dear friends, i am so deeply happy to find so many others who have a feel for the kind of "christianity" that yeshua would (i believe) be comfortable with! deep gratitude and love to all those who have stayed authentic with their own inner guidance and have come forth to share with others!
i have found my way into what feels to be authentic christianity via studying and chanting yeshua's words in aramaic, both via dr Neil Douglas-Klotz (www.abwoon.com) and via Dr George Lamsa and his successor Dr Rocco Errico (www.aramaicway.com, i think). i chant key words and phrases ALOT (as well as the lord's prayer in aramaic, the beatitudes, and the I AM statements) and it gives me the experience of M'shekha (translated as messiah, ie anointed, consecrated) from within. so for me, progressive christianity would head gradually and organically to looking more and more to aramaic versions of the scriptures and less and less to the english version via german, latin, greek translations of the words and thoughts of an aramaic speaking, thinking, and praying dude. luckily we have great scholars to learn from, and then we can make our own versions of prayers and teachings that speak to us!
i also include in progressive christianity not only a deep gratitude and honoring of Judaism, but also a willingness to do "teshuvah" (hebrew) or in aramaic TYAWOOTHA....translated as "repentance," (ugh, lousy translation)...can also mean"TO RETURN TO, TO TURN FROM, and TO TURN TO..." there is alot there! what are we turning from? what are we turning to? what are we REturning to? hmmmmm. yummmmmm!
there is a huge pain in the hearts of so many jews due to what has been done over the millennia by so called christians using "his name" to do genocide, theft, abuse of all kinds, and i feel it important for each of us, as we can, if we are called to, to learn some about this dark history (see great book and film Constantine's Sword) and do what HOLY SPIRIT guides us to do to bring some healing there.....
i have entered into Jewish Renewal (a great refreshing take on living the core teachings without being locked into old forms) and have found beautiful open folks shut their hearts to me when i mention the good rebbe yeshua....yet there are many GREAT brave rabbis (many women) who have done "teshuvah" and let go of enough pain from the past that they can celebrate the common thread of basic teachings. See book by Rabbi David Zaslow, Roots and Branches.
i will write an intro for myself as soon as i can navigate the system here (am not great at computers), so i apologize for my unorthodox entry into this hallowed community of lovers of the ONE, who log onto Holy Spirit in our own way, through rabbi yeshua, or in aramaic ESHUA....(by the way, the full version of his name in hebrew is YAHOSHUA which means YAH/LIFE/BEINGNESS RESTORES! isn't that cool?
one more tidbit from aramaic studies.....Lamsa (who grew up speaking aramaic as his mother tongue) lets us know that the words on cross usually translated as "oh God, why have you foresaken me," can be just as accurately rendered "Oh All sustaining Source of ALL THAT IS, for THIS PURPOSE I HAVE BEEN LEFT HERE (ie to show death of body is no biggie). honestly, what kind of connection would he have had with Holy Spirit if he had felt abandoned at that important moment! no way, Hosee.
posh b'shayna...remain in tranquility, rahmaneh, your sister in the Oneness of ABBA, the Beloved
