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Progressive Christian

2016-11-03T15:07:13-05:00

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.

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Popes then, celebrity pastors now?

Last updated on: November 3, 2016 at 3:07 pm By Christy Thomas

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: When you were in Europe recently, did you learn anything while seeing historic Christianity that would give you insight as to how it affects your understanding of the way Christianity is practiced in the US today? After spending several weeks in a land where a town only four hundred years old is considered without historical interest, I began to recognize better our shallow roots. I gained understanding that our ignorance of both religious and secular history means... Read more

historical Christianity

Italy

Vatican

2016-10-31T12:34:09-05:00

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 women: I remind you again–you don’t HAVE to vote for Donald

Last updated on: October 31, 2016 at 12:34 pm By Christy Thomas

For some time, I have been chronicling the political conversations and challenges of our “when an ‘anyone but Hilary’ is married to an “anyone but Donald'” relationship. We have cast our respective votes, but many others have not. A few weeks ago, a tape was released that confirmed that Donald is, among other problematic things such as ingrained racism and a long-lasting infatuation with all things Putin, a serial predator. Shortly afterward, I dashed off a piece that asked people to... Read more

2016-10-26T10:49:38-05:00

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.

Voting edition of “When an ‘anyone but Hillary’ is married to an ‘anyone but Donald'”

Last updated on: October 26, 2016 at 10:49 am By Christy Thomas

We have both voted. My husband did his early voting at the local fire station. I sent in my ballot by mail. He voted straight Republican. As for me . . . I have never in my life voted a straight ticket. I have long been an issues voter and do not think one party fully represents my thinking on any subject related to politics and governance in the US. But today, for the first time and I hope the... Read more

2016-10-25T16:10:23-05:00

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.

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Can I use the Bible to convince my friends to vote a certain way?

Last updated on: October 25, 2016 at 4:10 pm By Christy Thomas

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: Religion has a very unifying effect on its followers. Is it even possible to separate religion and politics (that govern our everyday lives)? The Bible is used to justify every conceivable political position. But let’s assume one can separate the two. What is the mental process to do that? If I can use some passage from the Bible to convince my friends to vote the way I want them to, how do I separate those two actions,... Read more

2016-09-26T16:47:56-05:00

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.

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Am I supposed to let someone hit me?

Last updated on: September 26, 2016 at 4:47 pm By Christy Thomas

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: The Bible says to turn the other cheek when I am affronted. How do such words apply in a world full of radicalism, threats, rampant murders, bigotry and hate? How many physical and mental assaults must a person or a group absorb before earning the right to ask this: Are you kidding me? Is the Bible–the book I grew up depending on–really that out of touch with reality? Are its followers so very obliged to stand down... Read more

2016-09-24T14:21:05-05:00

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.

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: how do I stop playing the game with a passive-aggressive husband?

Last updated on: September 24, 2016 at 2:21 pm By Christy Thomas

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: I’ve been married nearly 16 years. My husband is a great guy in so many ways but this last six months have become difficult. He has always been passive aggressive but I can feel it getting worse. I don’t know whether I have changed (I have been questioning our religious beliefs a lot recently) and I have become less tolerant of it or whether the behaviour has actually increased. I’m finding myself more and more upset and... Read more

2016-10-10T08:28:53-05:00

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.

The church then and today: the need to exclude defines us

Last updated on: October 10, 2016 at 8:28 am By Christy Thomas

Saturday was Sicily. We wandered in the small villages that Francis Ford Coppola inadvertently made famous by filming parts of The Godfather movie series in them. We were making our way to a church where one of the scenes was filmed. Along the way, we saw this arch. The guide told us that we now looked upon the remains of the Jewish synagogue. Before the 14th century, there was a thriving Jewish component to the village life here. And then,... Read more

forced Jewish converstion

Wesleyan Covenant Association

2016-10-09T10:56:27-05:00

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.

This is not harmless locker room talk: Time for women to say NO MORE

Last updated on: October 9, 2016 at 10:56 am By Christy Thomas

My husband and I are currently in Europe. I was seriously hoping to be away from all political talk during these weeks away, but it cannot happen. The 2005 audio of the Despicable Donald crowing about his ability to molest any woman he wanted has made clear what most of us have known for far too long: women are nothing but sexual objects to him. That is their only purpose in life. A man we met on the ship–a former... Read more

2016-10-07T10:14:27-05:00

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.

Notes from a retired pastor, musings from cruisings: swans and emaciated Jesus

Last updated on: October 7, 2016 at 10:14 am By Christy Thomas

Luxury cruising: finding our bed strewn with rose petals and towel swans along with a bottle of champagne waiting for us as a way to honor our anniversary. Luxury cruising: having the head chef come our table and say, “I’ve finally found you–you are not taking advantage of ordering anything you want ahead of time. We will make any dish you want to comply with your gluten-free needs.” Apparently, I am the only person on board with this issue (or... Read more

2016-09-24T14:22:10-05:00

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.

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: how do you stop someone you think is going to do something bad?

Last updated on: September 24, 2016 at 2:22 pm By Christy Thomas

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: What do you do if you know a person is going to do something bad but has not executed it. Is there any way to stop them? You have no hard evidence of their actions but you know the person well enough to be pretty sure that there’s going to be a terrible outcome. The short answer to “is there any way to stop them is “no.” But if we really want a “yes” here, let’s look... Read more

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