Soft or Firm Religion? What it means to be a Progressive Christian

If you’ve ever tried tofu, there’s a huge difference between soft and firm. The soft stuff is nasty to me. What little flavor there is, I do not care for. Places that know how to prepare tofu often bake it or fry it and this makes all the difference in the world.

A rib-eye steak or a piece of liver lightly cooked versus well-done radically changes the taste and experience. Intense cooking dries the meat, toughens it, and the flavors can disperse or be harsh. Whereas, a restrained cooking time can produce something heavenly.

Religious beliefs can be soft or firm, overly intense, half-baked, unformed, or at times, just right – nourishing and sustaining.

Radical religious terrorists take a good thing to such an extreme that the savory product is destroyed. Nobody viewing brazen murder sees a religious practice, but merely burnt and bullet-mangled bodies destroyed by hate. Justifications as vengeance for a prophet portray a religion lacking core fundamentals on how to treat other humans. Christianity, too, has intense followers who uphold certain absolutes, like condemning same-gender loving relationships, at the cost of diminishing human lives.

The holy scriptures Christians read and follow are meant to provide some standard, a rule, for how we act toward one another. Biblical books were chosen and canonized for their ability to provide such an order. The word “canon” comes from a Greek word referring to mathematics, a rule, or a standard measure.

People can obsess about minute segments of this measuring stick, firmly adhering to portions of text, while missing the bigger conceptual dimensions and the feast of our lives.

Others may do the opposite and avoid simmering on the texts or considering them at all, seeing so much harm come from rigid religion that the whole meal is tossed out, in favor of individual spirituality that loses touch with the vast wealth of practice and questing our ancestors provide.

I like my religion firm enough and rich enough to see me through the difficult tasks human life provides, including dealing with religiously motivated hatred.

As a Progressive Christian, I do not need to check my brain at the door of my church to believe biblical literalism. I am not required to believe that snakes talk to people or that virgins give birth. I am encouraged to think, pray, and use knowledge and sacred experiences to question and come to know a still-speaking God.

Progressivechristianity.org defines Progressive Christians as people who:

- Believe that following the path and teachings of Jesus can lead to an awareness and experience of the Sacred and the Unity of all life;

- Affirm that the teachings of Jesus provide but one of many ways to experience Sacredness, and that we can draw from diverse sources of wisdom in our spiritual journey;

- Seek community that is inclusive of ALL people;

- Know that the way we behave towards one another is the fullest expression of what we believe;

- Find grace in the search for understanding and believe there is more value in questioning than in absolutes;

- Strive for peace and justice among all people;

- Strive to protect and restore the integrity of our earth;

- Commit to a path of life-long learning, compassion, and selfless love.

Progressive Christianity provides my faith a place to simmer and the flavors to grow and enhance my life and hopefully the lives of others. Progressive Christianity provides me a firm path and rule to follow that is neither absolute and void of God’s ability to question my perspectives, nor is it so relative and soft that there is no religion but that of my own making. Jesus is a challenging prophet to follow.

May you feel love and hope in this New Year and a religious rule that feeds your soul, a community to eat and learn with, and fun and purpose in your life.

Blessings,

Pastor Nancy