What does it mean to be a Progressive Christian? Listen to Rev. Dr. Caleb J. Lines examine the 8 Points of Progressive Christianity throughout Lent, beginning with Points 1 & 2.

A solemn Palm Sunday hymn based on the book The Last Week by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan

Let us feast on simple pleasures, and fast from all that gets our bodies and souls out of balance.

As long as everyday Christians avoid the marketplace of ideas, extremist Christians will seem the prevailing voice of Christianity and/or the church. As Bishop Spong has said, religion is like a public pool: all the noise comes from the shallow end.

Retired United Methodist pastor Martin Thielen reaches out to skeptics and struggling Christians, offering help and solidarity through his website, Doubter’s Parish. Photo courtesy of the Rev. Martin Thielen.

The story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and the story of the enlightenment of the Buddha are two of the most famous in the history of religion. Not only that, but even though they arose in different cultures they seem to say the same thing. And what they say resonates with us, no matter our time, no matter our place.

PSALMS – interpreted by Jim Burklo. Use freely with attribution

Many Christians are ready to address what remains of the Doctrine of Discovery that continues to cause harm. Beyond simply disavowing or repudiating it, they want to help Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery, recognizing the ongoing harm that it does.

I have to say that I have more respect for panentheism than classical theism because it at last respects the problem of evil and suffering more than classical theism. However, I want to ask a question: can God (from a panentheistic view) perform a miracle in history such as the bodily resurrection of Jesus? 

Though Gandhi and MLK are lauded as great social heroes in our day, during their lifetimes they were often put in jail and were regarded as enemies of the state. To be honest about some of the people currently regarded in the USA as being traitors or at least being guilty of espionage, we should wonder if they will one day be regarded as heroic whistleblowers?

The Scriptural evidence of this has always been right before our eyes. Yet, it is only in recent years that we have come to appreciate the Jewish roots of Christianity.

Serendipity is my favorite word and speaks volumes to me about life as I have come to understand it. Serendipity is defined as, “The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.”

God,
Our Source and Ground of Being,
In you we live, move, and exist.

Hersay brings healing and empowerment through songs with lyrics inclusive of the Divine Feminine, drawing from the musical styles of Taizé and other chant traditions. Female names and images of the Divine heal the wounds of patriarchal oppression and violence, and empower us to create a just and peaceful world.

If one chooses to interpret the story of Jesus fasting in the desert symbolically, the story becomes an allegory of transformation.

Are we “saved” together, or “saved” separately? It is certainly a living question for Christians to ponder, but it is worth asking in the context of other religions – or in that of no religion at all.  Are we “all in the same boat”, or not? 

“I stopped going to church because it just seems to be the same thing all the time. Same sermons, same actions, same results. I’m not sure we were actually changing anything. We helped the poor, but they always came back still needing help. Why don’t churches do more to change things?”

In this new year – just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse — something dark and revelatory already happened on that day. Thousands of insurrectionists stormed the Capitol; wielding clubs, and bats, and – in one instance – a Bible.