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Progressive Christianity (organization)

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Progressive Christianity, formerly known as The Center for Progressive Christianity (TCPC), was founded in 1996 by, retired Episcopal priest, James Rowe Adams in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[1] It is established in line with the larger progressive movement.[2][3] The orgnization is an ecumenical network of affiliated congregations, informal groups, and individuals.[4]

Mission

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"The stated mission of Progressive Christianity is: To be an authentic voice for progressive Christianity by positively transforming the world through informed theology, spirituality, social justice, and environmental stewardship."

Members

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One of the organization's goals involves creating a very broad tent. Its fourth point invites: "...all people to participate in our community and worship life without insisting that they become like us in order to be acceptable (including but not limited to): believers and agnostics, conventional Christians and questioning skeptics, women and men, those of all sexual orientations and gender identities, those of all races and cultures, those of all classes and abilities, those who hope for a better world and those who have lost hope." Most affiliates generally view religious belief as a process or journey—a searching for truth rather than establishing truth. Liberal Christians or post-Christians who stress justice and tolerance above creeds may also be attracted to the movement.[5] The Center for Progressive Christianity has also during its growth with the progressive Christian movement in the United States inspired an offshoot in the British Progressive Christianity Network.[6]

According to Progressive Christianity, those who may be considered progressive Christians include those who:

1. Believe that following the way and teachings of Jesus can lead to experiencing sacredness, wholeness, and unity of all life, even as we recognize that the Spirit moves in beneficial ways in many faith traditions.

2. Seek community that is inclusive of all people, honoring differences in theological perspective, age, race, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, class, or ability.

3. Strive for peace and justice among all people, knowing that behaving with compassion and selfless love towards one another is the fullest expression of what we believe.

4. Embrace the insights of contemporary science and strive to protect the Earth and ensure its integrity and sustainability.

5. Commit to a path of life-long learning, believing there is more value in questioning than in absolutes.

Progressive Christianity's website gives an analogy that symbolizes the methodology of the Progressive Christianity movement. It involves a Sunday school teacher and a class of 9 or 10-year-olds. Even at that age, some were skeptical of the inerrancy of the Bible. The teacher suggested that they read Charlotte's Web instead. The class enjoyed the book. The teacher interjected the thought that pigs and spiders cannot talk. The kids protested: "Well, it's a story." The teacher asked whether the story was true. They decided that it was sort of true. "In a way, it was true." So the teacher suggested: "let's look at the Bible in the same way."

For the movement's founder, James Rowe Adams, "such open-ended and searching conversations are at the heart of what it means to be religious. They are the very thing he hopes to foster through the work of his small, but visionary organization. Education is at the core of the Center’s work, but it is a vision of education that calls for open-ended conversation, the use of scholarship and intellectual gifts, as well as personal experience and emotion."

Criticism

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More conservative Christian organizations and movements have singled out Progressive Christianity for criticism on theological grounds.[7] Other criticism is politically focused coming from members of the Christian right who disagree with socially liberal aspects of the orgnization's political stances. Albert Mohler president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has said of Progressive Christianity, "Christians should see The Center for Progressive Christianity, not as posing a threat to Christianity itself, but as exposing the basic hatred of biblical truth that drives those on the theological left."[8]

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Astle, Cynthia.Passage: James Rowe Adams, Father of Progressive Christianity Succumbs to Brain Cancer Archived October 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, The Progressive Christian. (September 19, 2011). retrieved 2012-8-26
  2. ^ From 'liberal' pews, a rising thirst for personal moral code, Christian Science Monitor (December 8th, 2004) retrieved 2012-8-26
  3. ^ Taussig, Hal. Grassroots Progressive Christianity: A Quiet Revolution The Fourth R, An Advocate for Religious Literacy 19(3). (May‐June, 2006) retrieved 2012-8-26
  4. ^ "Progressive Christianity Pt 2". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 11 May 2010.
  5. ^ Progressive Christianity, ReligiousTolerance.org. Ontario Consulting Group (Last updated November 2, 2009). retrieved 2012-8-26
  6. ^ Bradley, Ian. Grace, Order, Openness and Diversity: Reclaiming Liberal Theology. Bloomsbury, (2010) p. 166
  7. ^ The Center for Progressive Christianity: An Evaluation from the Theological Perspective of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (September 2010) Retrieved 2012-8-26.
  8. ^ Mohler, Albert. The Center for Progressive Christianity: Take a Closer Look (November 5th, 2003). retrieved 2012-8-26
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