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.

Transformation ought to be an essential part of Christianity, but all too often, it isn't.  ProgressiveChristianity.org Co-Executive Director Rev. Dr. Caleb Lines discusses how we must embrace change to experience true transformation.

It was the concept of “rebirth” that attracted me to Christianity again, after I had been an agnostic for many years. The realization that much of the symbolism in the New Testament is about the possibility for humane personal change, allowing for more meaningful social engagement, is what brought me to Progressive Christianity.

What I have described previously as The Simple Truth is also the simple message of Jesus, and it is a tragedy that what, in essence, is so simple has been made so alien and convoluted that it makes no sense.

Mystics know love is abundant as air. But sharing love with others is a challenge.

Christian Economics promotes justice, fairness, balance, cooperation, and mutual respect within business, economics, and politics, and is based on three principles: good is to be done and promoted and evil is to be avoided; love your neighbor as yourself; and treat each and every human being with absolute dignity.

Mean-spirited Christianity is exhausting, both for those who practice it and for those who witness it.

Another way of applying Jesus’ words to the 2024 election is to demand that equivalent standards must be used to judge all candidates.

Transformation ought to be an essential part of Christianity, but all too often, it isn't.  In this week's video Rev. Dr. Caleb J. Lines explores how embracing change can lead to true transformation. 

In this groundbreaking, inspiring book, Robin R. Meyers, the senior minister of Oklahoma City’s Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ, shows how readers can move from a theology of obedience to one of consequence.

Transformation ought to be an essential part of Christianity, but all too often, it isn't.  In this week's video Rev. Dr. Caleb J. Lines explores explores how the Book of Revelation relates to change. 

Father Greg built his church by practicing unconditional love to people society had rejected and provided the opportunity for them to transform their Good Friday lives into Easters. Some did, and some didn’t. (In 2024, Father Greg was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor for his work.)

Open and relational theology offers a better framework for imagining how humans might imitate God.

When JD Vance denounces childless cat ladies, he represents the heart of fundamentalism, all those white Christian nationalists who define a man by the size of his gun collection and a woman by the number of her offspring. Jesus is/would be horrified.

Best Selling Theologian Matthew Fox Challenges Trump & MAGA with his new book: "Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election"

Have you ever felt that your faith could use a fresh perspective? Dr. Peter Lewis, a prominent figure in progressive Christianity, provides an engaging approach that challenges traditional beliefs and deepens your connection with Jesus.

Week 37: Transformation ought to be an essential part of Christianity, but all too often, it isn't.  In this week's video Rev. Dr. Caleb J. Lines explores how embracing change can lead to true transformation. 

Step back a bit and think about it.  Neither you nor I, as believers in law and order, want to see an innocent man put to death.  Let’s put the blame for this miscarriage of justice where it belongs – on people’s belief in God!  Let the people deal with the consequences of their primitive ideas. 

People often think that the Bible is obscure, hard to understand, and irrelevant. But today’s reading from Ephesians seems as fresh and accessible as when it was first written some 2,000 years ago. The passage is straightforward. It is a list of don’ts and do’s, a kind of inventory of spiritual virtues.

I’m bone tired of being told why I should fear the other guy. Not because I’m not afraid—Lord help me, I’m terrified—but because fear will never move hearts and minds like an appeal to who could become.

You have probably given some thought about what it means to be a Christian, and the concept of conscious evolution probably never occurred to you.  Allow me to explain, and in explaining you might be surprised that I am going to first talk briefly about geology.

Thoreau’s exhortation about how to achieve a happy life- Simplify! Hemingway wrote short sentences with a minimum of adjectives and adverbs. I have here tried to follow this advice, communicating as concisely as possible what I see as basic human truth.

We do not have to see malice in the actions of Satan or “the Devil”. Satan is, in fact, a charming character, quite well-intentioned. As you’ll see, the Church tried its hardest to give the guy a bum rap.

An interview with Martin Thielen about his new (free) book

A decade of planning a coup has taught the greedy, super-rich, and powerful that the immigration card trumps everything. They’re coming for your job, taking aim at your family, your home, your religion, your country, and you need a strongman to protect you. Trump uses this fear all the time.

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.

Donald Trump promised, “In four more years, you won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians.” His words are starkly anti-democratic and—from a candidate who incited a mob to attempt a deadly coup—deeply disturbing.

Does the Bible have any insights to help us decide when groups of cells can become viewed as a baby or when they are just considered human tissue? 

Ninety-five percent of the human population is left-brain dominant. A 2013 study sampling 160,000 Americans showed that 37% of Americans are left-brained, while only 29% are right-brained. In only 34% of participants did the two hemispheres exert equal influence on decision-making.

Once you understand the agenda of Christian nationalism, ask yourself: What Christian nationalist ideals and beliefs do I put up with on a daily basis? These ideals and beliefs are everywhere in our culture. All we have to do is pay attention. Every day in a thousand little ways, you and I participate in and give power to a Christian nationalist belief system – no matter how covertly or unconsciously we may do it.