thethinker

Homosexuality is sin. But it no greater a sin than adultery or stealing. Paul puts them all in the same category. However, homosexuals should NOT be denied equal rights. Why do you assume that theism and love are mutually exclusive? Jesus was a theist. His God was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Actually the first Christians came to faith in Christ because the apostles preached how the [Hebrew] Scriptures testified of the Christ. Philip preached Christ to the Ethiopian from Isaiah. Paul even said to Timothy, "You have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." But you just invoked the NT which says that the first Christians became followers of Christ as the direct result of the preaching of the apostles from the Hebrew Scriptures. They said that that the Hebrew scrriptures were about Christ. Therefore, the NT which you have invoked upholds the Hebrew scriptures. You correctly invoke the teachings of Jesus. Yet He taught the spirit of the Hebrew scriptures. Therefore, Jesus validated the Hebrew scriptures but with the life giving meaning. I would not call myself a Christian if I reject the scriptures anymore than I should call myself a Muslim if I reject the Quran. Yet there is a lot more to being a Christian than accepting the scriptures. I am with you on this point friend! I was just banned for one day from a hardcore Christian Right forum that has both hardcore fundamentalists and liberal Christians. They even have unbelieving members. Well, those on the right were saying that all sexually immoral people should be put to death. But an athiest spoke as if he was a believer and showed them that Christ did not condemn the woman taken in adultery. Then said, "Jesus set the bar for us." I posted a "thumbs up" to the athiest saying, "I never agree with you, but you're right on this one." I was not supporting his athiest beliefs. I was just acknowledging that he was right on a certain point. But I was punished for that by a member who "neg repped" me. He has a lot of reputation power and so I lost a lot of well earned reputation points. His comment said with the neg rep said, "repent." He publically called me a "sexual pervert." I was shocked! I need to "repent' because I affirm to an athiest that he spoke a truth which should be a given by all true Christians? I am a sexual pervert because I affirm that we should not judge others? Then I publically took him to task for it and questioned that he was a true friend of God and was banned for one day to cool off. But I decided that I will not go back to a forum that claims to be Christian and yet punishes someone for saying that Christ set the bar for us on the matter of not passing judgment upon others. Well, I have many preparations for the Superbowl party. Later!

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Please note your discrepancy. First you said, Then you said: See the confusion? You rhetorically ask if Jesus believed in the uncompassionate God who commanded the Israelites to exterminate men, women and children. Your implied answer was yes. Then you say that you are a Christian because you use what you believe Jesus taught us about God and ourselves. Problem: If Jesus believed in the mean God, then how can you maintain that Jesus gleaned good things about God for you to live by? And why would you NOT believe in the same God Jesus believed in if He taught things about Him for you to use in your life? The God of Jesus was also the god of His disciples. Jesus told His disciples, "I go to my God and your God." I maintain that it was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of promise. This God PRE-DATED Moses. Should your God be different from the God of Jesus' disciples? I think your confusion comes from your having been on the side of conservative Chriatianity which has grossly misrperesented the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. After this post I will have to review the guidelines and take this topic somethere else.

I assumed that Progressive Christianity was still Christianity which is based exclusively on the record. The 8 points say nothing about the Bible being rejected as God's word by PC. I just assumed, that all who go by the name "Christian" accept the Bible as God's word. This is why I said, "I don't want what anyone thinks." Christians always base what they think on the Bible and I thought that PC was Christian and therefore expected certain things. Why the pretense? If you do not accept the Bible you are not Christian. So just come right out and say that you are not Christian? I don't get it. I do NOT have a problem with you having another way. Just don't call it the Christian way.

Yes we need to "think" about what the record says. But you have not yet given me a specific word from the record to work with. You have expressed only what you think. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob PRE-DATED the Mosaic code. Therefore, for Jesus to embrace the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would not imply that He He embraced a God that was not compassionate. In fact, the new testament authors associate Abraham, Isaac and Jacob with nothing but promises. Jesus did not "throw out" the Hebrew scriptures. He FULFILLED them for the scriptures were all about Him (Luke 24).

No, it's not at all what/who I "think" or what/who you "think" is the God that Christ embraced. The record shows Christ embraced the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is this God who said, "You shall have no other gods before me." Can one be a Christian without embracing the God that Christ embraced? I am not interested in what anyone "thinks," but only in what the record says.

Is it possible to be a follower of Christ (Christian) and not embrace the God He embraced?

Yet I had explained Christ's word to Caiaphas regarding His session at God's right hand and His coming in the clouds in a non-literal way. I respectfully disagree, All was finished in ad70. We do not overcome. The first generation saints overcame for the sake of the future ages. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7 Please note that the first generation saints were seated with Christ for the benefit of the saints in the "ages to come." The first generation saints did the battle, Ephesians 6:10-18. We just bask in THEIR victory.

It is the exact same verb form used in the word, "And the serpent shall become a rod in your hand." The traditional "I am" rendering would have been meaningless to the people when, because of their plight, they needed for God to become in a way that they had not known Him before.

Thank you all! I am interested in finding out what "Progressive" Christianity is all about.

I think that God is both a noun and a verb with special emphasis on verb. After all, He said to Moses, "I shall become who I am becoming." [Hebrew Interlinear, Exodus 3:14 http://www.scripture...ebrew_Index.htm]

Jesus told Caiaphas the high priest that they would see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power AND coming in the clouds. To "see" in reference to both acts, His session at God's right hand, and His coming in the clouds must be in the same sense. They saw both acts in the events that accompanied the acts. We know that they did not literally see Christ sitting at God's right hand.

Thanks for the greeting. I would like to visit Australia just to see kangaroos. Kangaroos are my favorite animal. I didn't know that Australians followed the NFL teams. Sorry to hear that you are rooting for the 49ers.

Hi, I was attracted to this site because of its title "Progressive Christianity." I live in a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland and am expecting the Ravens to win the Superbowl this Sunday. How do I set up my account with avatar and other settings? I see not an "account setting" button. Thanks