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Speaking Of Our Faith
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Time to Let Go of the Fear
and Start Talking
October 2009
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Greetings!
Speaking of our faith is a tricky thing. In an era of extremes and divisions, fundamentalism and dying churches there are fine lines we walk when speaking of our beliefs and especially our faith. Faith being something we believe in, we trust, we feel to be true, but have no scientific or quantifiable proof of. I have faith that we are here for a reason. I have faith that the God energy of Infinite Goodness connects us all- as Ekhart Tolle puts it. As progressive Christians we have spent good deal of energy on defining what we do not believe- that has been often discussed, debated and declared. But fewer of us talk about what we have faith in. After all, we are informed scholars, educated theologians, college graduates, free thinkers. Its easy to look at the bible and the life of Jesus from a historical perspective and see it for what it is. But then we get to the subjects of GOD, death, rebirth, heaven, and it gets a little quieter out there. "Faith is often used in a religious context, as in theology, where it almost universally refers to a trusting belief in a transcendent reality, or else in a Supreme Being and/or this being's role in the order of transcendent, spiritual things." So,if we want the progressive Christian movement to grow, if we want our children to have a different perspective on God, on what we can't see or explain- it is time that we give words to our faith and time to start speaking of it to others. This ebulletin focuses just that- people talking about their faith and having the courage to share it with the world. We thought we would focus on blogs as it seems writers are more relaxed, less careful and more honest in that medium. We would love to hear from you as well. "Wide opened is the door of the Immortal to all who have ears to hear; let them send forth faith to meet it." ~Buddha "Faith means doubt. Faith is not the suppression of doubt. It is the
overcoming of doubt, and you overcome doubt by going through it. The
man of faith who has never experienced doubt is not a man of faith," ~ Thomas Merton. "According to what you said there, I'd consider myself a "Progressive
Christian" as well. :-) Hmmm ... gosh ... I don't think I've ever
actually said that, so you are very convincing!" ~Indira
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Why I am a Progressive Christian
Blog: Wilderness Preacher
C. Drew Smith, Ph.D.
wildernesspreacher.blogspot
"Labels are interesting things. They are attempts
to define what something, or someone, is. More often than not, we put labels on
others as a way of trying to define them, even though we will inevitably
misrepresent who they are. In the most extreme cases, we put labels on others
with whom we disagree or on those we do not like in an attempt to create a
caricature of them. In this sense, labels can be used as weapons to disparage
those not like us..." "As a progressive Christian I accept the reality that it is
humanly difficult to love, serve and embrace others. But instead of
being a conservative who judges, rejects and condemns others, and
instead of being a liberal who preaches an ineffective message of
tolerance, I must struggle in my journey of faith to be more inclusive
and embracing of those I am called to serve..." READ ON |
Progressive Christianity-
What Is it?
Blog: WonderCafe
By: "I Wonder"
wondercafe.ca/blogs
The hardest part of being conservative, liberal or progressive, is to
keep reminding ourselves that none of us have all the answers. As
progressives it is too easy to fall into the trap of creating human
made doctrine which can be just as rigid as what we are trying to
escape from. As we look at God in a new way, or see the Bible with new
eyes, or learn more about the historical Jesus, or early church
history, this may add more depth to our faith journey. But if it just
leads us to a new form of idolatry and traps us inside a new prison of
rigid dogma, then we once again become just another "noisy gong or
clanging cymbal". READ ON |
On Using Religious Language in Public, Right and Left
Blog: The Devil's Advocate
By Daniel Schultz
ReligionDispatches.org
It occurs to me that using religious language as a gloss to indicate moral
seriousness doesn't take faith seriously. For that matter, it doesn't take
seriously the idea that there are competing world views at work in our political
discourse, let alone offer a meaningful alternative.
Calling on Americans to "love the neighbor" or to "look out
for the widows and orphans in your midst" assumes that all citizens are of
goodwill toward one another, and only need gentle encouragement to bring out
their basic decency. It also assumes that they see one another as deserving of
respect and loving care. Given recent events, I'm not sure either of those assumptions is
warranted.
It's going to take a lot more than just a few
name-checks of scripture to get our commonwealth back on the rails. It's going
to take an entirely new story, one that is not afraid to confront the dominant
narrative and to suggest a different way of understanding the American identity
and purpose.
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More Finds
Quotes from Discussions and Blogs
"I personally view God as having an influence in our lives. At the very,
very least it is through the song of a bird, the beauty of an orchid,
through the incredible power of agape love in our hearts and through
our own hands when we're at our best. I think most "believers" in God
could at least agree with that. I do think it is more than that as
well, actually - but that's another topic. :-) How can any of us really
claim to fully understand the mystery of God? I do think that
Christians have a basic responsibility to speak about the influence of
the Divine in our Universe and not to emphasize a deistic understanding
- which can push our conceptions of the Spirit back out into an
inaccessible place." ~Indira
"Although I do not believe in an interventionistic God, I feel that the
creative power of the cosmos is with us when we align ourselves with
IT. I think we are wasting our time trying to convince God to come over
to our side--but we can convince ourselves to go over to God's side! Having been created in God's image means that we are co-creators of
Gods creation. If we actually and actively co-evolve the universe with
God, in the direction that God is evolving it, and align our creative
spirits with the spirit of God, then we feel that powerful unity with
the ultimate Creator, and feel flooded with creativity. This feeling
inspires and divinizes us, and makes us into Gods co-creators. This is beyond the interventionistic God, and far better than the
interventionistic God: it is becoming an active and creative part of
the active and creative Cosmos!" ~Arminius
"When I say to people I am a Progressive Christian they always want to
know what that is. When I describe it, as best as I can, they usually
shake their heads and say 'I didn't think that type of Christianity
existed!'. It frustrates me to no end that many think that the
stereo-typical Christian is a bible-bashing 'left-behinder' right-wing
creationist. As much as it is perhaps counter-intuitive to the
progressive disposition, perhaps we need to be more vocal, more present
as an alternative!" ~Adrian Gibb
"I think that while we need some evangelism - as in "marked by ardent or
zealous enthusiasm for a cause" - we are very hesitant to behave in
this way because of the way we have seen traditional evangelism work. I
think most of us see our spiritual journey as a quiet, reflective, and
personal one and we certainly wouldn't want to tell anyone else how
they should proceed on their journey. The idea of traditional marketing
or promotion seems very contradictory to our message." ~Matt Hiland
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Are Labels Really Necessary?
A Discussion on the
TCPC Message Board
Excerpt from: Derek Ward
(alias Tariki)
"It seems to me that "reality" lies beyond words. Words have their uses, but also their limits. Expanding
on this a bit, it seems to me that "labels" always have their own
context, and when the context is lost then things get out of focus. Our
minds act like a microscope. Looking at Christianity, which seems
appropriate here, there is Catholicism, the Eastern Orthodox, the
various Protestant varieties......and adjusting the microscope, within
Catholicism, "liberals" and "moderns" and
traditionalists".....Cistercians, Benedictines, Trappists.......and
mystics, ancient and modern......then onto the individual hearts and
minds experiencing the reality of their faith according to their own
lives as lived and experienced themselves, as it has unfolded uniquely
for them. It just seems that if we lose the context our minds then can
get out of focus, and we throw words and labels over something or
somebody and we lose empathy and communion with them, divided by
assumed judgements." READ THIS DISCUSSION |
 President's Notes
Monthly Thoughts, Picks and News
My Latest Thoughts
Talking About My Faith
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Interspirituality
Blog: Musings
By: Jim Burklo
tcpc.blogs.com/musings
Here at the University of Southern California, part of my
job as Associate Dean of Religious Life is to staff the student Interfaith
Council. This group of 15-20 students from many different religious
backgrounds gathers every week for an evening of discussion over dinner.
The students share about their faith traditions and spiritual journeys, and
with fascination learn a great deal from each other. .
Most of the students in our group identify with one or another recognizable
faith tradition. But several do not. These students are nonetheless
intensely interested in religion and spirituality.
Since we usually have newcomers at each gathering, the students go around the
room and identify themselves. Last year, one of our unaffiliated students
described himself as "interspiritual". READ ON |
Will The Real Progressive Christians Please Speak Up?
Blog: Open Path
By: Deshna Ubeda
tcpc.blogs.com/openpath
In my work for TCPC over the last 3 years- I have noticed that most progressive
Christians do not really like to talk about their beliefs. The comments
on our TCPC Facebook are minimal though there are a large number of
"friends;" when I am looking for articles I basically have to become
a private investigator searching the world for hidden progressive Christian
authors that aren't white-male-over-50; and in conversations one generally
hears only two sides of the Christian perspective- those that think its a bunch
of outdated crap and those that are trying to save the world, one soul at a
time. READ ON |
Feature Sermon of the Month Authenticity- Don't Hide Your Light
By: Ian Lawton
SBNR.org
To paraphrase a famous Jewish proverb, when you reach the next world, God
will not ask you, "Why were you not like Moses?" Instead the question will be,
"Why were you not more yourself?"
The way to be all that you can be is to be more yourself. I mean you right
now, not after some spiritual makeover; but as you are now, without any
pretence and with the layers of conditioned thinking stripped bare. When you
hear an inner voice say, "Yes, I am fully myself and authentic in this moment",
then follow that voice. I'm talking about the sort of moments when your skin
tingles with the goodness of life and your place in it.
When you are boldly and confidently yourself, you are
offering your highest good to the world. Is that something you aspire to in
your life?
READ ON
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Children Praying a New Story- By: Michael Morwood
ON SALE NOW
Michael Morwood's previous books have received wide acclaim for helping
adult Christians to re-imagine and re-evaluate their faith in light of
the contemporary "story" about our universe. That story and Morwood's
writings challenge Christians to expand their notion of God beyond a
localized, personal deity and to embrace belief in an all-pervasive
Mystery beyond our human concepts. They challenge Christians to review
any understanding of Jesus as the unique "way" to a localized God and
to know him as the revealer of this Mystery in our everyday living and
loving. This book is for adult Christians engaged in this shift, now asking the vital questions:
How do we educate children into this new faith perspective?
How do we pray with them if prayer is not about addressing an external, listening Deity?
Our Price: $18.00
Affiliate Price: $16.20
List Price: $20.00
S & H: $4.95
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Thank you for taking this journey with us as
we continue to encourage the growth and understanding of a Christianity that is
open, inclusive, just, loving and compassionate. As you delve deeper into
the heart of this beautiful and authentic spiritual path, we hope you share it
with those around you, educate those who desire to learn, and most importantly
let it fill you with light and loving kindness.
Sincerely,
Fred Plumer
and the Team at The Center For Progressive Christianity
center@tcpc.org, (253) 303-0022
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