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This article quotes some of Jesus’ sayings in celebration of Earth Day, April 22nd, 2008. Please feel free to send comments to gm.jm@sympatico.ca

Earth humans enter this glorious stage of transition into the New Aquarian (Golden) Age having had a vast variety of religious and spiritual experiences.

If Jesus Is A Wayshower, What Does He Show Us?

What really happened when Jesus was anointed by a woman?

By Stephen Hamilton Wright.   An Easter sermon that de-emphasizes the importance of bodily, physical resurrection of Jesus in favor of a continuing dynamic spiritual connection, that in some ways we do not understand fully, gained great focus and energy on the first Easter.

This article seeks to learn about the political message of Jesus. Please send comments to gm.jm@sympatico.ca

Easter has always held a special place in my life and spiritual journey as it holds promise for rebirth, change, growth, and yes, resurection. It is a challenge for many to let go of the belief of a physically resurcted Jesus, but once we recognize the beauty of a spiritual resurection, we can unravel the incredible miracle of having the potential, each day, to re-birth our spirit, to lift it up out of the darkness of despair, fear, and lonliness and merge it with the luminous light of the universal spirit.

Most Christians are familiar with the stories in the Gospels and many verses in the Epistles declaring that the Lord is risen. Many people believe the stories of the resurrection of Jesus are historically true. Others have difficulty believing they are true in that sense but understand them as metaphors pointing to the truth. Either way, whether you believe or understand, the issue is what do these stories mean? We can begin our search for the meaning of the stories by knowing that New Testament scholar John Dominic Crossan has stressed: "Never, ever separate the life from the death and resurrection of Jesus. Ever. Not the life from the death, not the death from the resurrection."

This short article suggests Jesus did think of himself as Isaiah’s Suffering Servant, who would be killed. Send comments to gm.jm@sympatico.ca

Reflections from one of the TCPC national forums about creating welcoming churches. Poses questions for congreagations to consider.

The progressive movement in Islam, though small and not well organized, is interested in regaining the true spirit of Muhammad and Muslims through the centuries, a spirit of peace, compassion and mercy. Those we would consider progressive Muslims more often describes themselves as moderate Muslims to distance themselves from the fanatical terrorist wings.

Washington Post, On Faith Tuesday, February 12, 2008 The Great Awakening speaks of two great hungers in our world today-the hunger for spirituality and the hunger for social justice. I believe that the connection between the two is one the world, and especially a new generation, is waiting for. The Great Awakening makes that vital connection and shows how spiritual renewal will likely be a necessary part of social change, and how perhaps only genuine spiritual revival can spark social and political transformation.

The Bible is filled with messages of love, so it is not hard to highlight scripture that calls us to love.

One of the central symbols of the Christian tradition is the cross. When we move beyond the notion that Jesus died to appease God’s wrath at our sins and begin to see the symbol of Jesus as a human being holding in his body the suffering of the world, then we get closer to the essence of the origins of our Christian tradition. Just as Jesus was a human being holding in a bodily way the suffering of the world, so you have our own Christ consciousness, and in a sense you hold the pain of the world.

It is not too difficult to imagine that this existential awareness is related to the Realm of God that Jesus described to his followers with so many positive metaphors. It not only discovering the interconnectedness of all life that is so exciting but it is seeing and hearing from a whole new perspective that can fundamentally change our understanding of reality.

There is a story about a Christian minister living abroad during World War II. His congregation sends him money so that he can return home for Christmas. When he doesn’t come back, they ask him why. He says that he used the money to help a group of Jews escape Hitler’s death camps and flee to safety.”But they’re not even Christian,” writes one member of his congregation.”Yes, I know,” the minister responds. “But I am.”

I attended a conference a few years ago that was devoted to exploring the virtues of interfaith dialogue. . .The four keynote speakers were made up of a conservative Jewish scholar, a well respected Muslim scholar, a Buddhist author and a traditionalist Christian. . .Later, I realized how ironic it was, as we ambled off to our respective lunch gatherings, that so much of what we have reconstructed about Jesus was about the table commensality as a way of practicing radical egalitarianism, as John Dominic Crossan referred to it . I tried to imagine the Jesus of my faith, having lunch with the unique kind people who seemed to gather around him. Did he worry about their religious affiliations? Did he care if they had it right? Did he believe his religion was the only way to connect with the Ultimate Reality? When he said, "Do not judge another" did he mean don't judge except for their religion? Or did he look directly into the hearts and souls of others without religious, tribal, ethnic, or gender concerns or thoughts? Was he able to transcend all of those things that tend to separate us into divisive groups that so often turn into violent differences?

If all religions are transient, then some day the religions of 21st century, including Christianity, will no longer be living religions. What might the religions of global citizens of future generations look like? Will such global citizens recognize that already there is a global resource of wisdom and spirituality to which religious and humanist traditions have contributed and which tomorrow’s global citizens can draw upon, critically, as well as adding judiciously to it?

Washington Post, On Faith. The essence of India is pluralism, the idea of different communities retaining their uniqueness while relating in a way that recognizes they share universal values. More than two thousand years ago, the Indian emperor Ashoka, a Buddhist, said, "Other sects should be duly honored in every way on all occasions." The great poet and contemporary of Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, wrote, that the "idea of India" itself militates "against the intense consciousness of the separateness of one's own people from others."

This book may be read online at: http://www.patconover.com/christian/seekerschurchcasestudy.html. Directions for buying the book are available on the first screen online. The book provides a participant observer account and analysis of Seekers Church with an eye to sociological and ecclesiological concerns by a professional sociologist and ordained minister: Pat Conover. It also contains a brief philosophical and theological reflection at the end. Seekers Church is a thriving Christian Community in the tradition of the Church of the Saviour which has been featured in books by Paul Wilkes and Hal Taussig. It is a high-participation congregation in which all are ministers and none are clerrgy.

This article claims that Jesus started out his ministry as a wisdom sage. When John the Baptizer was murdered, Jesus’ self-understanding changed to that of an end-time prophet.

In Jesus Reconsidered, readers will hear the diverse voices of pioneering scholars, some of whom put their reputations and careers on the line when, in 1985, they chose to go public with scholarship that had been common knowledge in scholarly circles for more than a hundred years.

Let us take seriously Luke’s account (Luke 8:2-3) of who the important women followers of Jesus were!

This article asks Progressive Christians to read and reflect on the Gospel of Thomas found in 1945. Undoubtedly, one of the legends having the most historical truth to back it up is that Thomas was the first to scatter. It is said he was entrusted very early on with the mission to the East. First, he went north-east into Syria. Then he proceeded to Iraq. Next, he sailed out of the Persian Gulf arriving in India in 52 A.D. Along the way, he founded places of Buddhist-like study in Jesus’ name.Please send comments to gm.jm@sympatico.ca

Was Mary Magdalene the first Christian, Gnostic-like women leader? Is she, in fact, the founder of Christian Gnosticism? This article explores more clues indicating that the Beloved Disciple was Mary Magdalene.

I am an Affiliate with The Center for Progressive Christianity. I am the author of two books about Christianity and have a third in the pre publication stage. Will you do me a favor? Give me your thoughts on this third book. I am trying to determine how well my ideas are expressed and whether there is consensus as to their validity among progressive Christians.

Recently as my wife and I were having a quiet dinner with some friends and found ourselves going through something that seems to have become an annual ritual. It always starts with someone announcing, “Can you believe it? Christmas is only X days away!” And in chorus the rest of us go, “your kidding! How did that happen?” We have other little ditties that we sing like, “It seems like it was only a few months ago we were celebrating Easter.” Or, “But I just put the Christmas decorations away from last year” Then for the closing song we always sing rather sadly, “It comes faster and faster every year.” As the evening progressed someone wistfully asked, ” I wonder if we can every capture the magic of Christmas again?” I have thought a lot about that over the last few years. I wondered if there ever was “the magic of Christmas” that has been shared in common with others over the years…

Yesterday, as I sometimes do when I need amusement, I went online to read my horoscope for today. The words leaped off the page at me, “The long, exhausting battle is over, and you have lost the war” I immediately burst into deep sobs of both sorrow and relief. Those words struck a chord of truth deep in me…I felt like a kid standing on the football field after the lights have gone out and his team has lost the big game. He still holds the football in his hand and believes he’s just one more touchdown away from a winning game.

The Gospel of Thomas is part of the Nag Hammadi library and has some valuable insights about the Kingdom of God.

This article seeks further dialogue with Marcus Borg and others, as to Jesus' thinking about war. As with all my articles, please submit your open responses, or private e-mails to John at: gm.jm@sympatico.ca

This article explores the issue of the parallels between the religious leaders of Jesus day and the currrent beliefs and behavior of the Christain Right.

In this article, the author suggests that poetic thinkers like Jesus and William Blake are capable of holding contradictory views and ideas in mind simultaneously, without being perceived as mentally disturbed by interested others. And that this perspective opens a door to a better perception of the historical Jesus.

Announcing Experience! Faith Formation for Adults. A new experiential adult theological Re-education Curriculum. In collabortation with Marcus Borg – Wood Lake Publishing brings you an innovative 10 session curriculum. The first in the series called Experiencing the Bible again for the First Time, is based on the bestselling book by Marcus Borg – Reading the Bible Again for the First Time.  

In celebration and commemoration of TCPC's partnering with the Jesus Seminar to encourage the movement of Progressive Christianity through education, here is an article about letting our light shine! by John Mitrosky

A poetic, mystical, and humorous look at the practice of gratitude as exemplified in Jesus' commandment to consider the lilies. Includes the poetry of Wendell Berry and William Stafford, as well as a mystical sign that came to the author after a walk around Alpine Lake in the Sierras.