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The Phoenix Affirmations, named for the town in which the principles were created and the mythological bird adopted by ancient Christians as a symbol of resurrection, offers disillusioned and spiritually homeless Christians and others a sense of hope and a more tolerant, joyful, and compassionate message than those we often hear from the media and some Christian leaders.

“Some Christians have the ability to make you want to be a Christian just by being who they are. They make the gospel alive, real, healing, and utterly attractive. I think Spencer Burke is just one of those people. In his writings he shares himself and his vision” -Fr. Richard Rohr, Center for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Before it became common to avoid its gender specificity, I long ago changed the “Our Father” to “God, Mother and Father of us all…” in my daily recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. “Father” as a metaphor did not contain all of God’s attributes, in my experience. And, I must confess, the metaphor of “Mother” contained the divine attributes I found most positive.

Prof. John Boswell, the late Chairman of Yale University’s history department, discovered that in addition to heterosexual marriage ceremonies in ancient Christian church liturgical documents, there were also ceremonies called the “Office of Same-Sex Union” (10th and 11th century), and the “Order for Uniting Two Men” (11th and 12th century).

A contemporary version of the Lord’s Prayer adapted from the prayer book of the Anglican Church of New Zealand.

I simply do not believe that at this point in time the distinctiveness of our different churches is more important than the values and common understandings of Scripture that unite us.

Click here for the Progressive Books Group Study Guide 2 of 10 By: Carol Ballantine Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time Marcus Borg Conversations with God Neal Donald Walsch  

The Complete Gospels is the first publication ever to collect the canonical gospels and their extracanonical counterpoints under one cover. The selected extracanonical gospels date from the first and second centuries, are independent of the canonical gospels, and significantly contribute to our understanding of the developments in the Jesus tradition leading up to and surrounding the New Testament gospels.

2. Father, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come. 3. Give us each day our daily bread; 4. and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive every one who is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation.

9. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. 10. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11. Give us this day our daily bread; 12. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors; 13. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Nonviolence requires training. It requires the humility to take correction from someone you can trust to see your shadow better than you do. It also requires you to forgive yourself when you give in to the violence crouching at the door, and keep at it. Don’t give up on nonviolence.

…while they no longer accept such teachings as the virgin birth, nor the miracle stories, some still consider Jesus to have been divine, and most, if not all, consider him a model of the most perfectly spiritually developed human on the planet, the perfect example of the love of God on earth.

Dennis Altman frames a fascinating discussion for both conservatives and liberals. Using Jesus’ teachings as logical arguments unadorned by religious overtones, Altman challenges established notions with eye-opening impact.

Beyond any question of ethical and legal right or wrong, reason or rationale, human goodness or human evil, guilt and judgment, worthiness or worthlessness — when all is said and done — does there remain yet a response that is not only possible, but necessary, to acknowledge the dignity and worth of every human being? Do we have both the capacity and compunction to include in the mix some expression of compassion in such tragic stories of brokenness and estrangement, violence and vengeance.

Butterflyfish began with a watermelon picnic. While the kids ate and played, the grown-ups got to talking about music, about faith, and about how best to pass on and enjoy the old, old stories in beautiful new ways.