Why Not Wear Purple on Friday?
Friday, October 19 is a big day for Catholics, especially for Jesuits and their colleagues. It is the Feast of the North American Martyrs, which commemorates such spiritual giants as St. Isaac Jogues, St. Jean de Brébeuf …
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Marriage Equality As Christian Sacrament
Sermon by Rev. Rich Lang with University Temple United Methodist Church in Seattle on “Marriage Equality As Christian Sacrament” rooted in Matthew 16: 5-19 recorded October 14, 2012.
read moreFifty years on, Catholics still debate the meaning of Vatican II
When Pope John XXIII called the Second Vatican Council half a century ago, he said he wanted to “open the windows” of his almost 2,000-year Church to the rapid changes in the modern world. Within a few …
read moreNumber of Protestant Americans Is in Steep Decline, Study Finds
For the first time since researchers began tracking the religious identity of Americans, fewer than half said they were Protestants, a steep decline from 40 years ago when Protestant churches claimed the loyalty of more than two-thirds …
read moreFederal Appeals Court Hears Arguments in Widow’s Challenge to DOMA
NEW YORK – September 27 – The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unfairly forced Edith “Edie” Windsor to pay more than $360,000 in federal estate tax after the death of her spouse, Thea Spyer, that she would …
read moreBrian McLaren Leads Commitment Ceremony At Son’s Same-Sex Wedding
McLaren family wedding ceremony included
Brian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christian and a prominent Christian speaker, led a non-traditional marriage commitment ceremony this weekend, according to The New York Times. Held at the Audubon Naturalist Society in Chevy Chase, Maryland, this ceremony included “traditional …
read moreBrown OKs ban on protests near funerals
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Monday to bar protests near funerals, prevent future accounting scandals and provide some legal amnesty to people seeking medical help for drug overdoses. The measure protecting funerals says protesters on public property …
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Spiritual Care for the Liberated
We, Too, Need a Verse to Chant
The first sermon in which I included gay people by name among “the least of these” for whom Jesus cared, my text was the story from Acts of Paul and Silas in prison. An earthquake frees them, and the jail keeper prepares to take his own life, thinking they have escaped. But Paul shouts out, “Do not be afraid, for we are all here.” That was my sermon title, and I explained that despite their liberation, they take time to convert the jail keeper, recognizing he too is imprisoned. I’d like to think that, almost to the day that I gave that sermon 40 years ago, I still have some of that youthful idealism.
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Why I Keep Ranting about Gay Rights: Part 2 — Me and My Shadow
This is my second post in a short series about experiences that have contributed to my quite vocal advocacy for gay rights. My first post tells about my feeling of liberation upon encountering the critical study of religion and …
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What Should Churches Be About?
Whatever paradigm a community may favor (or more than one among community members), the core of Christian faith and what Jesus emphasized — the centrality of love in action — can be the community emphasis as well.
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Why I Keep Ranting about Gay Rights: Part 1 — My North Star of Biblical Interpretation
Someone on a Facebook thread a few days ago said that something must have happened to me in the past to make me have such a strong conviction in favor of gay rights. That same person later described my expression …
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Hookers, Looters and Cheats, Part 4: The Looter Who Became Jesus’ New BFF
Skype Guest: Rev. Fred Plumer
Full Darkwood Brew show with President, Fred Plumer. Interviewed by Eric Elnes.
read moreChick-fil-A’s gay marriage stance causing a social storm
The fact that Chick-fil-A is a company that espouses Christian values is no secret. The fact that its 1,600 fast-food chicken restaurants across the country are closed on Sundays has long been testament to that. But the …
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Thank You Ross Douthat; A Discussion on Liberal Christianity
Well at least we can all agree that Ross Douthat got our attention with the article he wrote recently for the New York Times. His dire attack on the so called liberal churches has already stimulated several well written articles, with a plethora of responses to each of these.
read moreCan Liberal Christianity Be Saved?
Note from the Editor: This article has been getting so much attention that we at ProgressiveChristianity.org have decided to reference it in our News section. For progressive Christian rebuttals to this article, read the recent works of …
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Can Christianity Be Saved? A Response to Ross Douthat
Many of the criticisms were mean-spirited or partisan, continuing a decade-long internal debate about the Episcopal Church’s future. However, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat broadened the discussion, moving beyond inside-baseball ecclesial politics to ask a larger question: “Can Liberal Christianity be Saved?”
read moreBill Gates, Microsoft Founder, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, Each Donate $100,000 For Marriage Equality
Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer are coughing up a bit of cash for marriage equality. According to the Associated Press, Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, and Ballmer, the company’s CEO, have each written $100,000 checks to Washington United for Marriage, …
read moreMajority of South Carolina deputies walk out to protest convention actions
[Episcopal News Service – Indianapolis] The majority of the Diocese of South Carolina’s deputies left the General Convention July 11 because, in the words of its remaining clergy deputy, the gathering has passed resolutions that violate the doctrine, …
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