Scripture: Romans 5: 12-19 Nigel Bunce Two Christianities coexist in the New Testament. The Gospel Jesus, and St. Paul’s theology that he expressed most clearly in the Letter to the Romans. As we begin the season of Lent, our lectionary presents us with a series of readings from Romans. Today, I want to try […]
Scripture: Luke 2: 1-20 Is the Christmas story true? What does it mean to say that the Christmas story is true? To ask this question involves thinking about what we mane by ‘truth’. The Oglala Lakota Indian Black Elk said, “I don’t know if it really happened that way but the story is true.” In […]
Scripture: Luke 17: 1-10 Today, I want to muse on where we choose the most important ideas from Scripture. These ideas determine whether we see ourselves mainly as Doctrinal Christians or Gospel Christians. They affect what we believe and how we behave as Christians. The heading of today’s Gospel in my Bible is Some Sayings […]
What is predestination? Predestination refers to God’s action in deciding, from outside of time, whatever will happen. God has advance knowledge of all events, but does not necessarily direct them. Most people talk about predestination in terms of an all-powerful God who actively directs what will happen to each soul, from the beginning of […]
Scripture: Romans 3-5 Atonement theology has satisfied many Christians through the ages. But I (personally) do not agree that we can only be ‘at one’ with God because Jesus died to pay a debt for humanity’s sins, or for my individual sins. Another possibility is that we are all created in the divine likeness through […]
Pelagius was a Welsh monk who lived in the 5th century CE. He is best known for his opposition to the doctrine of Original Sin. Because of this, the Church hierarchy accused him accused of heresy. Of his writings, very few survive. What follows is part of a letter he wrote to a friend named […]
Scripture: Luke 1: 39-80 Last week, we read about the angel Gabriel’s prediction of Jesus’ miraculous birth. As we continue to unroll Luke’s account of Jesus’ origin and young life, we learn that Mary, now pregnant, went to spend time with her cousin Elizabeth, who lived in ‘the hill country’. That detail reminds me […]
We are all part of God’s Creation We emphasize that we are vital parts of God’s Creation, not outsiders looking in. Essential to our progressive theology, we believe that God created the world and everything in it as ‘very good’ [Genesis 1: 31]. God loves us and encourages us to be the best that we can [...]
As Christians we believe that all people are made in the image of God and so possess an equal and inalienable worth. Because of this essential dignity, each person has a right to all that is needed to allow him or her to live their full potential as intended by God. This is what the […]
Scripture: Exodus 3: 1-15; Matthew 16:21-28 Last week, we heard the story of the birth of Moses and how this Hebrew baby grew up to be a Prince in the court of the pharaoh of Egypt. Today, we have picked up the story years later when he was wandering in the wilderness, herding the flocks […]