Progressive Christianity is an open and affirming approach to worship founded in compassion, justice, mercy, tolerance, and a belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ. It acknowledges that there are as many ways to worship as its members and is not rooted or stuck in orthodoxy. Progressive Christianity does not claim to be the only path and that other religions are false — all paths are equally valid and all lead to Jesus’s moral codes and teachings. We are not fundamentalists and we certainly don’t think the Bible should be burned! However, we also don’t believe that witches, vodouisants and people of other faiths are going straight to hell or that being LGBTQIA+ is also a one-way ticket to damnation. Despite popular belief, the Bible and the teachings of Jesus are still and always will be, at the core of our belief, but we do believe that we have the right to question and discuss matters in the Bible and that our doubts, worries, stresses do not anger God, but draw us closer to him simply because He knows we are secure in our faith, but we are indeed human, and humans have questions. Being Christian is our truth, but it is not always our only truth or the truth of others.
Being Christian is our truth, but it is not always our only truth or the truth of others.
The Progressive Christianity Network Britain gives us Eight Points of Progressive Christianity. These are:
“We are people who:
Seek God, however, understood, guided by the life and teachings of Jesus.
Affirm that there are many ways to experience the Sacred and that we can draw on diverse sources of wisdom on our spiritual journeys.
Recognise that following Jesus leads us to act with compassion and to confront evil.
Place hospitality at the centre of our communal and worshipping life and see the sharing of bread and wine as an expression of our common humanity.
Seek to build communities that accept all who wish to share companionship without insisting on conformity.
Know that the way we behave towards others is the fullest expression of our faith.
Gain more insights in the search for understanding than we do in certainty.
Work together within and beyond the Church to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world.”
Progressive Christianity is about moving with the times and the world. This means with Progressive Christianity you can be:
Christian and LGBTQIA+…
Christian and black, white, or pink with purple polka dots..
Christian and someone who likes to party…
Christian and someone who has another faith or culture…
Christian and a feminist…
Christian and a rootworker, druid, witch, vodouisant or other so-called ‘heretics’…
Christian and a tarot card reader…
Christian and a scientist…
and the most important: Christian and YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF, all your baggage and your ways of doing things.
Author Roger Wolsey, says in his book Kissing Fish: Christianity for People Who Don’t Like Christianity:
“Progressive Christianity is an approach to the Christian faith that is influenced by post-liberalism and postmodernism and: proclaims Jesus of Nazareth as Christ, Savior, and Lord; emphasizes the Way and teachings of Jesus, not merely His person; emphasizes God’s immanence not merely God’s transcendence; leans toward panentheism rather than supernatural theism; emphasizes salvation here and now instead of primarily in heaven later; emphasizes being saved for robust, abundant/eternal life over being saved from hell; emphasizes the social/communal aspects of salvation instead of merely the personal; stresses social justice as integral to Christian discipleship; takes the Bible seriously but not necessarily literally, embracing a more interpretive, metaphorical understanding; emphasizes orthopraxy instead of orthodoxy (right actions over right beliefs); embraces reason as well as paradox and mystery — instead of blind allegiance to rigid doctrines and dogmas; does not consider homosexuality to be sinful; and does not claim that Christianity is the only valid or viable way to connect to God (is non-exclusive).”
We simply live our authentic faith where we know that however, we celebrate our faith, however we worship, however we live with our beliefs, God will be there for us and we have made peace with Him, and Him in us, just the way we are at this moment in time. And as we walk with Jesus and listen to and work with His teachings, God will still love us.
To put it simply… We believe that the overriding rule, commandment and sacred teaching from Jesus is to “love one another as I have loved you”.
We are a Progressive Christian Church because we believe that everyone is individual and cannot be labelled as just one thing. We are all multifaceted and diverse people and can bring each of those facets and diversities to God and they need not be seen as contradictory, blasphemous or just plain wrong, as long as we trust and believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ.
