Progressive Christianity is an open, intelligent and collaborative approach to the Christian tradition and the life and teachings of Jesus that creates a pathway into an authentic and relevant religious experience.
We are a 501c3 non-profit organization that offers thoughtful and practical resources for individuals, families, and communities to explore and affect progressive Christianity, spirituality, community life, social and environmental justice.
I Pray Anyway: Devotions for the Ambivalent
by Joyce Wilson-Sanford
I Pray Anyway: Devotions for the Ambivalent by Joyce Wilson-Sanford is comprised of 365 daily reflections and 12 monthly personal stories. It tells of the author’s return to a prayer/devotions practice as she shares her own very naked, very funny, very touching prayers and reflections.
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Also see: PLAYbook for I Pray Anyway: Devotions for the Ambivalent. It is a creative, thought provoking guide/curriculum based on the book.
progressivechristianity.org/…/i-pray-anyway-devoti…/
ProgressiveChristianity.org : I Pray Anyway: Devotions for the Ambivalent
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ProgressiveChristianity.org : I Pray Anyway: Devotions for the AmbivalentThe Resistance Bible Study Podcast
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Friend and frequent contributor to ProgressiveChristianity.org, Rabbi Brian, has compiled conversations with 12 of his Biblically literate friends in a series of podcasts that both delight and educate and are FREE!
Join Rabbi Brian as he talks to Reverend Jim Burklo, Dr. Tracy Hartman, Rev. Irene Monroe, Pastor John Pavlovitz and more as he seeks to find out what the bible is and how to use it to fight oppression.
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progressivechristianity.org/resources/the-resistance-bible-study-podcast/
ProgressiveChristianity.org : The Resistance Bible Study Podcast
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ProgressiveChristianity.org : The Resistance Bible Study PodcastGathering Pecans is a family saga that spans three generations of Bagbys, an ultra wealthy family from the south, who, each in their own way, leave a mark on the world. It begins at the end of WWII and ends two days before 9/11. It’s a tale of where we have been and where we hope to never return, as well as a story that reminds us that we belong to each other whether we realize it or not.
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The ethereal Elizabeth is the bravest of all the Bagbys. She’s an independent soul from the day she’s born, and becomes a stunning woman who sees God’s creation in a much broader sense. Of her many uncanny abilities, one in particular takes her all over the world. She can speak any language spoken to her as if it were her native tongue. One of her favorite destinations, in spite of being trampled on by the Red Army, is Afghanistan, where she becomes friends with a like soul and mystic, the dynamic Ahmad Shah Massoud. In addition to being the archenemy of Osama bin Laden, Massoud is credited by many for ending the Cold War and for the fall of the Berlin Wall.
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Elizabeth’s love affair with God enables her to open her heart and mind to all faiths and cultures. She is constantly reminded that Jesus is a universal figure who belongs to the world, not just a select few. Gathering Pecans is an endearing story that will leave you pondering long after you’ve turned the last page.
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God Can’t: How to Believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils by Thomas Jay Oord
Hurting people ask heart-felt questions about God and suffering. Some “answers” they receive appeal to mystery: “God’s ways are not our ways”. Some answers say God allows evil for a greater purpose. Some say evil is God’s punishment.
Not only do the usual answers fail, they don’t support the truth God loves everyone all the time. God Can’t gives a believable answer to why a good and powerful doesn’t prevent evil.
Author Thomas Jay Oord says God’s love is inherently uncontrolling. God loves everyone and everything, so God can’t control anyone or anything. This means God cannot prevent evil singlehandedly. God can’t stop evildoers, whether human, animal, organisms, or inanimate objects and forces.
In God Can’t, Oord gives a plausible reason why some are healed but many others are not. God always works to heal everyone, but sometimes our bodies, organisms, or other creatures do not cooperate with God’s healing work. Or the conditions of creation are not right for the healing God wants to do.
Some people think God causes or allows suffering to teach us lessons or build our character. God Can’t disagrees. Oord says God squeezes good from the evil God didn’t want in the first place. God uses pain and suffering without willing or even allowing it.
Most people think God can overcome evil singlehandedly. In God Can’t, Oord says God needs cooperation for love to reign now and later. This leads to a better view of the afterlife he calls, “relentless love.” It rejects traditional ideas of heaven, hell, and annihilation. Relentless love holds to the possibility all creatures and all creation will respond to God’s love.
God Can’t is written in understandable language. Thomas Jay Oord status as a world-renown theologian brings credibility to the book’s radical ideas. He explains these ideas through true stories, illustrations, and scripture.
God Can’t is for those who want answers to tragedy, abuse, and other evils that make sense!
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ProgressiveChristianity.org : God Can't
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ProgressiveChristianity.org : God Can't
