Folks, this is serious stuff. In fact, managing human-aggravated global warming and climate change is the single most important moral matter of our generation.
I’d even go as far as to say the modern version of Dominionism, that’s now called Christian Nationalism, is nothing like the teachings of the man who said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
A majority of those who are now identifying as “Progressive Christians” are converts, so to speak, those fleeing other Christian traditions that had no real knowledge of Progressive Christianity.
Hooray! Yet another Christian Nationalist effort to strangle American values has gone out with a whimper. This time, it was a Texas Senate Bill that, if passed, would have required the 10 Commandments to be displayed prominently in every classroom in the state.
Here we are, immersed in a swirl of biospheric breakdown and societal strife that isn’t going away; in fact, it’s getting worse. The darkness and distress cannot be passed off as the wrath of an angry God. Rather, we ourselves are at cause, and these are the real end times.
There’s been a lot of conversation recently about whether we still need to use the term “progressive” as a qualifier for Christian. As a movement, we’ve been using the label for about 3 decades, and with so many cultural shifts, it’s only natural to raise the question of whether it still fits.
Just when you thought things could not get worse, the Southern Baptists have declared that not only can women not be pastors, or anyone in a “position of authority over men,” but that SBC churches already led by women should be purged from the denomination.
Systemic racism and oppression of marginalized folk’s experience is ingrained in all of us and in every system. Even if every person became anti-racist and radically inclusive, our systems would still be a huge barrier to the liberation and equality of all.
The facts emerging about the future of organized religion and institutional Christianity in North America are quite sobering indeed.
The East-West spiritual encounter has been profoundly formative for progressive Christianity. Experiencing the meditative practices of the East has inspired us to explore the previously neglected contemplative tradition of our faith.