What Does a Progressive Christian Believe?: A Guide for the Searching, the Open, and the Curious
Delwin Brown
Top 10 Best Quotes
“For Christians . . . an unreflective faith is not possible if we take seriously the injunction to love God with the mind as well as the heart and soul.”
“the story of the tower of Babel in Genesis 11. Once upon a time, the story goes, people spoke one language and used words in the same way—they were in agreement on things. This unanimity prompted in them the illusion that they were absolutely right”
“the conciliar process was often motivated by political rather than theological interests, conducted via infighting and intrigue, and driven by the needs of empire for unity and control.”
“our doctrine of creation, our view that God created the entire world in all of its tumultuous diversity, and pronounced it to be good. For progressive Christianity in particular it is also the belief that God is incarnate everywhere in the creation. Both beliefs mean that the imprint of the divine is present everywhere, and if we look carefully, it is to be found everywhere—in the multiple religions, in the diverse cultures, in the many ideological perspectives, and in the varied political perspectives. No doubt the imprint of the divine is more muddled in some times and places than in others,”
“it is a task given to humans who are fully a part of the web of creation, not to special beings who are above it.”
“Why, if God is all-powerful and good, is there so much utterly pointless evil in the world—evil that no outcome could possibly justify, and evil, in fact, that we mortals try desperately to prevent?” The most credible reply of these anguished Christians is a commendably honest one: “We don’t have an answer. We do not understand anymore than did Ivan, Alyosha, or the most rigorous denier of an omnipotent deity. We do not know.”
“Why seek to improve upon the course of events that accord with the will of God? Or, if God has ordained that we should seek improvement on the things that “he” has caused or permitted, why did God cause or permit them in the first place? If that is not an intolerably callous way to run a universe, it is, at the least, poor planning.”
“Who are we to be? How should we live? and, Why do we fail to be and live as we should?”
“We follow the reasoning of the dominant voices—Paul and the theologians behind the Gospels. We listen to them and we agree, or modify, or sometimes sharply disagree. They are good teachers, the kind who help us think for ourselves in our times and cultures.”
“We create more humane forms of order when the successes and failures of past ones are transformed into better visions—tentative, imperfect, vague, but better guiding visions.”
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Book Keywords:
philosophy, theology
