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Progressive Christian
Women in Religion

2023-03-17T14:56:42-07:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

It’s Okay That We’re Different

Last updated on: March 17, 2023 at 2:56 pm By Liz Cooledge Jenkins

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I’ve met a bunch of new-to-me people at church recently and have had the chance to hear a bit about where they’re coming from. I’m grateful for it. And I find myself telling myself this: It’s okay that we’re different. It’s okay that we’re thinking about things differently. It’s okay that we come from different backgrounds and have had different experiences of church. It’s okay that we’re all at our current church for different reasons. Everyone Wants Ethnic Diversity, But... Read more

General Christian

Politics and Religion

2023-03-11T07:54:02-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Religious Authorities Are Not God

Last updated on: March 11, 2023 at 7:54 am By Liz Cooledge Jenkins

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Religious structures and systems are not God. And religious authority figures are not God. This is one of those things that feels like it shouldn’t need to be said. But I think it does. Because the lines between religious authorities and God can get blurry in all kinds of ways. And we need to discern clearly. A Call From God or From Your Supervisors? Many years ago, when I was working for a college campus ministry organization, my friend and... Read more

Careers, Workplace and Religion

2023-03-06T13:48:48-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Learning to “Authorize” Ourselves

Last updated on: March 6, 2023 at 1:48 pm By Liz Cooledge Jenkins

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As we consider non-authoritarian ways of reading the Bible—as well as non-authoritarian ways of speaking in church, and more liberating ways of engaging with tradition—I also want to explore what non-authoritarian church structure and leadership could look like. In a wonky world of churchy authority, what does it look like to “authorize” ourselves? “What Are You Authorized To Do?” In my required leadership class in seminary, we had some guest lectures from a professor who was really into the idea... Read more

General Christian

2023-03-06T14:39:33-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

What Kind of Authority Does Tradition Have?

Last updated on: March 6, 2023 at 2:39 pm By Liz Cooledge Jenkins

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I’ve been reflecting on how my views of faith and authority have changed over time. One of the questions in my (ongoing) process is this: What kind of authority does tradition have? For some context, I spent an awful lot of my young adulthood in evangelical contexts where we basically pretended that tradition had no authority over us. We thought we were interpreting and applying the Biblical texts directly to our lives and community—no historical baggage. No connection to Christians... Read more

General Christian

History and Religion

2023-03-06T14:37:36-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Casually Authoritarian Language in Church (or, Don’t Tell Me What to Do)

Last updated on: March 6, 2023 at 2:37 pm By Liz Cooledge Jenkins

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I’ve begun to notice some of the casually authoritarian language people use in church services when speaking up front. And it’s begun to bother me. “Read along with me,” the preacher says from behind the pulpit, up in front of the sanctuary, a couple steps higher than the congregation. “Stand and clap your hands!” the worship leader exclaims from behind a turned-way-up microphone, stage lights shining on him while a couple hundred people sing along unplugged in the dark. This... Read more

Politics and Religion

2023-01-27T15:00:31-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Aligning Our Biases With God’s

Last updated on: January 27, 2023 at 3:00 pm By Liz Cooledge Jenkins

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I realize that the “love and justice” part of reading the Bible with a bias toward love and justice might sound a little vague. So I want to offer another angle on this, with a few more specifics. The angle: aligning our biases with God’s. We’ve explored the idea (in the love and justice post) that we as humans are never without bias. We’ve also explored some of the ways these biases have gone badly awry, and what that might... Read more

General Christian

Politics and Religion

Uncategorized

bias

Bible

biblical interpretation

2023-01-20T13:22:01-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Historical Abuses of Scripture Give Me Pause

Last updated on: January 20, 2023 at 1:22 pm By Liz Cooledge Jenkins

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If we—as Christians often do—ever think we have all the right answers about the Bible, a look at historical abuses of scripture may give us pause. That has certainly been the case for me. What makes reading the Bible a complex thing is not just that translation is complicated and often ambiguous. And it’s not just that both New Testament writers and historical theologians alike often read scripture very differently from the way many modern-day Christians do. It’s also that... Read more

General Christian

History and Religion

scripture interpretation

violence

2023-01-17T11:10:22-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’m Still Thinking About Martin Luther King Class

Last updated on: January 17, 2023 at 11:10 am By Liz Cooledge Jenkins

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A little over four years ago, I took a seminary class on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (The Theology and Ethics of Dr. Martin Luther King, to be precise—or Martin Luther King class, for short. Taught by Dr. Hak Joon Lee). A whole class on Dr. King! I count myself fortunate. I want to share a few things I remember from Martin Luther King class, things I still think about often. The Need for Change is Urgent I remember reading... Read more

General Christian

History and Religion

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

2023-01-11T17:42:02-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Translating the New Testament Changed How I Read Scripture

Last updated on: January 11, 2023 at 5:42 pm By Liz Cooledge Jenkins

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A pastor I like and respect once said that he found it much more valuable to know Hebrew than Greek. (Hebrew is the original language of the Hebrew scriptures, often known by Christians as the Old Testament; Koine Greek is the original language of the New Testament.) He said that Greek basically just used different words from English to describe the same things. Whereas Hebrew offered a window into a whole different mindset and way of seeing the world. I... Read more

General Christian

Education and Religion

scripture interpretation

seminary

translation

2023-01-09T14:39:42-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Playing Fast and Loose With Scripture: Historical Theologians

Last updated on: January 9, 2023 at 2:39 pm By Liz Cooledge Jenkins

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In one of my preaching classes in seminary, we were asked to write and preach three different sermons on the same passage: one in our own usual style, one in the style of 20th century Swiss theologian Karl Barth, and one in the style of 4th-5th century North African bishop Augustine. This was an assignment toward the end of the quarter. First, we had spent several weeks reading Augustine and Barth’s sermons and other writings. We studied, compared, noticed themes,... Read more

General Christian

Education and Religion

historical theologians

interpretation

preaching

scripture

scripture interpretation

seminary