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Progressive Christian

2024-09-07T15:43:27+01:00

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 is ‘Original Sin’?

Last updated on: September 7, 2024 at 3:43 pm By Duncan Edward Pile

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I recently asked friends on social media what they believe about ‘original sin’ and got a ton of different answers. Admittedly, many of my friends are deconstructing their faith, so it’s no surprise that opinions vary, but the breadth of the variety revealed how much uncertainty there is around this topic. For the sake of clarity, the doctrine of original sin was developed by Augustine of Hippo in the 4th century. Even for Evangelicals, this should mark it as... Read more

Evangelical

Interpreting Scripture

Loving Ourselves

sin and sinfulness

The importance of theology

the sin of judgement

Understanding Self-Worth

the sin of self-judgement

2024-08-19T19:40:01+01:00

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 the Art of Surrender

Last updated on: August 19, 2024 at 7:40 pm By Duncan Edward Pile

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In military terms, surrender is failure – the vanquished power bowing to their vanquisher – but surrender can also mean to yield, like one dancer to another, like one lover to another. It is this lover’s surrender that we offer to God. We are not vanquished; we yield to his love. Surrendering to God doesn’t happen overnight, and today I want to lay out some key steps in moving from rigidity to fluidity, and from defensiveness to trust. Step... Read more

General Christian

Interpreting Scripture

Knowing the peace of God

Mental Health and Faith

Practice Peace

surrender to God

the art of surrender

yield to the Holy Spirit

Yielding to peace

2024-08-10T15:01:13+01:00

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 Does God Get Out of Worship?

Last updated on: August 10, 2024 at 3:01 pm By Duncan Edward Pile

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Does God demand that we worship him? Is it a requirement for a believer? Wouldn’t a God who seeks to be worshipped be somehow incomplete? Why would the perfect being need anything from us? For me, the answer is simple; he doesn’t. Worship isn’t something God demands as an offering. He doesn’t sit around, sunning himself in the glow of our adoration. In fact, all my experiences of heartfelt, Spirit-led worship have demonstrated the opposite – rather than focusing on... Read more

Evangelical

Loving God

Seeking God

The Holy Spirit

The spirit-filled life

True worship

Understanding God

does God demand worship

spirit-filled worship

Spirit-led worship

what is worship

Why worship

2024-07-28T18:44:57+01:00

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.

Difficult Conversations Are Part of Healing

Last updated on: July 28, 2024 at 6:44 pm By Duncan Edward Pile

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When someone hurts us, the most complete expression of mercy has at least two moving parts – telling hard truths and extending forgiveness. By ‘telling hard truths’, I don’t mean aggression or attack; I mean letting people know the impact of their actions, even if doing so is painful for all involved. Naturally, this can only work when all parties are willing, but if possible, experience has taught me that this is the most direct way to heal fractured relationships.... Read more

Evangelical

Family, Parenting and Religion

Christian Parenting

Loving Each Other

Loving Ourselves

Mental Health and Faith

the assumption of motive

the importance of difficult conversations

2024-07-20T18:49:39+01:00

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.

Is Jesus Truly God?

Last updated on: July 20, 2024 at 6:49 pm By Duncan Edward Pile

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Among the progressive community, there are many who now believe that Jesus was just an ordinary human who went on to achieve theosis, which in Eastern Christian theology means to ‘be made divine’. In other words, Jesus was one of many human beings who have been deified. Sometimes I perceive a pressure from progressives to ‘progress’ in all the ways that they have, but that doesn’t work for me. We shouldn’t step away from one set of dogma (Evangelicalism)... Read more

General Christian

Authentic Faith

Christian Mysticism

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater

Re-thinking Christian Concepts

Sound theology

The importance of theology

don't throw the baby out with the bathwater

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Jesus is Lord

universal Christ consciousness

2024-06-26T21:53:40+01:00

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.

Who Gets to Sit on Jesus’ Right and Left?

Last updated on: June 26, 2024 at 9:53 pm By Duncan Edward Pile

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Those of us who were brought up in church and later started thinking for ourselves have fragments of dogmatic clutter littered about the mansions of our minds – verses we’ve always seen a certain way…until we don’t. Those sudden moments of clarity can be as hilarious as they are frustrating, followed by the question – what was I thinking all those years? There’s a well-known passage from Mark chapter 10 in which the brothers, James and John, ask Jesus if... Read more

expectations of Heaven

love and service

no eye has seen

throne room of Heaven

What does Heaven look like

2024-06-15T19:41:29+01:00

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.

Why are Christians Scared of inclusion?

Last updated on: June 15, 2024 at 7:41 pm By Duncan Edward Pile

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In recent months, I’ve noticed that an increasing number of folk in the Evangelical community are willing to discuss universal salvation and even Biblical inerrancy, but at the first mention of including the LGBTQ+ community, the door gets slammed shut. Dialogue ends there and then. I used to write in the Evangelical channel for Patheos, and the same thing happened there. When writing about the false doctrine of Hell, all manner of conservative voices engaged with me, but once I’d... Read more

General Christian

Embracing the LGBTQ+ Community

Healthy Debate

Loving Each Other

Sex and love

church and the LGBTQ+ community

embracing the LGBTQ+ community

inclusion

the sin of exclusion

2024-05-21T22:55:21+01:00

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 Should Christian Parenting Look Like?

Last updated on: May 21, 2024 at 10:55 pm By Duncan Edward Pile

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If the Bible is read as a flat, literal text, it is a truly terrible manual for parents. If relying solely on scripture, Christian parents might think their responsibilities are limited to disciplining their children and bringing them up in the faith. When looking for Biblical examples, they might find Abraham, willing to sacrifice his son, Jacob, who had clear favourites, or Jephthah, who killed his daughter as an offering to the Lord as an expression of gratitude for victory... Read more

General Christian

Family, Parenting and Religion

Christian Parenting

Christian parenting

loving our children well

the importance of physical touch

words of affirmation

2024-05-13T20:13:06+01:00

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.

Separation From God is an Illusion

Last updated on: May 13, 2024 at 8:13 pm By Duncan Edward Pile

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As a child, I was taught that human beings are separated from God because of their sin, and if not reconciled to him through the cross, would remain so for eternity. These days I’ve come to believe that all people and all things are fundamentally connected, and that separation is a many-layered illusion. All Separation is Created by Us I interpret the early chapters of Genesis as an allegory full of meaning rather than an account of actual... Read more

General Christian

Being in Christ

Christian Mysticism

Interpreting Scripture

Re-thinking Christian Concepts

Union with God

spiritual union

union with each other

Union with God

2024-05-06T16:53:39+01:00

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.

Bells, Smells, and Liturgy – A Backwards Step?

Last updated on: May 6, 2024 at 4:53 pm By Duncan Edward Pile

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In the wake of scandals around large, informal churches and their worship juggernauts, there has been much debate about what services should look like, with many pushing for greater formality, relying on ritual and liturgy rather than organic expressions of praise. I’ve written about the worship issue before, but today I want to argue that formality (both structural and devotional) is a poor solution to the problem of performative worship, creating a maze of nooks and crannies for hidden harm.... Read more

Evangelical

formality v informality

liturgy

organic spirituality

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