overcast Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 (edited) I'm curious about progressive Christianity. I grew-up as an Episcopalian, but I lost faith. A few years ago I became Orthodox, but that only lasted a couple of years. (I had psychological issues.) Now I am an atheist again. Most of my family and friends are Christians. As an atheist, it is hard for me to respect the faith of my family and friends - even though I like and respect these people. I pretend to believe in Christianity, because I don't want to disturb a faith that seems to work for them. Progressive Christianity interests me, because I think Christianity needs to be modernized so that people can believe without hiding from science and reason. Buddhism is an example of a religion that isn't so obviously flawed. A modernized Christianity would be easier for atheists to respect in the same way that they respect Buddhism. I hope that makes sense. I have a lot of ideas about improving Christian theology, because I struggled to make it work before finally giving up. I don't mean to be obnoxious, and I understand if you want to restrict membership to believers. Edited March 26, 2015 by overcast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soma Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Overcast, I agree with you about Christianity needing to modernize and I like the compassion you are showing to your friends and family. It seems you are being guided and are listening and responding to the messages you are getting from the universe. P.S. I also think Buddhism complements Christianity and makes Christians better Christians. I look forward to your Ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephM Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Welcome to the forum overcast, I agree with Soma's post above . I hope you will feel welcome here. We don't restrict membership here and share many commonalities that also make sense in other religions. I respect your call to be whatever label you wish to tag yourself with including atheist. Perhaps the word "God" has been overused and cornered or coined into a very narrow understanding that makes no sense to you or many of us here. Most here are open to more abstract words that are less limiting and more open to a glimpse into that which is beyond narrow definitions or words. Again welcome, Joseph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulS Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Welcome Overcast, As an atheist myself, also with a strong Christian upbringing, Progressive Christianity has really opened my eyes to a new Christianity, a Christianity that I can understand muc better than the fundamental beliefs I was raised on. I hope you enjoy it here. Cheers Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overcast Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 Overcast, I agree with you about Christianity needing to modernize and I like the compassion you are showing to your friends and family. It seems you are being guided and are listening and responding to the messages you are getting from the universe. P.S. I also think Buddhism complements Christianity and makes Christians better Christians. I look forward to your Ideas. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overcast Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 Welcome to the forum overcast, I agree with Soma's post above . I hope you will feel welcome here. We don't restrict membership here and share many commonalities that also make sense in other religions. I respect your call to be whatever label you wish to tag yourself with including atheist. Perhaps the word "God" has been overused and cornered or coined into a very narrow understanding that makes no sense to you or many of us here. Most here are open to more abstract words that are less limiting and more open to a glimpse into that which is beyond narrow definitions or words. Again welcome, Joseph Thanks, I will try to start a thread to brainstorm some ideas. Many Christians today seem to feel like they can't be Christian unless they believe silly things that invite ridicule from non-believers. I see it a lot on atheist forums. Most of my family and friends are Christians a various stripes. I know their beliefs help them in many ways, so I wish the silly things would be dropped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overcast Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 Welcome Overcast, As an atheist myself, also with a strong Christian upbringing, Progressive Christianity has really opened my eyes to a new Christianity, a Christianity that I can understand muc better than the fundamental beliefs I was raised on. I hope you enjoy it here. Cheers Paul Thanks That is good that I'm not the only atheist. I'll look around and maybe start a thread to brainstorm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romansh Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Welcome overcast As a devout agnostic and atheist by some definitions ... Progressive Christianity is harmless or in the updated version of the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, mostly harmless. it is a play on Douglas Adam's writings .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overcast Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 (edited) Welcome overcast As a devout agnostic and atheist by some definitions ... Progressive Christianity is harmless or in the updated version of the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, mostly harmless. it is a play on Douglas Adam's writings .... thanks, I am still confused about these Progressive Christians. I guess they are harmless. Edited March 29, 2015 by overcast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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