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Progressive Christian

2020-04-14T20:06:03-04:00

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.

Don’t Put Jesus Back in the Tomb

Last updated on: April 14, 2020 at 8:06 pm By Vance Morgan

During his Easter Sunday homily last year, my friend Mitch—the rector of the Episcopal church I attend—told the story of Gladys, a life-long pillar of her Congregational church, one of only three churches within a seventy-mile radius in her area of the rural Midwest; the other two were Lutheran and Roman Catholic. One fateful Easter morning, Gladys arrived with her three children in tow, ready for Easter festivities. The homily was given by young man who, according to Gladys, was... Read more

2020-04-12T05:06:43-04:00

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.

New Life is for Real: A Childhood Easter Tale

Last updated on: April 12, 2020 at 5:06 am By Vance Morgan

Several years ago, just in time for the Christmas holiday season, a new book by Sarah Palin was published. Entitled Good Tidings and Great Joy, with the subtitle A Happy Holiday IS a Merry Christmas, the book was promoted, among other things, as “a fun, festive, thought-provoking book, which will encourage all to see what is possible when we unite in defense of our faith and ignore the politically correct Scrooges who would rather take Christ out of Christmas.” Every fall in recent... Read more

2022-04-01T13:16:45-04:00

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.

Actually, He Died

Last updated on: April 1, 2022 at 1:16 pm By Vance Morgan

Several Christmas Eves ago, Jeanne, Justin and I were invited to share dinner with a friend from work and her family, which includes two precocious and very active children. On display was a beautiful crèche, surrounded by all sorts of interesting items—who knew, for instance, that there was a duck and an elephant (both roughly the same size as the baby) at the manger? My friend is from Italy; her mother annually sends new additions to the crèche scene from... Read more

2020-04-08T08:46:11-04:00

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.

Waiting for an Hour: A Maundy Thursday Meditation

Last updated on: April 8, 2020 at 8:46 am By Vance Morgan

Some people can sleep anywhere. One of those people was a student in one of my seminars a few semesters ago. Bob (his name has been changed to protect the innocent) was a bright but apparently less-than-motivated student whose verbal work, such as participation in seminar, vastly exceeded his written or objective work, such as reading quizzes and the midterm exam. He’s one of those students who always had something to say that is relevant and insightful, carefully crafted to... Read more

2020-04-06T07:17:11-04:00

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.

God is a Question. What is the Answer?

Last updated on: April 6, 2020 at 7:17 am By Vance Morgan

In my General Ethics course, we just completed a unit called “Does God have anything to do with ethics?” last week. One of the essays we considered was William Irwin’s “God is a Question, Not an Answer”; it raised issues that parallel those raised by the contrast between Cromwell and More. Irwin admits that “people who claim certainty about God worry me, both those who believe and those who don’t believe,” since, in his estimation, God is a question, not... Read more

2020-04-05T06:49:47-04:00

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.

Palm Sunday and the Teaching Life

Last updated on: April 5, 2020 at 6:49 am By Vance Morgan

With Palm Sunday begins what will be the strangest Holy Week of my lifetime. The music, the liturgical celebrations, the pomp and circumstance—all of these will have to be virtual and from a distance. It will be interesting to find out the creative ways that people find to connect without physically connecting. I’ll be leading a meeting of my Living Stones seminar on Zoom this afternoon; among other things, perhaps we will be swapping Palm Sunday and Holy Week stories.... Read more

2020-03-28T18:40:21-04:00

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 Don’t Know”: The most profoundly religious statement of all

Last updated on: March 28, 2020 at 6:40 pm By Vance Morgan

Let me tell you here first, “trust in God” has never floated my boat as a viable answer to religious questions. From a student notebook On the day after Christmas 2004, the third strongest earthquake ever measured, deep under the Indian Ocean, caused a tsunami that resulted in the deaths of close to 250,000 people. The vast majority of those who lost their lives were among the poorest people on the planet, the very people who are often most vulnerable to... Read more

2020-03-28T18:31:47-04:00

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.

Don’t Be Afraid to Die

Last updated on: March 28, 2020 at 6:31 pm By Vance Morgan

Last Sunday was the Fifth Sunday of Lent; we are heading directly for Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter. We all hope that resurrection of all sorts is on the near horizon. Nine years ago, I was asked to give the sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Lent at the Episcopal church I attend. With a few updates, here is what I said: In the liturgical year, the Fifth Sunday of Lent focuses on Jesus’ signature miracle–the raising of Lazarus.... Read more

2021-04-16T13:26:23-04:00

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.

Step back, be quiet, and be at peace

Last updated on: April 16, 2021 at 1:26 pm By Vance Morgan

My friend Mitch, who is the priest-in-charge at the Episcopal church I attend, has asked me provide a short reflection this morning as Trinity Episcopal does “virtual church” on Facebook Live for the second consecutive week. Here’s what I’ll say: In the early days of Christianity, the desert monks had a saying, a divine directive that explained their calling: Fuge, Pace, et Quiesce. Loosely translated: Step back. Be quiet. And be at peace. It strikes me that this is a... Read more

2020-03-26T06:31:37-04:00

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.

Loving Yourself During Coronavirus Seclusion (and Lent)

Last updated on: March 26, 2020 at 6:31 am By Vance Morgan

It has not been lost on many persons familiar with the Christian liturgical calendar that the developing Coronavirus pandemic, along with social distancing, sheltering in place, as well as the accompanying fear and concern is happening during Lent. Everyone is presented with the opportunity–chosen or forced–to consider different ways of being, the sort of thing that Lent is supposedly about. Above all each of us is presented daily with the opportunity to engage directly with the person who most of... Read more

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