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Sin and Repentance in Progressive Christianity
Repent and Sin No More?
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Greetings!
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I often receive emails from folks who suggest that I am
trying to destroy Christianity. Some tell me that I am just ignorant and often
suggest that if I would just read the Bible I would get it right. Others
believe I am an agent of the devil, and some have even suggested that I am the
Anti-Christ. I must admit, sometimes my
ego gets off on that one. At least it
seems that I am important to someone. Almost all of these types of emails suggest that the
"real issue" is that we progressives are trying to ignore the "hard part" of
being a committed Christian. That usually includes the statement that we do not
want to believe that there are " rules" that we are supposed to live by that
have been given to us by God. And the second related part is that we ignore the
"truth that we are sinners," and therefore believe we have no need for repentance and redemption. Of course, they
almost always end with something like, "ha, ha, you are going to burn in hell."
The interesting thing is that I really do believe that
sin, repentance, and redemption are an important parts of a spiritual path, and
in fact an important part of the human condition... To Read Fred's Letter, click HERE |
The Voice in the Wilderness (Excerpt)
By: Sea Raven, Dr.Min.
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...As John the Baptist discovered, humans are fond
of apocalypticism. The current apocalypse is now expected to happen in
2012, which is as far as the Mayans were able (or thought it worthwhile) to
project their calendar. What has not occurred to most of us since the 1st
Century is that the apocalypse is not about sinners who refuse to believe in
some interventionist god who will save us. John the Baptist was very
clear about that: "Don't even start with 'We are the chosen of Abraham.'
I'm telling you, God can raise up children for Abraham right out of the
rocks." Indeed, as Jesus reminded his hometown friends, the legendary
history of the Jewish people tells us both Elijah and Elisha were instruments
of liberation for the enemies of Israel. Nor is the apocalypse - judgment day - about
petty sin, as we might define petty sin in the 21st Century...It's about living in Non-violent Covenant,
distributive justice-compassion, and peace. In other words, it's about
repenting from violent consumption and embracing sustainable life.
To Read This Article, click HERE
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"What is
appropriately called sin belongs to a more specific sphere of human freedom
where we have the possibility of enhancing life or stifling it. It is the realm where competitive hate
abounds, and also passive acquiescence to needless victimization...the misuse of
freedom to exploit other humans and the earth and thus to violate the basic
relations that sustain life. Sin lies in
the distortion of relationship, the absolutizing of the rights of life and
power on one side of a relation against the other parts with which it is, in
fact, interdependent."
~Rosemary
Radford Reuther (contemporary, Roman Catholic, feminist theologian)
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Drop the Stone
By: Scott Robinson
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I think it's normal to grow in tolerance for human
frailty as one gains experience; the more we see of life, the harder it becomes
to assume we know the whole story. But
I wonder what faculties are actually altered by exposure to life-what about us
changes as we develop a broader perspective? If we conceive of the moral
universe in a charts-and-tables way based on abstractions about "right" and
"wrong," surely that system would remain untouched by the passage of time. But what if increasing maturity re-frames the
subject, bringing different faculties to bear?
What if, while believing we are trying to do the "right" thing, we are
actually trying to do something else-and the process of growing up brings us in
touch with that? To Read This Article, click HERE |
What About Sin? A Sermon
By: Peg Pfab, Southminister
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 Obviously
how we think about sin changes how we think about repentance, forgiveness and
reconciliation. If we understand sin to
be primarily personal... the burden is on us individually to change our behavior.
Change in personal behavior is always good when we identify behaviors and
thoughts that we know we need to change. But personal change does not adequately deal
with destruction and hurt and evil that can come from the corporate, communal
sin. For example: we might know that we have to change our attitudes toward
homeless persons...and be more generous in our personal charity. And it is good to do so. But that still does not change the structural
economic and political situations that will continue to result in more and more
homeless people. Or we might become
aware that we personally need to be more open minded to those who are different
from us. So personal transformation is
good. But that does not change the systems
of racism, sexism or homophobia. That infuses much of our cultural landscape. To Read This Sermon, click HERE
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The Way Forward
By: Rev Chuck Queen
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Our Christian faith should be a resource that compels us to hold our
beliefs in humility, to work for peace, to listen to and treat others
of different faith traditions with respect, and look for common ground
on which we can stand together as children of God. "Blessed are the
peacemakers," said Jesus. "Blessed are those who hunger after justice"
(the kind that attends to the inequities of the disadvantaged). Isn't it ironic and sad that so many versions of Christianity today
have the opposite impact and effect, causing division and promoting
inequity? Instead of breaking down walls, creating mutual trust, and
building friendships, some Christians who press others to conform and
convert to their faith system condemn and dismiss those who refuse to
adopt their Christian interpretations. To Read this Article, click HERE |
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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,
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Fred Plumer
and the Team at The Center For Progressive Christianity
center@tcpc.org
253-303-0022
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