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Progressive Christian

2018-04-06T09:27:57-05:00

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: Is Acts 29 A Cult? Why Do They Marry So Young?

Last updated on: April 6, 2018 at 9:27 am By Christy Thomas

Issues about the Acts 29, neo-Calvinist church movement continue to concern me for multiple reasons. See these questions today for the Thoughtful Pastor. Two questions today over similar issues: Dear Thoughtful Pastor: I read your article about neo Calvinism and the Acts 29 network. I have attended a few Acts 29 churches. I am frustrated with how things are, and I am having a hard time finding a church that shares my convictions. I am no longer complementarian, and I... Read more

membership covenants for churches

theology

Village Church

Village Church cult

2016-07-26T11:08:35-05:00

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.

On Facebook, Defining Christians and Friendship Bullying

Last updated on: July 26, 2016 at 11:08 am By Christy Thomas

One of the latest “you must copy and paste this NOW” memes to make the Facebook rounds says something to the effect that the person posting is going to trim his/her friendship list to the “real” friends, i.e., those who actually read their posts. In order to prove that one is a “real” friend, the readers are instructed to “like” the post and then to cut and paste it and put it in their own status. On Sunday, February 14,... Read more

Facebook; Facebook bullies

friendship bullying

2016-02-11T12:26:43-05:00

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: Idolatry and Contrasting Points of View

Last updated on: February 11, 2016 at 12:26 pm By Christy Thomas

In Exodus, God hands down the Ten Commandments. The second commandment forbids any graven images. Later in the same book, God tells Moses how the tabernacle is to be built and decorated — and all those chapters seem to instruct Moses to have craftsmen and women to build, overlay, sculpt, weave and make jewelry for holy rites. Isn’t this a violation of the second commandment? A little background first: Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 list the first ten commandments but... Read more

2016-02-10T11:15:53-05:00

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.

More on Beautiful Rape Babies

Last updated on: February 10, 2016 at 11:15 am By Christy Thomas

Yesterday I posted a rant after I heard about yet another politician putting the words “Beautiful” in the same sentence as “Rape” by affirming that any baby resulting from rape is beautiful. Yes, any baby is beautiful. But . . . never, ever should “rape” and “beauty” be equated in such a way. Doing so essentially says to potential rapists: “Just make sure you get your victim pregnant–then we’ll call it beautiful and you’ll be off the hook.” One of... Read more

2016-02-09T14:03:29-05:00

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.

Time to Protest: Beautiful Rape Babies and other Fantasies of Our Male Elected Officials

Last updated on: February 9, 2016 at 2:03 pm By Christy Thomas

West Virginia Republican Representative Kurkuba is quoted as saying: “while rape is awful, a child that results from a rape is beautiful.” His apology, as I understand it, was to “anyone who took my comments about the sanctity of human life to mean anything other than that all children are precious regardless of circumstances.” Here is the email I have sent to Rep. Kurkuba. Rep. Kurkuba, here is what a woman hears when words that equate “rape” with “beauty” come... Read more

2018-03-13T11:10:15-05:00

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 UMC Appointment Process with the Not Big/Not Rich Charge

Last updated on: March 13, 2018 at 11:10 am By Christy Thomas

And I also contend that the UMC connection, with its politically-influenced appointment process, really only works well for the rich and well-funded churches and their highly select clergy, but not so well for the smaller, less well-funded and less influential charges and clergy. At the height of their summer glory, the elephant ears gracing the front of the parsonage where I live looked like something this: After the unusually early and quite hard frost we experienced here on Nov. 12,... Read more

2016-02-09T08:39:48-05:00

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 Crucial Difference Between Schism and Division: Lessons from the Garden

Last updated on: February 9, 2016 at 8:39 am By Christy Thomas

The question appears again and again in church life and right now particularly with mainline denominations: should we just give up and split up? There is a way to divide and still thrive. Let’s pay attention to the lesson from the garden here. In 2012, I wrote a post about the now-impossibility of actually reforming the death-giving structure of The United Methodist Church. My frustration emerged after the Judicial Council, doing exactly what they are supposed to do, put the... Read more

The United Methodist Church

UMC

2016-02-08T16:30:37-05:00

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.

A Time to Feast and a Time to Fast: Ash Wednesday Approaches

Last updated on: February 8, 2016 at 4:30 pm By Christy Thomas

If every day were Christmas, we’d be miserable. We’d be stuffed, bored, broke and fractious. Irritations would win the day and gloom and unfulfilled expectations would slather everyone with despondency. Adults would desperately turn to TV, youth and teens to video games, as a way to disconnect from person-to-person contact. Children, surrounded by piles of overly-stimulating toys, would resort to whining, “Is that all there is?” as a way to remove themselves from their mental and emotional chaos. Christmas is... Read more

2016-02-08T10:03:19-05:00

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.

Standing Up to Oppression: Will We Pay the Cost?

Last updated on: February 8, 2016 at 10:03 am By Christy Thomas

A man sits in a house of worship, struggling with despair, staring at his useless hand. He couldn’t harness an ox, hold a plow, slaughter an animal, or build a shelter. Total ruin for his family loomed. He’d beg, but his wife and children would be sold into slavery. Others entered into the worship space, with them a teacher, Jesus. He stood before the despairing man. “Stand up. Let us see you.” He rose reluctantly, expecting to be shamed. Slowly,... Read more

General Conference 2016

GLBTQI

injustice

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The United Methodist Church

UMC

2016-02-05T15:35:17-05:00

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.

Ten Commandments for the Political Season

Last updated on: February 5, 2016 at 3:35 pm By Christy Thomas

I am currently cleaning up my blog archive. I wrote this in 2012. How little things have changed. Sigh. Two weeks, two National Conventions, and the airways spew impossible promises, nastiness, low blows and the usual mud-slinging. Yet both parties claim to be full of decent human beings and aiming for the most upright of principles. Ten things I find useful to keep in mind. Perhaps they will help others. 1. The President is NOT the Messiah or the Savior.... Read more

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