-panpsychism play abouts its being, novelty, imagery, imagination, and becoming.

In sum...
  • God becomes less restrictive;
  • A Christian theology may be centralized in-and-around a God of love;
  • Whose loving divine attribute informs all other attributes of God's divine person;
  • God may be both "Other" in Ontological transcendency but always abiding in God's divinely loving immanency within-and-about creation;
  • God's always abiding presence recharges creation with God's divine character of love;
  • A divine character which creation was born with while not lessening our responsibility to recharge ourselves, our world, and nature about us, with redeeming qualities;
  • Divinely loving qualities which are... and are becoming.

Conclusion

In short, our being-ness in God is always in the evolving redemptive stages of becoming-ness:

  • Process-based Salvation is what defines Christ's crucifixion and the church's direction to teach love, be love, and do love;
  • We are to approach this life in processual hope and energy;
  • A process Christianity must always be mindful to nurture it's processual faith which at it's core is always progressive and without need for any withholding (evangelical) theological basis.
  • Lastly, any Christian or religious (cultural) background can be re-centered around a loving, processual God and faith. As example, I can take my past (Calvinistic) Baptist (Reformed) heritage and training, remit it, grind it up, and come back with the kind of loving God and theology which Jesus was clearly teaching the rabbis and showing to his countrymen and disciples.

This is how Relevancy22 was birthed and why it is designed to teach processual Christianity from as many angles as I have time to write of all the ways in which Whiteheadian process philosophy may be applied as a third / fourth generational Whiteheadian Christian philosophic-theologian.

So what is in a Christian Label?

Everything and nothing. It may, or may not, describe who we are but cannot inhibit us in our interiority from growing and evolving and becoming more than we once believed we were in our faith, our behaviors, our hopes, and dreams.
A processual ME is the best God-redeemed Me we can be in this life or the next. We are. And are becoming. Praise God !
Peace,

R.E. Slater
December 15, 2023




Amazon link

ORT Theology is more properly described as
Open and Relational PROCESS Theology


Building the Basileia: Moving
the Church into the 22nd century

by Ulrick Dam (Author)  |  November 10, 2023
Year after year, a familiar narrative unfolds: Church attendance declines, communities wither away, and once-thriving churches shutter their doors. But does this spell the end of Christianity and the relevance of church communities? Absolutely not. We have the power to breathe new life into the church and restore its significance by embracing the ideas of Open and Relational Theology, allowing it to shape our ecclesiology. Within this transformation lies a profound summons – to actively engage in constructing the very kingdom of God, here and now. We are called to partake in the building of the kingdom of God, or the what the biblical writers called the Basileia, even as we keep our gaze fixed on the ultimate kingdom that awaits. This will be the key to new life for churches moving into the 22nd century.

* * * * * *



Amazon link


Revelation for Normal People:
A Guide to the Strangest and Most 
Dangerous Book in the Bible 
(from "The Bible for Normal People" Series, Pete Enns)

by Robyn J. Whitaker (Author)  |  November 24, 2023


It has never been more important to read Revelation well.

Whether you love it, hate it, or avoid it like the plague, the last book of the Bible’s influence permeates our cultural, political, and religious landscapes. From the so-bad-they’re…still bad actually…Left Behind series, to conspiracy theories about microchips and barcodes, to all-too-real political discourse and actions, John’s visions in Revelation reach far beyond anything their ancient author could have imagined.

But what did John imagine? Who was he writing for and why? And what’s the deal with all the hideous horned beasts?

Join New Testament scholar Robyn Whitaker as she uncovers the real-world contexts behind this ancient apocalyptic text. A world occupied by an oppressive empire, a marginalized people, and a God committed to justice. Where a beast overthrown was a declaration of authority and a falling star was a statement of evil’s demise. Where symbols gave voice to resistance and visions provided a glimpse of hope. A world utterly and entirely ancient.

Only when we understand Revelation’s ancient contexts can we begin to find meaning for our own.

Learn to read Revelation well with The Bible for Normal People—bringing the best in biblical scholarship to everyone. 

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.

---

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).

---

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.

---

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.

---

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:





Tuesday, August 30, 2022

What Franklin Graham says about his Christian brothers and sisters...



rotflmao


What Franklin Graham says about his Christian
brothers and sisters...

I usually have made it a policy not to bring up personal names and institutions at this website which I disagree with; rather, I prefer to speak more generally to the problem, or issue, at hand using generalized categories, if I can. But from time to time I will... as is the case today.
"Cynically, I can't imagine what Franklin Graham would say about Post-Evangelical Process Christians if he thinks my Evangelically Progressive Christian brothers and sisters in Christ are going to hell... oh, wait a minute... I really don't care." - re slater
Many of us who are interested in living out our Christian faith in all facets of our lives also realize that to do this will be the great temptation to always judge other people and their passions. As a Process Christian (or as a Progressive Christian for those who are still in the evangelical camp) we prefer to lead with love and forgiveness even though its one of the hardest things to do around those who do not carry this attitude.

One of the major reasons I moved away from my former conservative evangelical faith was because its center was fixated in condemnation and judgment upon everyone around itself. In order to know who we were we learned that our "Christian" identity was bound up around isolation and exclusion rather than around Jesus whom we gave lip service to but unlike Jesus we struggled with reaching out in love without personal bias or condemnation upon others. Or the world around us. Or even those in our church fellowship.

One of the other major distinctives of my former dominionist church (one which wishes to govern government by removing the imaginary barrier between church and state with its own exclusionary church laws of morality led by racism and white supremacy) is that it is centered in division, hate, and perhaps even self-loathing.

Which is why we know conservative evangelicalism today as a Trumpian form of Christianity having chosen to be led by the infamous ex-President, Donald Trump, and his gangster gang of thieves and rogues. An unhealthy popular personage which many progressive/process Christians will recognize as an antichrist than as Christ's representative on earth. A fellow sinful human being who is a very poor, and tragic idol, for any Christian of faith to follow... and yet, they do, vociferously.

At the last, the Church of Jesus must resist, challenge, re-center itself, and recommit itself to Jesus fully... and in repentance. Loving is hard. Loving others different from our church dogmas and self-beliefs can be even harder. And having been taught not to love has to be the hardest learned trait to break.

But, with Spirit-led confession and repentance it's what must be done. To live in love. Lead in love. Reach out in love. And to determine to center all theological beliefs and teachings around the God of Love. A God who does not condemn and consign to hell but who loves through-and-through-and-through despite what idolatrous church leaders teach and preach.

R.E. Slater
August 30, 2022


...how non-Christians see the Christian faith...



* * * * * *


Do Franklin Graham’s accusations
against progressive Christianity
hold up against truth?

  |  AUGUST 25, 2022


i
Franklin Graham was one of six ministers selected to pray at Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017. (Photo/Matt Johnson/Creative Commons)

Back on May 1, 2022, Franklin Graham, CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, posted an article in Decision Magazine titled, “The Eternal Peril of Progressive Christianity.” In this article, Graham expressed many poignant statements about the progressive Christian movement and numerous unsubstantiated allegations, including that it is “no gospel at all.”

This soon was followed by a social media blitz that blasted: “Progressive Christianity is dangerous for your soul.” Subscribers to the post received an email with a free (donation requested) PDF document titled, “Progressive Christianity Can Lead You to Hell.”

The PDF includes Graham’s aforementioned article along with Alisa Childers’ recommendations to counter progressive Christianity, Al Mohler’s remarks about theological liberalism, Michael Brown’s call to spiritual warfare, and Erwin Lutzer’s caution about “making the door wider” to be inclusive.

It is apparent that these authors are creating a straw man to demonize. If you build it, you can certainly tear it down.

This is a common tactic among fundamentalists, who seem to be discontent with merely preaching the gospel and need to have someone to theologically villainize and verbally assault. Graham, and others like him, expend their resources to malign other Christians whom they believe follow “a godless liberal media” and are “bent on casting doubt and undermining the foundational principles of God’s word.”

“This is a common tactic among fundamentalists, who seem to be discontent with merely preaching the gospel and need to have someone to theologically villainize and verbally assault.”

So, let us examine the actual views espoused by progressive Christians and see if they align with the allegations expressed by Graham and his cohorts. While there is a large spectrum of views held among adherents of progressive Christianity (as in most religious communities), the following are the eight points of progressive Christianity and the comparable statements from Graham’s article. Since progressive Christianity is not a denominational entity, the following statements are not creedal. Thus, proponents of the movement may agree with or vary from the perspectives provided here from progressivechristianity.org:

“By calling ourselves progressive Christians, we mean that we are Christians who:

“Believe that following the path and teaching of Jesus can lead to an awareness and experience of the Sacred and the Oneness and Unity of all life.” 

Graham cites Paul’s description of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, which identifies the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus as central to the gospel of Christ. Moreover, he applies “the exact same warning” of Galatians 1:6-9 to the advocates of progressive Christianity. He infers that just as Paul called down a curse on those who preach a “different gospel,” so must modern-day preachers (like himself) condemn the false teaching of progressive Christianity.

Even though Paul’s strong rebuke to Christians in Galatia is over an unknown issue, Graham’s hermeneutic emboldens him to weaponize the passage against people who (as stated above) seek to follow the path and teaching of Jesus.

“Graham’s hermeneutic emboldens him to weaponize the passage against people who seek to follow the path and teaching of Jesus.”

Jesus called his followers to a sacrificial life of self-denial and cross-bearing. This true way of living is found in the Jesus whom progressive Christians affirm and seek to follow. The centrality of the atoning death and resurrection life of Jesus is exemplified, not ignored, by progressive Christians, who seek to live in the others-first way modeled and commanded by the Lord.

“Affirm that the teaching of Jesus provide but one of many ways to experience the Sacredness and Oneness of life, and that we can draw from diverse sources of wisdom in our spiritual journey.” 

Graham cites Paul, who certainly gave additional, interpretive explanation on the teachings of Jesus. Paul even suggests that God’s “invisible qualities, eternal power and divine nature” leave us without excuse to relate to and experience God (Romans 1:20). It is not, as Graham claims, “undermining the foundational principles of God’s word” to affirm that the Spirit of the creative God continues to move, direct and use everyday experiences to guide us to the wisdom of God on our spiritual journey.

“Seek community that is inclusive of ALL people, including but not limited to: conventional Christians and questioning skeptics, believers and agnostics, women and men, those of all sexual orientations and gender identities, (and) those of all classes and abilities.”  

Graham, and others like him, accuse “proponents of progressive Christianity (of) twist(ing) and distort(ing) the truth of God’s word on sexuality, focusing on such nonsensical trends as gender identity.” He continues, “They deny God’s distinction of the sexes, and instead invent their own misguided standards, unguided by the word of God.”

While many in the progressive Christian movement may differ in their interpretation of God’s word on passages of the Bible, including but not limited to passages that may refer to sexuality, it is commonly done so with an intentional exegesis of the biblical text and not to distort the Bible with nonsense. Progressive Christianity attempts to understand the historical background and culture, the genre and literature, and the deeper complexities of the Bible, which leads to a greater appreciation, a more contemplative understanding, and a stronger application to the Christian life.

“Know that the way we behave toward one another is the fullest expression of what we believe.” 

Graham says progressive Christianity is not “forward thinking” but regresses into “unbiblical thinking and living.” Yet there is nothing more rooted in the teachings of Jesus than to live out a devotion for God through loving others.

Progressive Christianity is not an attempt to develop a new way of living the Christian life; rather, it is an effort to live out the Christological worldview, steeped in the Jewish teachings in Scripture to care for others, especially those in need (such as the widow, fatherless, poor and foreigner).

“Progressive Christianity emphasizes the importance of putting into practice what we preach and living by the biblical code of ethics Jesus modeled for us.”

The “new” commandment given by Jesus is to love one another as demonstrated by Christ’s love for us. Progressive Christianity emphasizes the importance of putting into practice what we preach and living by the biblical code of ethics Jesus modeled for us.

“Find grace in the search for understanding and believe there is more value in questing than in absolutes.” 

Nine times in his writing, Paul speaks of the truth of God as a “mystery.” To oversimplify the Bible to black-and-white, clear-and-clean truth is to minimize the majesty of God to the finite nature of our limited comprehension.

Graham makes outlandish and unsubstantiated claims that progressive Christianity denies the deity of Christ or the fullness of the Trinity, which “can send a person to hell.”  Progressive Christianity, as a whole, does not deny any such theological doctrine; rather, it embraces the mystery, leaving room for people to doubt, question and search for truth and application.

Loving God with all our mind and seeking to have the same attitude of Christ Jesus necessitate a humble embracing of our limited state and a yearning to grow through being teachable, striving to learn and accepting the divine as greater than what we can fully fathom.

“Strive for peace and justice among all people.” 

Graham takes issue with progressive Christianity’s stance toward social and racial justice (which he admits the Bible addresses) because it “neglects the far more fundamental issue of God’s justice.” His fallacy here is an argument from silence; simply because progressive Christianity emphasizes the importance of social and racial equality does not preclude its adherents from affirming and advocating for divine justice.

For many progressive theologians, it is actually out of a deep recognition that how the marginalized are treated by Christians is a reflection of our devotion to God, the ultimate and only rightful judge of us all.

“Strive to protect and restore the integrity of the earth.” 

Graham does not specifically address environmentalism in this article, but he does incorrectly state that progressive Christianity seeks to earn salvation through good works. Progressive Christianity does not deny the atoning work of Jesus on the Cross as the means of salvation. Instead, progressive Christians seek to live out a fruitful life of faith.

James reminds us that faith without works is dead, which does not mean our good deeds save us but that they should accompany the life of the saved. Hence, progressive Christians affirm the commission in the Garden of Eden in the opening chapters of the Bible to care for creation and all created things.

Graham also states that progressive Christianity “most frequently fails to see the ruinous consequences of mankind’s depraved, sinful state.” This is simply not true. Progressive Christianity identifies human greed as the cause behind climate change, bigotry to lie behind racism, and poverty to be perpetuated by indifference.

“The depravity of humanity is of utmost concern to progressive Christians, who value the care of our world and of people enough to dismantle systems that perpetuate sin.”

The depravity of humanity is of utmost concern to progressive Christians, who value the care of our world and of people enough to dismantle systems that perpetuate sin.

“Commit to a path of life-long learning, compassion, and selfless love.” 

Graham charges, “Progressive Christianity denies the divinely inspired, authoritative truth of the Bible as it intersects every facet of living.” Yet, he gives no explanation to back this claim.

The most prominent progressive theologians and pastors affirm that the Bible is divinely inspired and authoritative. While fundamentalist and progressive theologians have widely debated the form of inspiration or the definition of infallibility of the Scriptures, it is a complete misrepresentation to state that only one side holds to a high view of the Bible. Furthermore, Graham’s claim that a more literal interpretation of the Bible is more “orthodox” denies the 19th century development of biblical literalism as a response to the previous centuries of the Enlightenment.

In sum, Graham’s concluding statement in his article is just as true for progressive Christians as it is for Graham and other conservatives: “Evangelicals need to guard the truth of genuine scriptural preaching and living, remaining true and bold about exactly what the Bible clearly teaches.” Such a statement begs the question raised by Pontius Pilate: “What is truth?”

Graham seems to have a decisively clear understanding of what he believes and thinks everyone else should hold as truth, but such presumption and self-righteousness is the very concern that leads many to a progressive approach.

Franklin Graham’s scare tactic that “progressive Christianity can lead you to hell” further illustrates the aversion many have to his approach to Christianity. Many people are leaving conservative Christianity not because they are dissatisfied with Jesus but rather because of the repulsive approach of people like Graham who are so unkind and degrading to others and who seek to align with the political establishment to gain power to propagate their version of faith.

This approach is too pharisaical and self-righteous for many, who are finding community in progressive Christianity. The outcome of such an approach will only continue to widen the chasm among followers of Jesus. Such divisions were the very concern that Jesus had in his priestly prayer, where he centered on praying for unity among his followers (John 17:20-21).

Jesus chose quite an eclectic group of disciples who had different approaches to life and faith. He brought them together amidst their differences to work for the expansion of a kingdom that is not of this world. Jesus continues to do the same today.

I hope and pray that as we leave behind the kind of divisive dichotomy espoused by Graham, we will beat our swords into plowshares, and we will unite together — for the love of God.

Patrick Wilson

Patrick Wilson has served as a pastor for 25 years in Dallas and Austin, Texas, and most recently in in Rolla, Mo., where he currently is starting a new community of faith, CrossRoads. He is a graduate of Baylor University, earned two master’s degrees at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a doctor of ministry degree from Logsdon Seminary.

 

Related articles:

Franklin Graham says he’s not a preacher of hate, so let’s roll the tape and see | Opinion by Rodney Kennedy

Why is anybody still giving money to Franklin Graham? | Opinion by Mark Wingfield