Yvonne

Phil, I can't say who took over, because I don't thing Progressive Christianity is necessary one organization. However, if you want to read another PC author, I recommend Marcus Borg.

I hadn't realized how completely dependent upon this forum I was until it wasn't there. Now that I got my fix, I'm fine.

My sister invited me to attend my hometown church with her and her boyfriend on Christmas, so I thought I would look in on the church bulletin as I haven't attended that church in quite some time. I tried hard not to judge what I found: 6 pages of information, pages of financial reports, pages on doctrine and "rules", committee meeting minutes (mostly to do with finances), and less than 1/4 page on faith. This bulletin accurately reflects the community culture, and it is not atypical for churches in this area. Is it any wonder I can't find community here?

Not sure when this will add to the conversation, but here goes... Being a long-time science fiction/fantasy fan, I, too, am a Trekkie. Two things to note about SF/fantasy as a genre: 1. Jung said that dreaming of "aliens" is a reflection of our need to become acquianted with the "foreign" parts of ourselves so we can integrate them. Often in SF, the alien, whether a good or evil, reflects either the shadow or the anima of the herio. 2. Fantasy quite often has a religious undertones, sometimes quite overt. I read a lot of sf/fantasy and find myself actually looking for the themes of redemption, salvation, resurrection, healing, prophecy, etc. Once in a while, a particularly good author can actually trigger a religious "aha" moment for me. I know, I'm weird, but that's okay with me!

I had to chuckle when I saw this surfing the Web this morning. The forum is called "Freedom in Christ". I think its a step towards PC, but here is one of its rules. "Please do not promote atheism, New Age, mysticism, or any hedonistic or false religion" (The emphasis is mine) Not passing a value judgement, just passing it on.

I am deeply humbled - what a beautiful way to tell, what could have been, a tragic story. Your journey touched me deeply. Although the details are different of course, your journey mirrors my own. I hope you use this in your book. Thank you so much for sharing.

True, and this is something I've been discussing with my "spirit partner" (a good friend who is also PC). I do not say that my path is only right path. I have borrowed a bit from other religions (particularly Budhism and Jewish mystics) I cannot say, however, that all religions are equally valid. Does that make me less of a PC? Pluralism at its best is inclusive, it challenges us, it helps us learn and grow. Yet I cannot help but go back to my previous sentiment - pluralism, if that's the right word for it, at its worst, can cause entropy. Yes?

Just to clarify - I have nothing but respect for other religions - and when I was married to a Muslim, we celebrated our commonalities.

I respectfully must disagree - and perhaps "watered down" was a poor choice of words. I am tolerant. I have very dear friends who worship as Muslims, Budhists, and Hindi. I am NOT saying my brand of Christianity is has the exclusive truth. What I am saying is that I do not feel that I should have to eleminate the terms God, Trinity, or Christ in my worship because I DO believe in God, Trinity and Christ. I think when our worship becomes too ecumenical (is that a better word than watered down?) we lose some of our identity. That is has happened to me. I listened to so many voices, I lost my own. I am not being exclusive or elitist. I am being me.

I have some questions: Is pluralism a positive thing? What if pluralism (in religion) results in a watered-down religion? I'm thinking of a Universalist "church" not too far away. It seems, in an effort not to offend anyone in the congregation, the Sunday service was really bland to me. I am not - definitely not - one who thinks my religion is the only right one. However, I don't think I should water down my beliefs in order to make someone else comfortable in my church. Am I missing something here?

I'm glad this came up, and I like your definitions. My favorite aspect of Progressive Christianity is the acceptance that others' truths are as true for them as mine is for me. I like the respect given to various rites and understandings of the divine. What I dislike is the feeling - whether or not I am the only one to feel it, of relativism (i.e. "no ground rules"). I was getting the idea that all the traditional beliefs of Christianity were thrown out the window - trinity, resurrection, Jesus as the Christ, the efficacy of prayer, etc. I have a great deal of respect for the forum, but I gotta say, I'm not quite as comfortable here as I one was. I've had to take a step back and re-assess my own beliefs and priorities.

I attended yet another funeral today - the 5th member of my extended family, including my own mother, to die within 15 months. This is getting old - and depressing. But something happened to me today. As I sat at mass, I really paid attention to the words - not that I didn't before, but I was really listening this time. Two things struck me: 1) I certainly can no longer claim to be Catholic if that means subscribing to Catholic doctrine. 2) There were an awful lot of PC moments in that mass. Huh. I was surprised and comforted.

Grinnell is about a 2 hour drive from here - that's how we measure distance in Iowa.

Sure has been quiet on here lately - unless I missed some hot conversation. I've been feeling kind of lonely lately, what with being practically being home-bound and all. Our conversations help to fill my day.

First of all, thank you for starting this thread. If nothing else, it is a reminder for me to consciously think of others when I am in the conscious awareness of divine presence in and with all. I'm only just beginning to sort of, kind of, a little bit, wrap myself around the whole prayer of intercession/petition thing. As some of you know, my health and disability has put severe limitations on my life. My prayer request is for some help in day-to-day living and companionship.

Thank you to both for your comments. I was lucky in my relations with people of other faiths - both Christian non-Catholic and outside the Christian faith. I have wonderful friends who are of the Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim faiths, as well as other religions. I think sharing my faith with them has allowed me to ask the tough questions, be a progressive, and deepen my own spirituality.

For those of you living in more metropolitan areas, this won't seem like much of a big deal. For me, living in one of the most conservative Catholic areas outside of Rome, its huge. The media around here is reflects the attitude of the region, notice how short the article is. http://www.thonline.com/news/tri-state/article_a5aee89b-84be-59f1-92b0-a753635434b6.html My ex-husband is Muslim and we had many open and honest conversations about our beliefs. We discovered that once we stripped away what I like to call “the fluff”, we shared much more than we differed. It was quite surprising because both of us at the time were quite traditional in our religious attitudes. What made the dialogue work was that we were respectful of each others' beliefs. It just goes to show that interfaith gatherings of any size that encourage open dialogue can only enhance our own spirituality, as I'm sure most of you will agree. Since my own beliefs have evolved since then, I'm not quite so sure we would find quite as many similarities, but I know we could still enjoy the respectful exchange of ideas. Your thoughts?

To me, Progressive Christianity means applying the “new story” of science and anthropology to the myths and beliefs of traditional Christianity and thus opening the door to probe for a deeper meaning. It means looking beyond bible inerrancy and dualistic thinking to a more meaningful relationship with God who is always present and active in, with, and through all. Progressive Christianity, to me, means letting go of ideas of exclusivity, accepting that my faith is not the one and only truth. And, by learning of other faiths, enriching my own faith. Finally, it means being allowed to explore ideas that mainstream churches would find uncomfortable, if not blasphemous, and find both tolerance and agreement.

Today for no particular reason, and yet for every reason I could think of, I was overwhelmed by an intense feeling over gratitude.

I "do" little, due to my disabililty, but I contemplate and pray a lot. Today I'm thinking about what the things I consider important. Perhaps I've finally reached the point of maturity when I'm learning to let go of things that just really don't matter to me personally. I'm not talking about just materials things. I'm talking about thoughts and ideas that really have no more meaning to me. I used to spend a lot of time reading philosophy (admittedly very elementary philosophy), but I realized I'm either too brain-lazy to pursue it, or it just doesn't matter to me. While I think education of any kind is a worthy pursuit, today I've made the decision to turn my education the mystical side of spirituality. And it is rather a relief.

Supposedly a real sign: On a church door: This is the gate of Heaven. Enter ye all by this door. (This door is kept locked because of the draft. Please use side entrance)

I, for myself, cannot believe in an interventionist God - strictly speaking. The example I like to give is two people praying for two different families during a catastrophe, one family is wiped out, the other is saved. Would God play favorites like that? I wouldn't think so. To throw out my favorite question, what would that say about God? Having said that, however, I don't think we can really say for sure if God does or doesn't do this or that. It is a mystery, as is most of what we can say about God imo. That said, I do believe in the power of both intercessory and petitionary prayer. Not that it can force God into doing something, but because, well, heck, i just do. I agree with that there is power in the act of prayer as we bring ourselves into the awareness of the divine presence in every person, and every situation. I think there is power in loving someone so much that we care enough to spend time praying for them. I think there is special power when a community loves enough to pray together for someone. Finally, I think there is tremendous power in the faith it takes to prayer for someone or something. After all,the gospel writers have Jesus saying - more than once - "your faith has cured you". Finally, and this may be off-topic, I think there is some sort of correlation between our "prayer" and quantum physics.

stop, look, listen, ask, learn, repeat.

Eat pray love I add this because its one woman's struggle to find some sort of meaning in her life beyond her work and the relationships that she seems to fall in and out of too easily. The whole idea of finding her balance within herself is wonderful. (The reference to Gound Hog Day made me laugh, until I thougt about it for a minute. But I think you're absoutely right!)