In my last post, I provided my own thoughts on each of the first four Points of Progressive Christianity as laid out by Progressive christianity.org. These are the other four points and my responses to them.
5. Find grace in the search for understanding and believe there is more value in questioning than in absolutes.
My response: Life is all about searching, which leads to learning, which leads to understanding. I’m quite sure that we’re all in this world to learn something, to expand our horizons, to grow our minds. I believe that, quite often, when Christ was talking about “The Kingdom of Heaven”, he might have been referring to a way of existing that we all enter when we die, one in which we are overwhelmed by a peace and love we’re only able to get tiny whiffs of here on earth if we prepare ourselves properly in this life to open ourselves up to that love and peace, but I also think he was often talking about ways to get there right here and now in this life, that we don’t have to wait until our physical bodies die. I’ve known people who’ve found that, people who are just so full of gentleness and understanding and peace and calm. I strive for that understanding and can feel the grace in this striving.
Absolutes bother me, because they cut off the opportunity for dialogue and understanding. Besides, I’ve learned that by paying attention, absolutes can be turned upside down. So often, I’ve thought I’ve known somebody or something, have made my judgments and then found out how wrong I was when provided with more information. I think we’ve all had that kind of experience, which should make us humble, and is probably why Jesus told us not to judge.
6. Strive for peace and justice among all people.
My response: I don’t know why some of us in this world get to be these very lucky, white middle class Americans who’ve never known what it’s like to go hungry, or to have to fear for our lives every day, or to see loved ones brutally killed in front of us. I do know (this is an absolute I can live with) that my luck comes with a responsibility which is to use my good fortune to aid those who don’t have it. I do believe that I can make a difference, even if I can only make a difference in one life. This would be a pretty amazing world if everyone who was fortunate and had plenty chose just one other person, who wasn’t, to help. And I mean really help, not just throw money at.
7. Strive to protect and restore the integrity of our Earth;
My response: We are only one small part (tiny, minuscule) of God’s creation. There is no reason to believe that we’re superior or that we have more of a right to be here than any other species, especially since we know so little about other species. The sad truth is that, in this broken world, we all must kill in order to survive. I’m not sure why that’s so. The story of Adam and Eve tells us it’s our fault, but I’m not so sure about that because it puts humans at the center of everything, which I don’t think we are.
I don’t think our ancient mythology has an answer for why things are the way they are. My hope is that God has an answer for this that we’ll one day understand if we’re just patient, that it’s something that weighs heavily on us in this existence, in this world, but that when we move on and move closer to God, we will see that it was all for the good, in the end, kind of like a 4-year-old not understanding the good behind that horrible vaccine he or she has to endure. My biggest hope is that, although death seems like a horrible thing to those of us who are living here on earth, it’s actually a wonderful thing that brings about a much better existence, and so it isn’t so bad that we have to kill in order to survive.
In the meantime, I think we need to be doing all we can to preserve this planet. I know scientists predict that in about 5 billion years or so, the sun is going to explode, which will, of course, mean the end of planet Earth, if it hasn’t already ended by some other means. I’d hate to be responsible for bringing an end to it before its natural time, and we need to listen to science, pay attention, and do all we can to limit our carbon footprints. I know I don’t do enough in this regard, but I’m certainly trying.
8. Commit to a path of life-long learning, compassion, and selfless love.
My response: This is the only path worth being on. I can’t imagine trying to live life any other way. The learning for me is easy, so is the compassion. The selfless love? Well, like I said, I’m a work in progress.
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