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Progressive Christian
What Is Progressive Christianity?

What Is Progressive Christianity?

Last updated on: September 13, 2024 at 8:42 am by Dorian Scott Cole

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What Is Progressive Christianity? 2024-09-13T08:42:02-06:00 Dorian Scott Cole

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. I don’t use labels and prefer descriptions that can grow or change, over definitions that can’t grow and become arrows to stab others because you hate them. I read a lot of progressives that I don’t agree with, and criticism of them is fair. I’m sure many don’t agree with me, and criticism of me is fair-it shows you’re thinking.

Image of progressive transforming the world for the better by Meta.AI, combined with an image of people in need (of water) by UNICEF/Kate Holt on Flickr.

I read one very biased article that said progressives demote Jesus. That article thinks that salvation is the only thing Jesus talked about and the only important thing in theology. To them, where you go is less important than what you do while here. Ugh!

Progressives embody Jesus completely, not just a particular aspect of Jesus. Jesus talked about loving others, and he shared the views of the ancient Jewish prophets on how to treat people. The Kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom of Christians that subscribe to living the way Jesus showed us to live.

Salvation isn’t shouting a name. It’s being transformed over a lifetime into people who reflect Jesus’ way of living, the way of love.

Theology

I prefer theologian Paul Tillich to other theologians.

I do theology. God is more than the sum of the parts we see in religion. God is spirit and a mystery we are all very challenged to know. We know God primarily through love, and this is written about in scripture.

Postmodernism

I’m a Post Postmodernist. This means I thoroughly studied postmodern philosophy and used it. I consider it and philosophy in general to be a set of tools for examining things, not a way of life. If you create “a philosophy” out of philosophy, you can deconstruct it forever. It has no basis, with the possible exception of humanism.

If you immerse yourself in forever deconstructing everything, you can end up in postmodern limbo, believing in nothing. The goal is to clear away meaningless tradition and find a core of truth. I do this with theology.

You require spiritual roots or everything is meaningless. The primary spiritual root is love. It’s a cornerstone of most religions, even if some people don’t reflect that. Jesus reflects the love of God in both spirit and action. We need to reflect the same, not just lasso his name and think riding it gets us to Heaven. Jesus’ emphasis was on our behavior in the here and now, not Heaven. We know next to nothing about Heaven.

Philosopher Jacques Derrida advocated for deconstruction, but he is not the father of Progressive Christians, and one should not confuse his thought with theirs.

Heaven and Hell

When Jesus came, he had to address this new belief that had no foundation in Judaism. Death was the end of mortals in Judaism. Hades was predominantly Hellenistic (Greek) in origin, essentially the underground land of the dead, influencing Judaism for over 300 years with Alexander the Great’s invasion, and began to reflect the dualism of good and evil in nearby Persian Zoroastrianism from which came the three “kings” who visited Jesus at his birth.

Jesus condemned no one. He told us not to judge others. His focus was on reconciling the people of the world with God. This was so that we might all be in the Kingdom of God, which is here now and forever, and have better lives now and eternally. This was the evangel (Good News) of forgiveness.

To reject God’s forgiveness and live in grievous mistreatment of others turns our souls into those without love who isolate themselves into outer darkness or whose conscience burns like in a lake of fire, as Jesus described it. Yet God would have them back and offers forgiveness to all. It’s our choice.

Conclusion

Progressives take Jesus’ way to live to heart and transform the world for the better.

You can settle for a very narrow view of Jesus, a very selfish view that is about personal salvation, to the exclusion of everything else. But in cornering yourself in this very biased view of Jesus, you may miss the entire point. Where does that leave you?

If you take the love of God and love of others out of Jesus’ theology, you have just another talking head.

Progressive Christianity.

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My friend, David Ketcherside, former Christian broadcaster, has written a book series that I gave feedback on. It’s for men, written from his experience, thoughtful analysis, and heart. Gen Z and X would find it very helpful. It’s available in print, on Kindle, and as an audiobook on Audible. Check out The Whole Dude. His description: “My hope is to remind readers what being whole looks like, and help them recognize the distortions that stop us from feeling totally awesome all the time.” He’s also excellent at marketing if you have marketing needs.

Probability Space

What probability spaces can we open in our minds to understand all of Christianity?

Potential Space

If you think creatively and allow your mind to wander and explore the nature of God, how would you describe it outside of love?

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– Dorian

Our answer is God. God’s answer is us. Together we make the world better.

Restore and recreate. Take time to celebrate life. Laugh, sing, and dance regularly, even every day. Happy. This is why we dance to celebrate life: Reindeer actually running and dancing.

Civic service opportunities

Do Unto Others Kindness Campaign, and civic engagement.

UCC service opportunities.

PC USA programs and services.

United Methodist Church Volunteer Opportunities.

General service and aid opportunities (on One Spirit Resources Website). To add your service opportunity to the One Spirit Resources list, contact the author (me) through Facebook Messenger. Note that I only friend people I know.

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Bible scripture verses are New American Standard Version (NASB), unless noted.

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Author and books

Appease the Volcano: What does God require from people? The voices of the ancients from many religions echo much of the same things: It starts with law, then mercy and forgiveness, then love. Love is a major emphasis in all major religions and replaces law.

The Prophetic Pattern: Ancient and Modern Prophecy: How to distinguish the intent of various types of prophecies and oracles, both ancient and modern.

Preparing For the Future Of Work and Education: Analysis of the kinds of jobs that AI and Robotics will displace, and the educational requirements for them. AI will replace or augment thirty percent of jobs. This is an in-depth analysis citing many authoritative sources.

Author Website: Dorian Scott Cole

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