After my post yesterday seeking to answer the question Who Are The Nation’s Top Progressive Christian Leaders?, I received some gentle – and some not-so-gentle – suggestions that my list was very, very White and for that I am sincerely apologetic. Yes, I did attempt to clarify in that article that my post was “fairly subjective” and that these were “my picks” based on “How often do these people get quoted, shared, name-dropped or referenced in Progressive Christian posts, books,... Read more
SAYING 14: Jesus said to them: “If you fast, you will bring forth sin for yourselves; and if you pray, you will be condemned; and if you give alms, you will do harm to your spirits. [But] when you enter any land and travel over
As with any Top 10 or Best list, this post will be fairly subjective. In other words, these are my picks for the Nation’s Top Progressive Christian Leaders. Your mileage may vary. My criteria for the main list is fairly straightforward: How often do these people get quoted, shared, name-dropped or referenced in Progressive Christian posts, books, interviews or on social media? In my experience, these are the Christian Leaders who are the most influential among Progressive Christians: Richard... Read more
This is a hard question to answer, because honestly, even Progressive Christians don’t totally agree on what qualifies as Progressive Theology. For example, I co-host a long-running and fairly popular podcast called The Heretic Happy Hour. For the last 5 years, we’ve championed the fact that each host is free to share their own unique theological views without feeling the need to agree with any of our other co-hosts. Our goal has been to model what it looks like... Read more
About 3 years ago, I started an online course called Square 1 which has since grown into a large online community where people who are going through the pain and uncertainty of religious Deconstruction can process their questions and discover – at their own pace and in their own way – what Reconstruction might look like for them. Since starting Square 1, the course and community have branched into Square 2 – a more Reconstruction-focused module – and Square 3... Read more
Saying 13, “Jesus said to his disciples, “Compare me to someone and tell me who I am like.” Simon Peter said to him, “You are like a righteous angel.” Matthew said to him, “You are like a wise philosopher.” Thomas said to him, “Master, I
Saying 12: “The disciples asked Jesus, “We know that you will leave us. Who will be our leader?” Jesus said to them: “Where you are, you are to go to James the Righteous, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being.” Observant readers
Saying 11: “Jesus said: “This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away; and those who are dead are not alive, and those who are living will not die. In the days when you ate of what is dead, you
Saying 10: “Jesus said, “I have cast fire upon the world, and behold, I am guarding it until it blazes.” At first glance, this saying seems to sound as if Jesus is talking about the end of the World or some future apocalyptic event that
EMBRACING THE MYSTERY NOTE: The following is taken from my notes for a sermon preached at First Presbyterian Church of El Paso, TX on June 26th, 2022] When it comes to Theology, we need to admit that we’re talking about a Being who, by definition, is beyond all human comprehension. The problem is when Theologians say, “God is being who transcends every possible definition, and now please sit back and allow me to describe God to you in exquisite detail.”... Read more
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