Catharine This is a shortened version of my original post.
For me personally, here is why I call myself a Progressive Christian.
1. Social and environmental justice
I see God’s call for us to “love our neighbor as ourselves” as directly related to social and environmental justice efforts. I want to be part of efforts to help the poor and needy, both on an individual level, and on a systemic level. I want to do my best to live in a way that is loving and respectful towards the planet, the animals we share it with, and fellow and future humans.
Social justice includes racial justice. Given the history of slavery in the United States and entrenched racism within our institutions, there is a lot of work to be done.
Here are some of the verses that have been very encouraging to me as I consider these topics.
Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
Psalm 34:14 ESV
O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
Psalm 10:17-18 ESV
2. Immigration reform
Though I do see that in general, it’s important to obey the law, when someone is running for their life, the equation is changed. Additionally, when immigrants are taken advantage of and not given basic human rights protections in the name of “it’s better than where they came from,” there is something seriously wrong with a society.
In my home state of California, I know many families personally who do not have the same legal protections I do as a US citizen, and yet they do the back-breaking labor in the fields that most legal citizens could not be paid enough to be willing to do. Some lose family members to accidents and equipment failures. They often lack basic workplace protections, fear going to the police for basic protection, even from rape or domestic violence, and often face the threat of deportation. Saying “it’s better than where they came from,” is a terrible excuse for mistreating and taking advantage of people, and may not even be true.
I once taught a student who came to school one morning and let me know his mom had been deported, so he was now living with his aunt. If that same student were to later have issues integrating into society, became addicted to drugs, or fell prey to pressure to join gangs, what role will we have played, as a country in the trauma that led him to that place? We’ve essentially made him an orphan.
The recent Trump administration’s “zero tolerance policy” took policies that were already severely troubled, and made them even more inhumane. Our border agents separated children from their parents, sometimes losing track of where the children were taken. Our agents ripped a nursing baby out of a mother’s arms, and arrested asylum seekers who hadn’t even broken a law. This was unspeakably wrong.
I think it’s fair to say that major reform of our immigration policies is needed.
You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 19:34 ESV
3. Attachment-based parenting
Though as a parent, along with my husband, we seek to guide our children in the way they should go, and teach them to respect authority, we want to apply principles of positive psychology, and attachment research to our parenting.
That doesn’t mean that we are perfect parents; we definitely aren’t. But it’s a break from tradition. Many Christians have wanted so badly to have their children obey them perfectly, and have relied on corporal punishment as the sole means of making it happen, that the emotional connection with their children has been lost. They’ve legalistically applied verses like this one, seeing it as a simple answer to a very complex question of how to raise kids.
Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.
Proverbs 13:24 NIV
I once heard a sermon preached that was specifically saying that parenting techniques like “counting” (ie counting down 5,4,3,2,1 as allotted time for a child to obey) was unbiblical and wrong. We were supposed to turn to our kids, as a church, and tell them that day that “from now on, things will be different.”
😢.
A lot of kids have been hurt in the name of following Jesus, and though we’re still trying to figure that out, our goal is to keep the emotional connection intact, and lead the way we would want to be led ourselves.
❤️ .
4. Valuing education, science, and psychology
I’ve heard Christians say that higher education for women is of little value, because women are supposed to be homemakers and don’t need it. I’ve heard Christians say that liberal higher education is especially dangerous, because it can cause people to “fall away.”
I think that education is empowerment to do good, and that in general it is a powerfully important thing. Education opens doors in society, and helps us become more tolerant as we encounter diversity in backgrounds and perspectives. Education provides the tools to both connect with people of influence, and become people of influence. On a practical level, education often helps people to be better able to financially provide for their families.
For Christians who believe a literal interpretation in Genesis 1 is essential, there is often a combative view of Christianity and science.
Science is in the broad pursuit of revealing truth about our physical universe over time, through trial and error. Though it isn’t perfect, I love science because I see it as a tool we can use to care for each other and the planet, as we understand our bodies, medicine, and the forces that govern nature better.
Additionally, many Christians who believe in the “sufficiency” of scripture will use the Bible as if it is a cure for mental illness to simply find the right verse. People with clinical depression are taught to repent of their lack of joyfulness, and to simply choose to “rejoice in the Lord” (referencing Philippeans 4:4). Honestly, there is a whole lot of what I consider religious abuse that happens when Christians try to use the Bible as a replacement for psychological medical care. So I’m not in favor of that.
5. The separation between church and state
I am critical of the “God and Country” culture within much of American evangelical Christianity. Though it has its “fun” aspects if you fit into it, like a club, it has left a lot of people out of the equation who don’t fit into the narrow mold it idolizes. It also conflates religion and nationalism, which is extremely problematic.
That’s not to say that there aren’t Christian connections with American history. There are. There also has been a connection in many peoples’ minds between American intervention in the rest of the world’s problems and evangelism, even altruism on a country-wide level. It’s part of the history of Christian culture in our country. (Though whether those goals have actually been met is a different issue).
The problem with this is America is not a church. It is a country, and represents everyone within that country, encompassing a wide variety of belief systems, including people who do not have religious beliefs at all. Laws apply to everyone. In addition to protecting religious freedom for all people, separating government and religion ultimately protects Christians from governmental overreach. There needs to be both freedom of religion, and freedom from it.
4. A contextually sensitive understanding of scripture, and humble curiosity
My faith is placed in God, not in my own ability to interpret the Bible perfectly. I want to have a deep understanding of issues, not stopping at just the surface.
I also know that the history of the Bible is complex. Studying textual criticism has helped me understand God better, and has increased my faith. For example, in college, a class I took on evolution and creationism helped me gain an even deeper awe for what God has made and designed.
When I was younger, I was taught that people had a choice in front of them: obey the Bible (and take it at face value), or you’re “only believing yourself.” My path towards becoming progressive has challenged that way of thinking. God is bigger than me, and bigger than my understanding.
That doesn’t mean that we can’t trust the Bible, but that we need to be humble about it. Curious. Open to learning more about everything, and particularly open to listening and empathizing with those who do not come from the same background that we do (especially those who do not come from the same race, gender identity, or socio-economic status). Open to learning about how our culture has influenced the way we view the Bible, and the way we interpret it. And ideally, trying to remove harmful aspects of that culture within the church that people legalistically stand by, but are not actually part of the way God has called Christians to live.
So that’s the essence of what makes me consider myself a Progressive Christian.
For some people, being a Progressive Christian means they do not believe the Bible is God-breathed, or that Paul’s letters are to be followed. There’s a lot of variation. This is, however, what it means to me at this point in my journey.
I don’t want to be remembered for my religion, or my judgmentalism. If I am remembered at all, I want it to be because people felt God’s love through me. And that he would be praised for who he is and what he has done.
Do you consider yourself a “Progressive Christian?” If so what does it mean to you?
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Immigration is a complex and difficult issue for Christians. Culture is strongly involved. When quoting scripture about strangers and aliens it is vital to look at the whole picture.
All Old Testament scriptures operate in a context where the culture of the resident alien must yield to that established for Israel. The OT did not allow for multi+cultural expression within the boundaries of Israel. This was always viewed as a problem and yielding to the cultural tradition of his wives was seen as a major flaw in Solomon’s rule of Israel.
So, a Christian response to immigration is necessarily different from the secular humanist perspective and we cannot take Scriptures in the Bible in isolation.
This does not mean that oppression of immigrants (legal or illegal) is ok. The mistreatment of migrant workers in unacceptable. If our economy is using the workers then they must not be in limbo and they must be provided for. Building an economy with living wages for all workers is a different issue with its own Biblical framework.
Culture is a tougher issue in a secular society. But, scripture does indicate that each geographical region has a dominant ethnic culture that is assigned to rule. Outside of Israel other cultures existed along side of the dominant one. Perhaps this is the model for the USA.
Our border agents separated children from their parents, sometimes losing track of where the children were taken. Our agents ripped a nursing baby out of a mother’s arms, and arrested asylum seekers who hadn’t even broken a law. This was unspeakably wrong.
this is an interesting point because it involved the complex interaction of many different aspects of government.
First, the separation of children and parents is due to court orders stating the children cannot be kept in the same location as adults.
The losing track of phenomena is unacceptable and needs to be fixed. But the programs come from the hand off to state and local care. My wife has worked extensively with local programs and know the flaws and wholes in the process and I have worked with adolescents in foster care.