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The Comedy of Elena Carlena




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What Is A Progressive Christian?



This is one of the few of my blog pages that are not intended as funny or snarky. I will have plenty of those even in the context of Christianity, but this one is just informational. For those whose only familiarity has previously been with conservative Christians: Welcome.

There is no doubt a continuum of progressive Christians who hold various beliefs, just as there is a continuum of various conservative Christians. But I think I can point to some commonalities. I will then list my positions as a progressive Christian, which probably not all progressive Christians share. I will go into more detail on those positions in separate blog posts, but summarize here for now.

I am not a degreed religious scholar. But I grew up in the Church, attending twice a week throughout my childhood. I do not belong now because I will not support a sexist institution. But I feel that progressive Christianity must speak up in opposition to a prevalent hateful conservative pseudo-Christianity. So if you are a progressive Christian reading this, then please let me know what you think of my lists. I will move items in the first list down if there is some disagrement. Or move items in the bottom list up if there is general agreement.

Progressive Christians:

* Acknowledge that we do not think every word in the Bible is literally true. Nobody thinks that. If they did, there would be a lot more killing for trivial reasons. But for some reason, some conservative Christians insist that they think the Bible is all literally true. Progressive Christians acknowledge that it is not.

* Primarily follow Jesus Christ's two Great Commandments, that we are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, and minds; and that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves.

* Are concerned about social and economic justice, and being good stewards of the Earth.

* Do not believe that other people's personal business, such as their sex lives, is any of our business.

* Believe that all good-hearted people, no matter what religion they practice, or if they practice no religion, are perfectly fine.

* Realize that no one is a perfect Christian or perfect person at all times, and that at any particular time people may not behave in accordance with their deepest held beliefs, but strive toward higher ideals over time. Bad behavior is not Christian, but a temporary lapse does not negate one's status as a Christian.

* Believe that we all sin, but awareness of that sin is not meant to make us feel guilty, but rather to make us feel humility. Thus we cannot say with our noses in the air, "I am better than you," whoever "you" are.

As A Progressive Christian, I Believe That:

* The Bible is inspired by God, but God whispers. Culture shouts. History shouts. Willful selfishness shouts. Thus despite the sincerity of good Christians who wrote the Bible, error crept in. You have to still the noise of this world to hear the quiet voice of God. It's not always easy.

* The Old Testament is context, history, a timeline, prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. The laws of the Old Testament do not need to be followed. Jesus turned them upside down.

* The Gospels are the most important sections of the Bible.

* The rest of the New Testament is the history of the early church and also provides some context. Just because the letters of Paul were faithfully recorded does not mean that Paul has the wisdom of Jesus. Particularly, wives do not need to be obedient to their husbands.

* God answers all prayers. Sometimes the answer is "yes," sometimes "I help those who help themselves," sometimes "wait," sometimes "no". When the answer is no, it may be because God wants you to learn something or do something in God's service.

* If there is a conflict between the first and second of the Great Commandments, between loving God and loving my neighbor, then I will love my neighbor.

* Loving my neighbor as myself means accepting my neighbor as he or she is. It does not mean trying to make my neighbor more like myself. It does not mean assuming that I know how my neighbor thinks or what is best for my neighbor. It includes listening, empathizing, and learning to understand my neighbor's point of view.

* The Lord created this world with mind-blowing diversity. There are over 7 billion people and no two exactly alike. After creating everything, including people, according to Genesis 1:31: "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good." Who are we to reject the diversity that God made and with which God is very pleased?

* While we must not give too much importance to material things, our ability to care for ourselves and others is intimately entwined with our financial status. Matthew 25:40: Jesus said, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me". We need to stop blaming "the least" among us for conditions outside their control and start supporting solutions to economic issues, most urgently ending the current unacceptable level of economic inequality.



© Copyright Elena Carlena December 6, 2014. All rights reserved.