About the Author: Rick Herrick
Biblical scholarship has come a long way from the notion that the four Gospels were written by an evangelist who was an eyewitness follower of Jesus. The story of how these Gospels were actually written is a fascinating one. Anyone with an intellectual interest in the New Testament should not miss this book.
Living the teachings of Jesus is an important focus of all progressive Christians. The teachings of Jesus are beautiful... The problem is there is no practical advice in the New Testament on how to attain them. The teachings of Jesus come with no how-to suggestions.
It’s a well-known fact that Christianity is slowly dying in the West. While there are many factors contributing to this decline, the most significant one is biblical belief. More and more people are finding the beliefs outlined in the Bible unbelievable. As a result, the time has come to have a conversation on what a post-biblical Christian faith might look like. This book begins that conversation.
An important part of the work of ProgressiveChristianity.Org is to make sense of the teachings of Jesus for the modern world. We present a vision of the Christian faith that is radically inclusive, with a focus on economic and social justice, as well as a commitment to resolve conflict with nonviolent means. That is our work—to present these values to the members of our churches and to anyone outside them willing to listen.
I spent yesterday morning (November 6th) trying to understand the tragic loss of Kamala Harris’ bid for the Presidency. After a few hours and finding no one expressing my real concerns, I decided to write this article instead.
First, Jesus was a charismatic human being with a great big heart. Second, he practiced what he preached, he lived his teachings. The question posed in this essay is why it was so easy for him to live the love behind his teachings while so many of us struggle today to achieve a similar goal.
Why did God make it so difficult? There is no answer to this question. In the book of Job, God inflicts pain and suffering but refuses to explain why. God is a profound mystery, transcendent, beyond human comprehension. So what does God give us? Instead of the big experience described by Paul, we get brief glimpses into a reality of goodness and love.
Have you ever spent time watching dog owners in action? They only notice goodness. They ignore or forgive most, if not all, of their dog’s annoying behavior.
The issues I’ve uncovered are not the same. They are more subtle, but the result is the same. These defensive parts of my ego cloud my awareness with self-centered concerns.
The central focus of Jesus’ message was to announce the imminent coming of the kingdom of God. This is what he was sent to do. (Luke 4: 43-44) This kingdom would be on earth for the people of Israel. (Matthew 10: 5-8) Although Jesus gives few details on how this kingdom would operate.
The church of the future must change to help its members develop further along their own spiritual journeys. Seminarians should spend less time studying the Bible, Church history, and Christian theology. Instead, the focus of their training should stress positive child-rearing strategies, meditation in its many forms, and psychological therapy.
A Christian Approach to Political Decision-Making: Introducing Whisper Ethics presents a new way of thinking about religion and politics.
The Bible is a very human book with differing positions on who Jesus was and what he said. The result is you can find a passage in the Bible to support any political position you choose to take.
There is no question that the voices of marginalized people are found in the Bible if you look carefully. The New Testament also presents a picture of a beautiful man who talked about a God of love and forgiveness and who urged his followers to create communities that practiced nonviolence, inclusion, and the pursuit of social and economic justice.
The novel takes us through the racial struggles of the sixties, the horrible plague decimating gay men with AIDS in San Francisco in the ‘80s, and the devastating consequences of a Roman Catholic priest preying on a young boy.
It is now possible to answer the question of why Christians should engage in politics. The answer is simple: God is calling on them to do so with the whisper thoughts that float through their awareness
The rise of Christian nationalism is a worldwide problem. In the United States, it begins with the idea that God chose America, that we as a nation are especially blessed.
New discoveries leading to new products are coming at a rapid rate of speed. This new approach to processing and integrating data is becoming interwoven into all aspects of life.
The Bible is a very human book with differing positions on who Jesus was and what he said. The result is you can find a passage in the Bible to support any political position you choose to take.
When I look at the writers who examine the relation between religion and politics, most take their cues from the Bible. There are two problems with this approach.
A Book Review
Honest to God: Christianity at the Convergence of Tradition, Reason and Mystery by John Speers is a fascinating analysis of the current challenges facing the Christian church.
Whisper ethics comes from process theology, the work of Alfred North Whitehead and several prominent Christian theologians.
Abraham Lincoln was a progressive Christian. While being raised in a small fundamentalist Baptist church, Lincoln rejected the Christianity of his parents.
The central argument of the book is that we must shift the focus of our religion away from biblical belief to a sense of the deep, transforming love that comes from knowing God.
