Thursday, March 26, 2009

Perhaps I am "Progressive"...

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Christianity portal
Progressive Christianity is the name given to a movement within contemporary Protestant Christianity characterized by willingness to question tradition, acceptance of human diversity (including the affirmation of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people), strong emphasis on social justice or care for the poor and the oppressed (see Minority groups and environmental stewardship of the earth. Progressive Christians have a deep belief in the centrality of the instruction to "love one another" (John 15:17) within the teaching of Jesus Christ. This leads to a focus on compassion, promoting justice and mercy, and working towards solving the societal problems of poverty, discrimination, and environmental issues.
This movement is by no means the only significant movement of progressive thought among Christians (see the 'See also' links below), but it is currently a focus of such issues in many parts of the world.
In recent years the term Progressive Christianity has been used interchangeably with the term Liberal Christianity. Some argue that Progressive Christians are theologically distinct from liberal Christian thought, in that Progressive Christianity draws on the insights of multiple theological streams including: 19th century evangelicalism, 19th and early 20th century Christian liberalism, 20th century neo-orthodoxy, and late 20th and 21st century liberation theology. [1]. Perhaps the most comprehensive statement of a progressive Christian point of view is "Progressive Christian Beliefs: An Introduction..." found at http://progressivetheology.wordpress.com, by Delwin Brown, apparently a reformed liberal theologian. While it frequently takes stands on the liberal side of the ideological spectrum, it should be noted that progressive Christianity is not necessarily synonymous with political liberalism.
The characteristics of Progressive Christianity, and its distinction from Liberal Christianity, have been articulated in an article [2] by Hal Taussig. These can be summarized as:
A spiritual vitality and expressiveness, including participatory, arts-infused, and lively worship as well as a variety of spiritual rituals and practices such as meditation
Intellectual integrity including a willingness to question
An affirmation of human diversity
An affirmation of the Christian faith with a simultaneous sincere respect for other faiths
Strong ecological concerns and commitments
Social justice commitments
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Perhaps I fit into this 'label', if you will, with possibly leaving out the super-interest in Ecology (though I do belong to Freecycle.org! 3 cheers for free stuff!)

I dont bandwagon, and I dont fit into any 'groups', nor do I care to. But I do find it interesting how many in the world do fit into a group, and so I strive to learn about it and see where I am similar in my theology, and where I differ. I enjoy learning about cultures and different belief systems. I like understanding people.

I would highlight on the *compassion* aspect of Progressive Christianity, and accepting others as they are (Just like Jesus did!) I relate to the oppressed and poor, whether spiritually, emotionally, economically.

My posts are all over the place. I would really like to stay on one subject and dig deeper into it. And I really need a working camera so I can show my mosiacs and crafts.......as well as get ideas for my outside disaster area. *sigh*

2 comments:

Mary said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Thursday's Child said...

Yes, Jesus did accept people as they were, however, He did tell them to "Go, and sin no more". While He accepted them, He did not accept their continuing in their sin willfully. (I said willfully because we all sin whether we realize it at the time or not. I'm referring to those who choose to sin, rather than giving into temptation in a moment or two of weakness.

While I'm against legalism, I'm even more against throwing the baby out with the bathwater. If God says it's wrong, it's wrong.

We should hate the sin and love the sinner...but too many want us to love the sin as well. {sigh}