A New Approach.

                            

We are seeing the beginnings of a new approach to religion in our world.

What is being called Progressive Religion is first of all a new way of interpreting scripture.

Modern scholarship has revolutionized how we read scripture.

It takes into account the context in which the text was written and also the worldview and understanding of each individual writer.

"The color of the water is that of the container." 14th Century Sufi Al-Junayd.

"Things known are in the knower according to the mode of the knower."  Thomas Aquinas.

Religious experience is molded by the conceptual apparatus of the experiencer.

Jesus said that the world did not know God.

This is because religion has always been closely associated with authority.  And the Machiavellian carrot and stick approach of worldly authorities has infected most of the world's religions.

But the new revelations suggest that God is beyond our worldly understanding of authority.

He is a loving Father.

And a loving Father does not  condemn His children.

So there can be no hell.

Progressive Christianity also returns to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.

The sophisticated Christology which grew up around the figure of Jesus after his crucifixion has been put to one side as we search for the historical Jesus.

And Jesus' core teachings are to love God, love your neighbor, and love your enemies.

This is vital as we look for common ground between the world's religions.

Any attempt to return to the rigid orthodoxy of the past is doomed to failure.

We must embrace the new approach.   


Photo Credit: Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi Flickr via Compfight cc