Christianity, at its core, is about love of neighbor. But really, what does that mean? In our increasingly divisive country, that can feel challenging, if not downright impossible.

Join Front Row host Peter Laarman and guest Grace Ji-Sun Kim, as she explores the historical and theological implications of Jesus becoming white and God becoming a white male.

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.

As I read more in Christian theology, I’ve been surprised to learn that while many organizations don’t have an official position on other creatures in the afterlife, quite a few notable figures have argued animals go to heaven.

A Progressive and Poetic Prayer in the Spirit of Christ (sic, Lord's Prayer)

In English, the word ‘love’ is a much-abused term. For example, someone might say, “I love apple pies,” or “They made love in the bedroom last night.” Therefore, it is important to have some idea of what Jesus meant when he used the term. From what we know of Jesus from the gospels, when he said to love your neighbour, the noun ‘love’ means a self-giving concern for others.

Satire is one of the most potent forms of non-violent protest. Its unique strength lies in its ability to enable those with limited power to voice dissent and spotlight problematic issues in an engaging, humorous, and effective manner, all while remaining relatively non-threatening to those in power.

The more I learn about the Bible, the more I understand it as a messy text. The Bible was written by many different people at many different times. As a result, it’s filled with conflicting ideologies and values.

The authentic Paul is the Paul of his "authentic" letters, the letters he actually wrote. While Paul has always been viewed--after Jesus--as the major personality in the shaping of the early Christian Church, at the same time, he has been widely criticized--mostly for what people assume to be his views on women, slavery, and hierarchy in the church-- based on letters Paul did not write. Paul's detractors have also accused him of distorting the message of Jesus with their lofty teachings in the Sermon on the Mount and with Jesus' personal commitment to social justice. One of the theses of this book is that, in fact, Paul and Jesus have much in common. Indeed, more than distorting the message of Jesus, Paul's teachings appear to complement Jesus' message. Having said this, it is the author's thesis that Paul has been largely misunderstood and is deserving of a fresh hearing. Simply put, he deserves to be understood and evaluated based on the letters he actually wrote and distinctly not on letters attributed to him but which he did not write.

In John 11:3, Lazarus is referred to as the one Jesus loves. In Greek, the word used here for ‘loves’ is phileis, but the word for ‘loved’ in verse 5, ‘Jesus loved Martha and her sister Mary and Lazarus,’ is egapa. Therefore, Jesus has a different kind of love for Lazarus on his own.

“The lack of everlasting peace in the Holy Land is a deeply complex issue, rooted in a combination of historical, religious, cultural, political, and social factors.”

As Christmas comes, tradition reminds us of the cycles of seasons and history and the timeless nature of some stories. Advent is the perfect time to reflect on our 2020 podcast discussion with John Dominic Crossan about his book with the late Marcus Borg, “The First Christmas.” 

The story of Christmas has yet to end, and continues in the goodness and goodwill of our everyday lives. It may be that there are others such as he in different times and places, in distant galaxies or on the other side of earth, but for us, right here and right now, we are given a light, and a hope-certainty that loving-kindness is our truth and our destiny.

The first Sunday in October was World Communion Sunday, except it didn’t include most of the people of the world, including the Roman Catholic church, the Eastern Orthodox church, the Episcopal church, and the Lutherans.

To a certain extent, being a perennialist implies a cafeteria approach to all religions. Ideally, one tries to pick and choose what is universally true while ignoring what is culturally specific.

Every chapter speaks to our personal and collective yearning. Drawing on the poetry and symbolism of the O Antiphons, they invite us to seek what we need in Christ and in following his liberating way.

Today’s passage is from Mark 10, a chapter that includes five stories of people coming to Jesus to have their questions answered, to request a favor, or to be healed.

Women are center-stage in this election, but we seem to forget they’ve been center-stage throughout history, including the foundations of Christian history. It’s true the Bible is filled with patriarchy and in ancient times, women were often seen as not much more than possessions.

“God loves us all, but I’m His favorite.” It may make for a cute bumper sticker, but it points to a far more serious problem that impacts much of what we read and interpret in the Bible.

American Christians often wonder exactly how their faith and politics ought to intersect.  It’s an understandable confusion, especially for those who value freedom of belief and religious diversity.  I often hear that we should “keep politics out of the pulpit,” but doing so is a theological impossibility for those who take Jesus’ teachings seriously because Christianity is inherently political. 

The fifth part of a seven-part series that looks at the life of Jesus.

The anti-LGBT mindset in the U.S. is, unfortunately, rooted in Christianity. It’s also not the easiest topic to dig into. But it’s darn fascinating. And context is key.

We Christians are good at a lot of things. Potluck dinners. Taking care of church members. Dressing up on Sundays. Weddings. Funerals. Worship. Quoting scripture. And we’re persistently exceptional at misinterpreting that scripture, then running amuck in the world because of it.

Christians have an obligation to talk about the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v Wade. Not because this decision was not based on best practice and law. Not because it was not based on scientific or medical consensus. But because it was based on Christian misinterpretations of biblical text.

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.

As a man, I recognize that eliminates me from being a fully authoritative voice on the question of abortion. However, when I look at restrictive abortion laws which now make it more difficult to get an abortion in the U.S. in the year 2024, than in the year 1650, I think as ministers, even male ministers, we have to address the matter publicly.

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.

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. 

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.

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.