Progressive Christians: some questions?

Question

What Christian denomination are you?

What challenges do you face being both progressive and Christian? (criticized from all sides perhaps?!)

What led you to becoming a Christian? (Or...why do you remain with the faith, even though you might disagree with many fellow Christians on many issues?)

Thank you. Peace be with you.

This one is for you, Jesus M. Enjoy.

“The devil is the fear you hold within The Luciferian aspect of your existence Your chains, the darkness of ignorance Are your prison”

Patricia Cori quotes

Answer 1

I am Roman Catholic. I was put up for adoption as an infant. My birth mother was (is) Catholic and she went through a Catholic Adoption Agency and wanted me to be raised by a Catholic family. So I was adoped by a Roman Catholic family, baptized into the church when I was 27 days old. My parents sent me to Catholic school from 3rd grade through high school. Still am Catholic.

I was confused, though, growing up because the nuns were mean and kept yelling at the students and scaring us about going to hell every time we were the littlest out of line. The priests and brothers were all nice. My parents were (are) hypocrits often. We went to mass every Sunday and on holy days of obligation. But that was about it. We did have to say grace before eating lunch and dinner. but never breakfast or at resturants or at other people's houses if they weren't Catholic. My parents had a large Bible but they never opened it. I dusted it every Saturday morning. My dad would swear at the TV while watching the Green Bay Packers after returning home from Sunday Mass. Then yell at me and my mom all week long. Then the next Sunday we would go to Mass and I would have to give my dad the sign of peace and kiss him on the cheek and smile. I hated it for years!

Well, anyways, this is stuff I tell my therapist :)

I rebelled, drank, smoked, did drugs, and broke the house rules during my late teens. I began to hate God but never stopped believing in His existence. I went thru severe depression for years, blah blah blah. I even told God to go to hell once, I was so pissed at Him and the world that He created. I tried killing myself 3 times.

Then 4 yrs ago, after my last suicide attempt, something changed and I prayed to God for the first time in 15 yrs. I begged Him to let me die. He let me live. That next night I woke up in the middle of the night for no reason and walked outside and in the sky I saw a huge brilliantly white light. I sat outside for several minutes and felt Christ being next to me. I don't know how else to explain this feeling. I went back to my bedroom and cried very hard for a long time. I heard a voice say "I am the Lord and I love you."

After that I devoted my life to God. I have gone back to the Catholic Church and masses. I belong to 2 Bible studies. I am learning Hebrew and reading the history of the Catholic church and the papacy. And I have made many friends that have shown me that the Catholic Church is the true church of Christianity. I still have questions about my faith from time to time and when I do and seek out the answer. I love God, the Holy Trinity, will all my heart and I truly believe that He saved me from myself. And that He didn't let me kill myself for a reason. I am open-minded and like to talk with others of different Christian denominations and of different religions. As long as we can speak with respect to one another. Rudeness is a huge turn-off for me.

I'm sorry this is long and probably more detailed than what you are seeking. But once I get started, I like to share my story of being a re-born Catholic.

God bless and peace!

Answer 2

-I was raised a Baptist and I really do agree with a lot of their doctrine but no longer attend a Baptist church (except when I go with my mother). I'm a big fan of a lot of Wesleyan theology but I go to a non-denominational church: http://kensingtonchurch.org/

-You are dead on about being criticized from all sides. My beliefs offend more Christians than anyone else, even though I feel they line up with Biblical ideals better.

-I was raised Christian so that's what led to me becoming a Christian. I was a hardcore fundamentalist until I went to college and started looking at things differently. It was there that I learned that intellectualism and religion don't have to be mutually exclusive.

Answer 3

Did God rape someone? God did let the grouND swallow up those who made a golden calf and worshiped it rather than HIm. The rules he gave were: Love and worship me only , ask me for what you need and I will give it. You have not because you ask not. Give me one day a week of your time Acknowledge I am your King-creator Be good to your neighbor Don't steal his wife or lust after her Love the wife you married till the end Don't steal anyones hard earned belongings Do not murder your neighbor Dont get mad and throw my name around. Don't treat your parents disrespectfully Be good to all, and live peacefully. I equate God as being like Walker Texas Ranger. He will right the wrongs and knock out the evil ones, He will be gentle to the children and innocent people. He does not hold us at gun point to make us follow Him, but the consequences of sin are here to cause us to hate what sin does. HE IS A TERRIBLE GOD. He wrote a book that explains it all and if you will reread it you will see that he is not the one that is the bad guy. He wants a kind good world and he will have it. You better get on board, cause the ones who do not choose to come along get to go be with the devil. Now he's the bad guy.

Answer 4

Catholic most of the Time. Jesus in fact seems to me to be progressive(liberal).. He was challenged and opposed by the conservatives of his time because they had the most to lose if His Words were put in place. The Law and the Prophets all came true in Him. Even today we are still exploring what His Words mean. I am not presumptuous enough to imagine that this time of ours is any better or worse than any others. I guess we look at Jesus through our own lenses and filter out what is hard to swallow. This seems to me to be the best way to accept our humanity as well as respond to Jesus' call to become Children of God. Chesterton said that Christianity has not been tried and found wanting(inadequate) but rather that it has been found hard and not tried.
Jesus overthrows our limited perspectives and invites us to see with the eyes of God. That is fine with me.

Answer 5

I am part of no denomination. My wife and I do currently serve within a church of the Church of God / Anderson denom, but we also help keep a church at our home, meets every Friday evening, which is definitely and entirely nondenominational. In fact, about three-quarters of our Friday night church folks attend other, mostly denominational, churches, on Sunday morning, and we like it that way a lot.

Some criticize. I tend to ignore them if they cannot listen at all, or to give gentle suggestions towards more progressivity, if they can.

God has driven me to take Christ as my Lord. A few very good friends, who had given me startlingly good advice, encouraged me to talk to God, and desire an answer. In an act much like "Let there be light!", God placed an awareness of Himself within my self. Very slowly, He has placed more awarenesses, over time; one of these is that Jesus Christ is Lord of all.

Peace!

Answer 6

Peace be with you too. I am a Roman Catholic from India. I was born into this faith, both my parents were staunch Catholics.
My paternal grandfather would in fact kneel down every night to say his prayers and the Rosary. He was 90 plus.I have a strong Catholic upbringing that keeps me going. I have no issues with the doctrines of the Church and believe in it completely.
In India it is difficult being a minority in certain States, but I have never faced any discrimination.

Answer 7

This is a serious question...
What do you mean by "progressive"??
I really haven't heard that term used before.

I was led to Christ as a young child. My family did not really go to church so I basically was lost to what it meant to be a Christian. The past eight years I totally surrendered to God and have studied his Word to try to understand who He is and what I should be doing as His child. I attend a non-denominational Christian church and have studied Bible Study Fellowship and various other studies.

Answer 8

I am a member of the Church of Christ,non denominational .
I am not progressive but stay the same in my beliefs.I became a Christian because I belief it is the only way.
I sometime disagree with fellow Christians but it does not make me less a believer not they.

Answer 9

Born and raised Roman Catholic but I was always progressive in secret. When I became 18 I left the church and was just generally christian while shopping around for a denomination that fit my progressiveness and I found the United Church of Christ. I believe Jesus is the right way and I don't think that it contradicts my beliefs in reincarnation, homosexual rights, Karma etc.

Answer 10

I was raised Methodist, but now attend the Presbyterian church. However, I am deeply ingrained in the Methodist teachings and don't buy some of the Presbyterian theories.

I find that there are times that I have to censor myself so as not to offend others (pro-choice, pro-stem cell research, I don't believe that homosexuals are doomed to hell, believe that the Old Testament simply is stories passed down verbally until written down for record - thus reflecting the times they were written along with man's prejudices, and *gasp* I don't believe in the threat of eternal damnation). However, I was also raised that it is bad manners to expel your personal beliefs on controversial subjects in public anyway, so I just avoid comment when poorly mannered individuals feel the compulsion to shove their beliefs out in front of me.

I have always been a Christian - I have drifted away at times, but when both of my parents were diagnosed with cancer within 6 months of each other (my father terminal, my mother survived), it was my faith and prayer that kept me together and strong for not only my parents but also for my children and my brother.

I have great peace with my beliefs, and am not offended by those who don't share them, but realize there are a lot more intollerant Christians who think I am going to burn for my beliefs. Peace be with them.