Progressive Christian Elevator Speeches
by Jim Burklo
Since The Center for Progressive Christianity came into being in 1994, it has succeeded in widely spreading the term “progressive Christian” around the world. It embraces a pluralistic spirituality, inclusion of people who have been traditionally excluded from the church, openness to metaphorical interpretations of Christian tradition, and commitment to practicing the faith to make the world a better place.
But now it can be said that there are two kinds of progressive Christianity in America. In the last few years, the term “progressive Christian” has begun to be used by evangelical Christians who are disaffected from right-wing politics. Their definition of “progressive Christian” is mostly a political one; they tend to have orthodox, traditional views about religion while standing for economic justice and peace.
By contrast, The Center for Progressive Christianity does not define progressive Christianity in political terms. It’s 8 Point Welcome Statement embraces people of all sorts of persuasions. Our movement is committed to inclusiveness at many levels. We care a lot about justice, peace, and environmental responsibility, but we recognize that there are many different ways to approach these goals. While we encourage political activism, we care even more about values that are more enduring than current political passions.
So it is more important than ever for us to be clear about what we mean when we say we are progressive Christians. For years I’ve been writing and collecting “tag lines”, short phrases that we can share with others about the kind of Christianity we represent. Lots of folks are embarrassed to call themselves Christians, because of all the bad things that have been done in the name of our faith, and particularly by the traditional Christian claim that Christianity is the only true religion. Our progressive Christian movement is about re-imagining and re-defining our religion, boldly reclaiming our identity, and finding succinct ways to express it:
I’m a progressive Christian who
* keeps the faith and drops the dogma
* experiences God more than I believe in any definition of God
* thinks that my faith is about deeds, not creeds
* takes the Bible seriously because I don’t take it literally
* thinks spiritual questions are more important than religious answers
* cares more about what happens in the war-room and the board-room than about what happens in the bedroom
* thinks that other religions can be as good for others as my religion is good for me
* goes to a church that doesn’t require you to park your brain outside before you come inside
* thinks that God is bigger than anybody’s idea about God
* thinks that God evolves
Do you have any “elevator speeches” you’d like to add to this list?
February 5th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Jim, how do you have faith without dogma? I’m gueesing you’ve been asked (and have thought about) this question numerous times. I think it’s impossible to have faith without some dogma. I think it’s possible to have dogma without being dogmatic (a psychological issue). I think there is dogma implied in your eight statements. Can you help me understand how to have faith without dogma?