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What should thoughtful Christians do with texts that propose God is pleased by human sacrifice or that God commanded Israel to commit acts of genocide?  What about texts that contain historical errors or predictions that have gone unfulfilled long beyond their expiration dates?  In The Human Faces of God Thom Stark moves beyond notions of inerrancy in order to confront such problematic texts and open up a conversation about new ways they can be used in service of the church and its moral witness today.  Readers looking for an academically informed yet accessible discussion of the Bible’s thorniest texts wil find it a thought-provoking and indispensable resource. 

1. Our world cries out to be reborn:
a world of pain, all tossed and torn.
Babies born to mothers
scarce old enough to yet conceive,
like Jesus born to Mary,
so young, so fearful, so naive;

This coming weekend will be marked by a 25th anniversary gathering and celebration for the important scholarly enterprise known as the Jesus Seminar. A good time to ask what difference it makes when the Jesus of history turns out to be considerably more interesting than the myth-encrusted Christ created by the church over the centuries. Or does it make any difference at all?

Is “progressive” the new liberal? The word progressive is frequently used these days referring to “non-fundamentalist” churches.  I used it as a theme for our Lenten sermon series: Progressive Christianity takes a fresh look at traditions and rituals. You may see the word used in newspaper and magazine articles.  What does it mean?  Is progressive simply the “new liberal”?  My perspective is yes and no. “Progressive Christianity” does not lend itself easily to definition.  It is more of a movement; a path; an approach than a belief system. It is often more interested in spirituality than religion. Unlike the “liberal churches” of the 1960’s and later, it is not necessarily closely aligned with one political perspective.  So how might we describe “progressive” Christianity?

A debate has raged over the last 18 months as to whether the tea party movement is racist…I propose to put this debate to rest. The tea party is racist. Its followers have deployed a brilliant strategy to deflect charges of racism by using a form of the legislative provision known as…

This article raises the question of whether Progressive Christianity is primarily for those who have been brought up or spent some time in a traditional Christian setting and now moved beyond that, or is it equally for those without a church background.  It goes on to consider how we can we connect with the unchurched and how we encourage them and empower them to take the first step for them in their faith journey.

Many people may be only dimly aware of the profound changes taking place in the medical establishment. In an appealing narrative style, Bob Keck offers a personal and social history of the transformation of medicine from being totally materialistic and mechanistic to becoming comprehensive, holistic, and integrated. He provides scientific data and a rational basis for accepting the irrational, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the healing process. Although the book is aimed primarily at the individual, religious communities as a whole could profit from paying attention to what Keck has to say about developing an appreciation of the sacred in the quest for physical health (James R. Adams, TCPC)

Don’t let abuse dominate your life or the life of someone you know!  If you are a survivor of sexual abuse, this workbook is your key to a new life.  Written by survivors themseves, it offers you insight and resources that can lead to your recovery and healing.

“Not only have my incoming students exhibited little sense of what it means to assert that Christians are historically monotheists (as opposed, say, to deists, pantheists, or monists), but their initial comments about God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit (much less the Trinity) have been so vague and superficial (and often purely sentimental) as to reflect little real understanding. Consequently, any profession of faith that my students might make or notion of salvation that they might harbor is groundless, free-floating, and without context — theological, existential, psychological, or sociological.”

Like his earlier book, this one is written for lay people whose faith has been frustrated by their misapprehension that fundamentalism’s claim to be the one true faith is valid. Borg, a professor of religion at Oregon State University, describes an alternative to fundamentalists’ so-called “literal” readings of scripture. (He believes that such “literal-factual” readings do not live up to that description, and that the limitations of such readings have alienated many people who would otherwise remain part of the church.) Borg calls his alternative “historical-metaphorical” reading, a way of “taking the Bible seriously without taking it literally.” Study guide available, by FaithFutures.