Oh My G-g-od! ? Someone recently asked me: “Can you please address the difference between God with a capital G and god with a lowercase g – and what the differences are and might mean?” As part of my major in Philosophy in college, I took a course in Aesthetics – the philosophy of art. I recall writing a paper in that class about how people experience pieces of art differently depending if the artwork has been given a title... Read more
Tough guys need help. They need the help of other guys. Dudes, this is guy-talk, man to men. In particular, I’m reaching out to my fellow white, liberal, cis-gender, progressive Christian, straight men who’ve “done our work.” Guys who aren’t intimidated about dating a woman who makes more money than we do; guys who are willing to surrender some of our privilege so that historically oppressed peoples might do better; guys who believe that black lives matter as much as... Read more
Like a feather hovering, suspended in the small pocket of breath above the angel-kissed cleft of your upper lip, a soft insight floats across the dream-screen of your waking mind: You don’t need to do anything. You don’t need to prove anything. You don’t need to try to impress anyone. You don’t need to try to win anyone’s approval or validation. You don’t need to even to try to validate yourself. You don’t need to try. You don’t need anything.... Read more
Bad theology should be called out and rejected. Laughter can be a helpful part of this. If nothing else, as catharsis from the hurt and harm caused by wretched notions about God and their effect on God’s people. In the spirit of “laughing at the Devil,” and the “Laughing Buddha”, and the “green shirt guy.” [CNN clip for reminder] Here are words from the person who posted the following hilarious VIDEO CLIP, from what I gather is from a TV... Read more
I recently experienced some things that are the stuff of many people’s worst nightmares – an unexpected, surprise speaking engagement without notice, and being charged with heresy. ProgressiveChristianity.org was a sponsoring partner of the annual Wild Goose Festival in North Carolina this year and, as a member of the Board of Directors, I was sent to represent the organization at a booth to distribute our literature, and solicit inquiries about our “A Joyful Path” children’s Sunday School curriculum. Little did... Read more
“Friends, there is a message of hope for us today! Even though it’s middle of winter, it’s an Easter message! It’s the message that nothing, nothing can separate us from the love of God!” … words I said at a recent funeral service I led… But sometimes, sometimes I wonder. I wonder if sometimes things really do in fact separate us from this love. I gotta be honest, sometimes I have my doubts about faith in things that sound too... Read more
The Church is dying. Specifically, Christianity in Western countries is rapidly diminishing. 7-8,000 churches close their doors every year in the U.S. – about 150-200 every week. In 1966, there were 600 Catholic seminaries in America. 189 remain. 1000 Southern Baptist congregations close every year with half of them predicted to close by 2030. More and more churches are seeing fewer people participating in worship services and the ones who do are attending less frequently. Sure, there are a few... Read more
Why go on a retreat? Why take the time and why devote the money? When your life is so full and so busy why step away when relaxation could be obtained by flying to a sunny beach, or exhilaration might be accomplished by booking a weekend of skiing? Why step into an environment wholly devoted to your inner life? Because the very choice itself is a response to God’s call in deepening your relationship. The inspired book of Hosea prophesies,... Read more
Guest Writer: Rev. Kimberly Braun. Mysticism sure has become a buzzword these days, whether it is a desire to recognize yourself as a mystic, discover how to surrender into mystical experience, learn from people we consider mystics or even stand skeptically apart from the notion, the word-mysticism- evokes response. When I see this kind of relationship to a notion it gets me curious “Why?’ Why now? Why are human beings using the word more, and spiritual teachers labeling what they... Read more
Christmas is upon us. What is Christmas? How are progressive Christians to understand it? Can we even celebrate it at all? Most progressive Christians embrace the scholarship that points to how the stories of Jesus’ birth were tacked onto the faith well after the original gospel of Mark was written down – without any mention of his birth. Most progressive Christians consider those birth stories to be myths – myths that drew from certain portions of the Hebraic tradition, as... Read more
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