Remembering Bishop John Shelby Spong
Column by Support - Progressing Spirit on September, 16 2021Bishop John Shelby Spong
June 16, 1931 – September 12, 2021
Jennifer Hereth, an Artist-Prophet For Our Times
Column by Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox on September, 9 2021Today I ask a question: “Is it possible to understand 21st century spirituality without looking at today’s art?” And if so, to whom should we turn? I highly recommend turning to artist/activist Jennifer Hereth who, during the recent pandemic enclosure time, looked back at her life’s work as an artist and teacher of art and activist who has visited Syrian refugee centers and Sri Lanka war-torn villages as well as the rugged streets of Chicago where she lives to gift us with a spiritual testament for our times.
Mystery: Beyond Understanding
Column by Dr. Carl Krieg on September, 2 2021Sometimes, the deeper we dig, the more profoundly aware we become that at the center of reality are dimensions that defy linear and logical analysis. Whether it be in the realm of science, quantum or cosmic, or in the realm of metaphysics, oftentimes mystery is the ultimate order of the day. Leaving science to the scientists, I would like to here consider two theological questions that defy logical analysis, one aspect of the nature of God and one aspect of the nature of human beings.
It is Time for Compassionate Nuanced Conversations, Part 1
Column by Rev. Deshna Charron Shine on August, 26 2021In reality, the world around us is an infinite rainbow of nuance, complexity, and brilliance! Unlike other animals and living creatures, people are as unique as there are infinite shades of colors in this world. More so, even. We come with these spirits full of experiences and lessons, we come with unique fingerprints, DNA, personalities, likes and dislikes, smells and textures, skin tones, sexualities, body types, talents, and ideas.
Progressive Christianity and the Preferential Option for the Young
Column by Brian McLaren on August, 19 2021If you believe, as I do, that the world needs a vital alternative to regressive and right-wing Christianity, then you should join me in raising the alarm — and calling for radical action among forward-leaning Christians.
Don’t Pay Them No Mind
Column by Toni Reynolds on August, 12 2021It’s been an interesting experiment to consider my attention as a form of currency. Though I’m not exactly thrilled with the capitalist framework, I’ve benefited from considering my focus as a resource, and my general headspace as a bank of its own. How I “spend” from it matters not just for myself, but also for the people around me.
When Beliefs Kill Cultures
Column by Rev. Matthew Syrdal on August, 5 2021Beliefs are a funny thing to try to pin down. If we are honest, they are slippery and largely unconscious. When enough of them get mixed together in a large enough group they build up force like a gathering storm. It makes you wonder, are any beliefs actually rational?
The topic the Black Church dares not speak of honestly
Column by Rev. Irene Monroe on July, 29 2021I was recently asked: “What should be the mandate for today’s Black Churches? ” I believe one of the mandates for today’s Black Churches is to address its ongoing struggle with the spectrum of human sexuality.
If God is Love…
Column by Rev. Jim Burklo on July, 22 2021One of the many ways to read the Bible is to view it as God’s autobiography.
When Religion Goes Rogue
Column by Rev. Gretta Vosper on July, 15 2021In Canada, it wasn’t just the Roman Catholic Church involved. Both the United Church of Canada and the Anglican Church also participated in the residential schools program which, for decades, forcibly removed Indigenous children from their families for the purpose of educating them into the dominant white, Christian culture of the country.
The Mother Religion
Column by Rev. Lauren Van Ham on July, 8 2021In Her 4.5 billion years of being a planet, Earth has known great drama illustrated in superfluous gestures of creativity and supreme acts of destruction. If we used only this as our backdrop for religion what would our religion consist of?
Paul: Friend or Foe?
Column by Rev. Roger Wolsey on July, 1 2021I think that that the apostle Paul has gotten an undeserved bum rap by many progressives and that it is good, right, and well for Christian pastors to preach from the letters of the apostle Paul.
Beautifully Entangled
Column by Rev. Mark Sandlin on June, 24 2021Could it be, as some psychologists suggest, that ‘pure’ altruism doesn’t exist? According to them, when we help strangers, there is always some benefit to us personally, even if we’re not aware of it. This could include gaining respect from others, helping us feel good about ourselves, or for some Christians it could increase our chances of getting into heaven.
Special Edition: Bishop John Shelby Spong
Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June, 17 2021My perspective is that I am a Christian, who believes I must examine political and economic decisions in the light of those values. The basis upon which I make political and economic judgments is that I believe every person, rich and poor, Anglo-Saxon and African, Hispanic and Asian, male and female, gay and straight must to be treated with the dignity of being a child of God.
Progressive Christians and Palestine
Column by Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers on June, 10 2021Over three weeks before the first rocket was fired from Gaza, and war erupted yet again between Israel and Palestine, something happened that was hardly mentioned in the press, but explains so much of the terror and humiliation that Palestinians face every day from Israel.
Welcome to Virtual Reality
Column by Rev. Brandan Robertson on June, 3 2021In this moment of history everything has changed. Over the course of a few months, most of us went from living hybrid virtual lives to almost completely virtual lives. Church services moved online for both megachurches and churches of twelve, giving equal access to the masses to churches, regardless of their size.
How To Save Our Species and Hopefully the Planet as We Know It
Column by Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox on May, 27 2021Might the global coronavirus emergency we are living through prove to be a kind of shamanistic initiation that is meant to wake us up as a species? Is facing climate change and extinction another such initiation? What are the most essential shifts in consciousness that our species must undergo if we are to survive?
Big Change
Column by Dr. Carl Krieg on May, 20 2021In his Letters and Papers from Prison, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in 1945 that the Western world was on the precipice of a new era, an era without religion. God, as the “answer” to unsolvable questions, was continually being put out of a job as science continually extended the boundaries of human knowledge.
Divine Mother Letting Go
Column by Rev. Deshna Charron Shine on May, 13 2021I think about Mother Mary and her pride alongside her anguish as her son became more and more himself. A self that threatened the powers that be. A self that would hang for being who he was. What must she have felt when he told her, I must go out into the world and share these teachings. I must share with the world this great love I have experienced.
The Measure of a “Genuine” Progressive Christian
Column by Rev. David M. Felten on May, 6 2021So, what’s the measure of a “genuine” progressive Christian? For some, it’s proficiency in some obscure spiritual discipline. For others, it’s engagement in the work of social justice. Whatever we are, the media seems to believe the 2020s may provide a leg-up for those who are advocates and practitioners of a post-modern, post-evangelical, post-liberal, post-Christian approach to Jesus following.
Science, Reductionism, and Faith
Column by Brian McLaren on April, 29 2021Like many, I grew up in a two-tier universe. The lower natural tier was physical, temporal, and ever-changing. The higher supernatural tier was spiritual, eternal, and changeless. God, the Holy Spirit, and human souls or spirits were in the higher tier. Human bodies, all nonhuman creatures, and all matter and energy were in the lower tier.
Habits Can Help or Hurt…
Column by Toni Reynolds on April, 22 2021While I am not personally optimistic about the idea of opening things up with the speed I see in my local community, it is happening. Without much help I find myself questioning if I will be more like the Osprey or the wasp.
Easter People
Column by Rev. Fran Pratt on April, 15 2021This past Lent I practiced lying fallow. I avoided news and social media. I wrote all my Lenten liturgies ahead of time. I gave myself permission to do the bare minimum of work (I’m a pastor and parent, so this part was flexible). I imagined myself as a field, unplanted in a year of Jubilee.
We Must Call Out Hate
Column by Rev. Irene Monroe on April, 8 2021Entertaining Long’s sexual addiction as a believable explanation for the killings diverts attention from his acts of intentional xenophobia and racialized misogyny. The fetishization of Asian American and Pacific Island women has constantly made their lives expendable to sex traffickers and men’s violent fantasies.
Otherdoxy: A Questionable of Faith
Column by Rev. Jim Burklo on April, 1 2021There are many questions that mainstream science can’t answer, at least at the moment. Ethical and moral questions, such as: who should get the Covid vaccine first? And how can such a prioritization be made understandable and acceptable to the public? Science provides data upon which such judgments can be made, but ultimately we can’t trust science itself to sort them out.