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Progressive Christian

2022-05-18T14:57:05-08:00

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.

War and Peace Within One Soul

Last updated on: May 18, 2022 at 2:57 pm By Gregory T. Smith

One person called me their human Xanax. Another person called me the family hothead. How can one person contain both elements of peace and war in their soul? Maybe you ask the same question about yourself. My Name is Divided My name, Gregory, has two meanings. First, it means fierce protector. Second, it means watcher. So, one part joins battle while the other quietly observes. When I’m honest with myself, I find my spirit possesses both of these characteristics. Those... Read more

2022-05-08T14:42:57-08:00

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.

5 ½ Things You Can Do To Make Jesus Come Again

Last updated on: May 8, 2022 at 2:42 pm By Gregory T. Smith

How can Christians make Jesus come again? First-century Pharisees believed that if every Jewish person simply kept the law for one day, the Messiah would come. Of course, that was never gonna happen, and that’s not the reason Jesus showed up. But here are 5 ½ ways that Christians can totally make Jesus come back a second time.* Share the Gospel in Every Nation. Matthew 24.14 says the end won’t come until the gospel is preached in every nation. Growing up, I... Read more

Challenging the Church

2022-05-08T12:06:28-08:00

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.

When You Are the Burning Bush: “On Fire for God” Isn’t so Hot

Last updated on: May 8, 2022 at 12:06 pm By Gregory T. Smith

Being on fire for God sounds great when you speak Christianese. But sometimes it doesn’t feel so hot. Most people know the story of Moses, either from the Bible itself or from the movies. You know how he grew up as a prince of Egypt, but at some point, learned that he was Hebrew. When he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave, he killed him and fled to the desert to become a shepherd for 40 years. In the... Read more

2022-05-08T13:31:20-08:00

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.

Atonement to the Father Vs. Attunement to the Mother

Last updated on: May 8, 2022 at 1:31 pm By Gregory T. Smith

Is it atonement to God the Father, or attunement to God the Mother that brings you peace? The Christian church has inherited a narrative that goes something like this: Because of Adam and Eve, you were born with the stain of original sin inside you. Your sin offends God the Father, and only the blood of a perfect sacrifice can remove that stain. Throughout the centuries, people tried to appease the wrath of God by offering animal sacrifices. This worked... Read more

penal substitutionary atonement

2022-05-01T15:42:38-08:00

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’s the Best Way for Churches to Do Benevolence?

Last updated on: May 1, 2022 at 3:42 pm By Gregory T. Smith

The disheveled couple looked nervously into the faces of gathered Deacons. They wore their awkwardness like their dirty shirts as they comforted the crying baby in their lap and tried to look both respectable and pitiable at the same time. We waited uncomfortably for the last couple of deacons to straggle in after the worship service. Finally, we closed the door and turned the spotlight on the young couple. The chairman began. “Thanks for meeting with us. Now could you... Read more

Challenging the Church

Social Justice

Uncategorized

Benevolence committee

Humility

Micah 6:8

Social justice

2022-05-03T18:27:55-08:00

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.

Can Church Music Be Saved from Bad Theology?

Last updated on: May 3, 2022 at 6:27 pm By Gregory T. Smith

Has your changing faith made certain church songs difficult for you to sing? Does Christian music communicate things about God that you no longer believe? In my last article, I wrote about bad theology in church music. Bloody songs can repulse people who are new to the church. Violent, nationalistic, and racist lyrics can send people the wrong message about Jesus, the Prince of Peace. “Worm theology” convinces people that they are nothing more than miserable, wormy, wretches, who are... Read more

Challenging the Church

Deconstruction

Uncategorized

bad hymns

Deconstructing church music

sloppy wet kiss

2022-05-01T07:34:42-08:00

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.

That Saved a WHAT Like Me??? – Church Music and Deconstruction

Last updated on: May 1, 2022 at 7:34 am By Gregory T. Smith

Many people going through faith deconstruction say they have difficulty with hymns and worship music. The church needs to be more thoughtful about the songs we sing. Here are a few kinds of songs that would be better off, left out of the hymnal or the video projection: Bloody Songs Many of the songs we sing in church are more fit for a butcher shop than a house of worship. Songs like “Are You Washed in the Blood?” make me... Read more

Challenging the Church

2022-04-26T20:23:04-08:00

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.

Not THAT Kind of Christian!

Last updated on: April 26, 2022 at 8:23 pm By Gregory T. Smith

Yesterday, I got confronted with my secret–it had finally gotten out. I was talking with one of my clients, whom I have known for a year and a half. In the middle of the conversation, he said, “I heard that you used to be a pastor!” I told him that yes, that’s true. (I consider myself to still be a pastor, ordination intact and everything, but that’s not the point.) I asked him where he’d learned the secret, and he... Read more

Challenging the Church

2022-04-24T09:24:20-08:00

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.

Wrestling with God Builds Spiritual Muscle

Last updated on: April 24, 2022 at 9:24 am By Gregory T. Smith

As boys, my brother and I loved to wrestle. Many of our friends grew up watching Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Dusty Rhodes, and other professional wrestlers. But we were never believers. Our parents told us that while they were great athletes, the wrestling itself was fake. Instead, my brother and I learned Greco-Roman wrestling and developed a style closer to submission wrestling. Which usually meant he pressed my face to the ground until I cried, “uncle!” While we loved... Read more

Deconstruction

Spirituality

Uncategorized

Building spiritual muscle

Don't question God

Jacob wrestling with God

Spiritual growth

wrestling with God

2022-04-23T09:14:06-08:00

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.

If You See God, Kill Him! – Separating God From Our Beliefs About God

Last updated on: April 23, 2022 at 9:14 am By Gregory T. Smith

“If you see the Buddha, kill him,” say the Buddhists. What a strange thing from people talking about their beloved teacher! Of course, they’re not referring to Gautama himself, since that enlightened one died thousands of years ago. So, what does this saying mean? Religions, Philosophies, and Ultimate Reality The famous Buddhist aphorism means that ultimate reality is ultimately ungraspable. Suppose you were walking down the street one day and you met the Buddha. From the Buddhist perspective, this... Read more

Challenging the Church

Deconstruction

Spirituality

Uncategorized

Buddhism and Christianity

Kill Buddha

Plato and Christianity

Taoism and Christianity

World of forms

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