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Progressive Christian

2016-09-09T13:24:52-05:00

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: Abortion Pain and the Choice Between Heaven and Hell

Last updated on: September 9, 2016 at 1:24 pm By Christy Thomas

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: I am interested in your thoughts–or your take on God’s thoughts–about abortion. Many years ago I made the miserable and unhappy choice to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, and while my reasons were very good, I have never been able to make peace with that decision. How can I find peace? Or do you think I have a right to find peace? ~Troubled Dear Troubled, When I see a question like this, I start aching inside for the... Read more

2015-09-26T09:06:54-05:00

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 Thoughtful Pastor: "Does God Like Women?" How About a Tampon Drive?

Last updated on: September 26, 2015 at 9:06 am By Christy Thomas

Did you know that SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) funds cannot be used to purchase feminine hygiene products? Can you imagine what it would be like to be a girl or woman living in deep poverty and unable to take care of such a basic bodily need? “Around the globe, managing menstruation can be a debilitating, even deadly, problem – fueled by a combination of poverty, misinformation, stigma and superstition. One in ten girls in Africa misses school for the duration... Read more

feminine hygiene products

fertility

levitical restrictions on women

2016-09-09T13:25:49-05:00

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: The Bible, the Whole Bible and Nothing But the Bible?

Last updated on: September 9, 2016 at 1:25 pm By Christy Thomas

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: Because one objects to certain aspects of Scripture, how does or can one believe the whole word of God?’’ ~Non-objectionable Dear Thoughtful Pastor: The Bible has been accepted as the inerrant Word of God for centuries. By what authority do some self-professed Christians as well as preachers of the gospel now ignore and contradict the Bible in regard to what is says in specific and unambiguous language in regard to homosexual behavior? This same question can be... Read more

the Bible and Homosexuality

2015-09-21T13:32:40-05:00

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.

Fighting the System: The Aging Body and the Aging UMC

Last updated on: September 21, 2015 at 1:32 pm By Christy Thomas

Battling the Systems Like just about everyone I know, I am in a constant battle with my body’s survival desire to put on weight. Vanity drives my battle. Cellular memory and human history drives my body. My body will ultimately win. It might be a good idea to be thankful for that. The way the human body puts on weight (quickly) and takes it off (slowly) has kept humankind going from the beginning. Were it not for the tendency, even the... Read more

rich and powerful churches

The United Methodist Church

UMC

UMC restructuring

2016-09-09T13:26:58-05:00

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: Prayer and Lost Children

Last updated on: September 9, 2016 at 1:26 pm By Christy Thomas

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: Do you believe in prayer? Does prayer work? If I pray for a friend with a disease and she dies anyway, did I just not pray hard enough? ~Disappointed Dear Disappointed: Three questions here. First question: do I believe in prayer? Well, not exactly, although I think I understand what you are asking here. I believe in God. Prayer, for me, is one of the essential disciplines of the formed spiritual life. I need time set aside... Read more

2023-06-12T13:34:39-05:00

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 Power of Female Friendships

Last updated on: June 12, 2023 at 1:34 pm By Christy Thomas

Last weekend I enjoyed the incredible delight of rich female friendship as about 15 other women in my general age group and I spent the night at the home of an incredibly hospitable friend at her house on Lake Moss in North Texas. I had never met any of these women until just over a year ago, but for some of them, friendships go back over 30 years. Several years ago, some of them began meeting weekly for a glass... Read more

Relationships and Religion

2016-09-09T13:27:56-05:00

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: Mean Christians and Lost Hope

Last updated on: September 9, 2016 at 1:27 pm By Christy Thomas

Dear Thoughtful Pastor, I consider myself a Christian and I am totally confused with some who seem to feel God commanded them to take on the world if the world does not see Christian values the way they do. Did God order us to work actively to attack others with slightly different ideas and tolerance levels than our own? ~Confused Dear Confused, Have you ever known two people who absolutely agreed on everything? Of course not. One of the joys... Read more

2015-09-08T12:04:48-05:00

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.

Religious Restrictions and the Right to Work–and this is a rant!

Last updated on: September 8, 2015 at 12:04 pm By Christy Thomas

Apparently we have a Muslim woman who has been suspended from her job as a flight attendant for refusing to serve alcohol to the passengers who ordered it. Her comment: “What this case comes down to is no one should have to choose between their career and religion and it’s incumbent upon employers to provide a safe environment where employees can feel they can practice their religion freely,” Masri told CNN. The difference between her and this silly Kim Davis... Read more

separation of church and state

2015-09-03T10:10:43-05:00

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: Screaming Babies and Communion Issues

Last updated on: September 3, 2015 at 10:10 am By Christy Thomas

Note: These are real questions, but the name of the questioner is withheld. Questions may be edited for the sake of clarity and brevity. If you have a question for The Thoughtful Pastor, feel free to email her at [email protected] or fill out the form here. Dear Thoughtful Pastor: “What should my attitude be when there are babies and children screaming at the top of their lungs in church, and the parents won’t take them out? How does a thoughtful pastor... Read more

gluten-free Communion

Religious Advice Column

screaming babies in worship

2015-08-21T16:33:33-05:00

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.

Hello/Goodbye

Last updated on: August 21, 2015 at 4:33 pm By Christy Thomas

It’s Friday and one of my favorite blogs challenges its readers to consider the “hello/goodbye” paradigm on Fridays as a way to reflect on the week before and the time coming in front of us. So, today I began and ended the process of saying “Goodbye” to the thousands of pages of my mother’s letters that she left upon her death. You can read more about the story here. My sister joined me. We read letters, laughed, cried and tossed. And... Read more

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