I remember a strange encounter I had with a young man in one of the last years of my ministry in the local church. He was probably in his late thirties and had been attending our church in Irvine, California for several months by himself.  Although he always sat in the very back of the church near an aisle, as if ready to make a dash, he always made certain to take the time to say hello to me before he left the facilities. One day as he went out the door, he asked if he could make an appointment to speak to me privately.  I said certainly, and we set up a time...

We had a very long chat about progressive Christianity and Jesus as a prophet and a teacher. He told me that he appreciated the fact that our church had a Jewish congregation and a Mosque holding weekly services there. He told me that he had been listening to my messages very carefully and he liked the idea that Jesus was talking about compassion as a path to an experience of the Holy or Sacred.

But then he got to the point. He said that it seemed that I believed that God did not punish people or send them to hell if they were not believers who followed the rules.  He wanted to know if that was really what I was saying.  "Don't you believe in hell?" he asked with a bit of desperation.

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permissiontospeak.org.uk

Orthodox Christianity is certain that it needs a physically resurrected Jesus as clearly and unambiguously stated in its creeds and doctrines. The teaching is that because Jesus was physically raised from the dead so all who believe in Jesus [and can say the 'magic' words of repentance] will live forever in an eternity praising God. However, many followers of the Jesus Way have no need of a bodily raised Jesus. A physical resurrection is irrelevant to our discipleship.

Since my book 'Setting Jesus Free' was published I have been asked many times, "Well, do you believe in the resurrection of Jesus and of eternal life for believers? Yes or no?"

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Progressive Christians are typically humble about the afterlife.  As progressives, we are clear about what we don't believe. We critique the following traditional images of the afterlife, identified with popular and conservative forms of Christianity: 1) the traditional dualism of heaven and hell, 2) eternal punishment in hell for finite sins, 3) a heaven that excludes anyone who doesn't confess the traditional tenets of Christianity and doesn't accept Jesus as their savior or receive the sacraments in the correct way, 4) the use of the afterlife as a fear technique and evangelistic tool, and 5) spiritual and theological visions that are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good! 

For the most part, we accept the Marxist critique of the afterlife as a way of encouraging people to accept the unjust status quo to focus on eternal life.  We know what we don't believe and the good news is that such disbelief has liberated many people from superstitious, supernatural, and shame-based theologies.  Our disbelief has freed people from fear of hell so we they can focus on social transformation and planetary well-being.   

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soulseeds.com

There are many theories about the afterlife. Some of them are literal and specific. Some of them are poetic and general. ALL of them are speculative and subjective. I see no conclusive evidence for an afterlife, nor does the idea of a literal afterlife solve any of the existential dilemas I ponder. Having said that, I find enormous meaning and power in the metaphor of heaven and feel very motivated by the many ways we can manifest heaven both in this life and beyond our life.

Jesus was not talking about an afterlife so much as he was describing a future life that would happen as more and more people became "subjects" of God alone, in their hearts and through their actions.

Buck had been a big, fat, bearded biker and dope dealer. Now he was a skinny guy with a beatific smile. In the dying process his ego passed away, leaving only the love that is Christ to shine through. In the months before his death, he was reunited with many members of his family, reconciling with them years after his own bad choices had estranged them from him.  One after another AIDS-related disorder weakened him. An hour or two before he died, Jeanne, sitting at his bedside, recorded his last words uttered in a semiconscious state:

If we could grasp Berry's vision, then our biblical images of judgment would not be terrifying, tormenting images to be feared, but purifying images to be welcomed, invested with new meaning.

"You may appreciate my sigh of relief when I opened the new offering from the Centre for Progressive Christianity, A Joyful Path - Spiritual Curriculum for Young Hearts and Minds.  Here is an engaging, beautifully presented opportunity for young people and their teachers to share an exploration of ideas of God, the world, the richness of our human existence and the wonderful gift that is life. The overwhelming sense is one of intelligent awareness - of the potential of humanity to embrace each other and the natural world...of what it means to be human in complex societies...of the richness we experience when we open our minds to listen. This is a positive Christian offering and one that celebrates the diversity within the worldwide Christian Church, and the universal nature of the Spirit..."

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