Progressive Christianity

[sesfw]

Is anyone here involved with progressive Christianity? 

The church we go to has a very progressive pastor to the point of trying to find every 'untruth' that's in the Bible.  I'm very good at tuning him out and I would have been gone a long time ago except DH is a life-long Methodist and wouldn't dream of going anywhere else.  I'm even willing to drive 25 miles to the next closest one but so far haven't convinced him to do so yet.

I've about had it.

[Shooby]

I don't get it. What is the point really? To try to remake the Bible in your own image or what?

[Opti]

You'd have to define what Progressive Christianity is first. One pastor allegedly always looking for untruths in the bible might be more about the pastor.

[billisonboard]

Maybe it is like a progressive dinner party.

Few things are more fun than a progressive dinner party. It's a great opportunity for a group of friends or neighbors to get together -- especially during the busy holiday season -- and visit several homes in a single afternoon or evening. The dinner involves everyone going from home to home, and enjoying a different course of the meal at each home. Each person/couple can offer part of the meal or several people may offer different courses of the meal to all.

Go from church to church.

[sesfw]

He is a part of a small movement bent on debunking the Bible. He is co-author of a book called 'Living the Question'. I tried to read it and gave it up.

There is a list on what progressive movement believes in but on the reverse side of the page is a statement from a leader that goes against it.

Confusing to me.  Maybe one of you can understand it. 

[ArchietheDragon]

Tuning him out is the right thing to do.

1 Corinthians 14:34-35

[imawino]

Progressive Christianity sounds like an oxymoron to me.  

But if you hate going to that church, don't go. Problem solved.  Why waste a couple hours of your weekend trying to not listen to someone talk?

[Opti]

May 22, 2015 12:56:44 GMT -5 sesfw said:

He is a part of a small movement bent on debunking the Bible. He is co-author of a book called 'Living the Question'. I tried to read it and gave it up.

There is a list on what progressive movement believes in but on the reverse side of the page is a statement from a leader that goes against it.

Confusing to me.  Maybe one of you can understand it. 

I don't think the intention is to debunk the bible but to evaluate it. You may be more comfortable seeing the bible as a literal from God book and others choose to look at it as a document written by flawed human beings influenced by their upbringing and time.

The website I found does not tell me much, just that it is a Christian movement that believes the bible did not fall from the sky fully developed by God. www.livingthequestions.com/xcart/pages.php?pageid=6

[The Captain]

May 22, 2015 13:22:27 GMT -5 Opti said:

May 22, 2015 12:56:44 GMT -5 sesfw said:

He is a part of a small movement bent on debunking the Bible. He is co-author of a book called 'Living the Question'. I tried to read it and gave it up.

There is a list on what progressive movement believes in but on the reverse side of the page is a statement from a leader that goes against it.

Confusing to me.  Maybe one of you can understand it. 

I don't think the intention is to debunk the bible but to evaluate it. You may be more comfortable seeing the bible as a literal from God book and others choose to look at it as a document written by flawed human beings influenced by their upbringing and time.

The website I found does not tell me much, just that it is a Christian movement that believes the bible did not fall from the sky fully developed by God. www.livingthequestions.com/xcart/pages.php?pageid=6

I'm a cradle Catholic who was taught by Franciscans, Benedictines, and the Sisters of Charity. All three were pretty consistent in their teaching that the Bible is the word of God as documented by man (well expect maybe for the big 10).

The church, and by extension  Christianity, is a living organism (through it's members) that can change and evolve.  Most biblical scholars (and I have actually met a few) acknowledge that the writings by man are heavily influenced as much by the times as they were written, in as they were by the guidance given to write the words. 

Like Opti, I don't think it's so much about debunking as it is about understanding that the authors are imperfect.

If this is an area of interest to anyone in particular I highly recommend looking up some of the writings of Andrew Greeley.  It was my honor to hear the man speak on two separate occasions and I honestly wish he had progressed further in the Church than he did.

[resolution]

IMO, If you aren't comfortable with what your church is teaching, you really shouldn't attend there. Your weekly presence and financial contributions show support for those teachings.

In your situation I would probably try another denomination that has more traditional teachings, but if you feel strongly about staying Methodist then it may be worth the extra drive to demonstrate what you believe.

[Virgil Showlion]

May 22, 2015 12:56:44 GMT -5 sesfw said:

He is a part of a small movement bent on debunking the Bible. He is co-author of a book called 'Living the Question'. I tried to read it and gave it up.

There is a list on what progressive movement believes in but on the reverse side of the page is a statement from a leader that goes against it.

Confusing to me.  Maybe one of you can understand it. 

I read through the amazon.com sample material provided for the book.

He raises a lot of questions that every Christian should ask (e.g. re the "rapture", "born again" Christians, etc.), but then takes things in a totally backwards direction and blames "fundamentalism" for society's general ignorance of scripture.

It's a curious example of an individual witnessing a problem and then driving straight into a ditch attempting to solve it. Even his goal, which is to make Christianity more appealing to the masses circa 2015, is completely off the rails.

Personally, I'd get as far away from the man as possible. At the very least, treat his sermons as a failed experiment in populist theology and maintain a healthy note of academic skepticism. As I say, not all of his observations about modern Christianity are wrong, but the hypothesis he's developed from them certainly is.

My $0.02, FWIW.

[sesfw]

Virgil ..... you have nailed what I feel. Fortunately I have been around the block enough times and attended enough different religions to know they can't all be right.  It's the younger people in their Christian lives that I feel sorry for. 

He gives a class every year on his book and I made the mistake of taking one. I was expecting to find out more about historical writings and archeological findings.

The Methodist conference changes pastoral assignments about every 5-10 years.  He has been at this church for at least 8 years and I'm hoping he will be gone in a couple of years.  DH is a Methodist through and through and won't try any where else.  So I tune him out ........ and so does DH ....... LOL

[Artemis Windsong]

I was trapped by family tradition in a church and wish I had moved on; but people get a mind set like your DH's, and it's hard to change.

I have learned more about Bible teaching applied to RL with In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley than I have in the last 40 years.  www.intouch.org for past sermons and information.

I continue with the church I joined in 2004, which is Bible based but I still watch In Touch and read their magazine.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Since your DH is a long-time member of the church, and you haven't had a problem with the pastor before, I have a couple of questions:

° Is this a new pastor to that church?
° Do other members of the church feel as you do about him?
° Have you spoken to anyone else within the congregation about their thoughts on his sermons?

Churches of all denominations seem to have a particular Pastor, Minister, Priest, etc that's not a good fit for the church they're assigned to.

I'd be quietly doing some groundwork with any other parishioners who are unhappy with him and his method of conducting services.

It wouldn't be that difficult to get him transferred out and get a new (more traditional) preacher for your church.

If that's not an option,then I'd completely switch which church I attend. If attending church in order to worship is important to you, you shouldn't have to attend a church where you don't feel comfortable with the preacher & his radical methods.

[sesfw]

DH is a long time member of the Methodist religion but this pastor was here when we moved to this community almost 8 years ago. About a year ago the local ministerial association asked him to leave and since then he has really gone to the liberal side.

I know of a couple of others besides me that have suggested he cool it a bit. I can usually tune him out and I know others have.

We had a church meeting this morning and this whole thing has gone nation wide with comments, both good and bad. We have had a lot of other churches across the Phoenix area telling our other churches that it's OK for their neighbors to interpret the Bible a different way.

It's getting interesting.

[Aman A.K.A. Ahamburger]

sesfw, I came across this site that I'm sure you will like. Probably won't help your with the situation with the pastor, but you have mentioned in the past that you like the archeology of it... Evidence For Early Existence Of The New Testament

Lots of reading, but worth it. Basically JC was the first true celebrity. So while the Romans were able to skew time, dates, and history to hide the other half of the story; after he became "famous", there were so many recoreds of his life being kept that the New Testament is actually very accurate according to archeological finds.