Defining Progressive Christianity

What exactly is Progressive Christianity?

A Progressive Christian is someone who takes the bible seriously, but doesn’t need that teaching to be literal for Christianity to still have a beautiful, meaningful impact on their life -- both spiritual and otherwise. God is in all of us but also out in the world. We can experience the divine spirit between us as we love, respect, and care for one another.

About the Bible

The bible is still one of the direct ways we can learn about what God is like without the need for it to be perfect or literal.

• A progressive Christian focuses on the bigness of God and life of Jesus. Ways to live and experience God are wide, diverse, and don’t need to be prescribed in some kind of one-size-fits-all package.

• A progressive Christian believes in Jesus but may or may not believe in a literal resurrection. The outcome of resurrection and redemption to be found in our lives is the same either way.

About Sin

Sin is found not in crossing some predetermined line but in the heart. We ask ourselves if our acts bring beauty, goodness and wholeness or do they bring harm, separation and pain? The same acts can both be sinful at times and very much permissible at other times.

For example, is sex before marriage a sin? Sometimes sex before marriage is a sin but sometimes it’s not. And just as much, there can be sinful sex in marriage or sex that glorifies God after being married. We believe it’s not about the line of when to have sex but more the heart, intent, and experience of both involved that matters most.

About Science

Science is taken seriously and helps to inform our understanding of God, the earth, and creation. We believe evolution isn’t contradictory to the belief that God created the universe. 

We believe that if you take special care and observation of Jesus, you will be committed to the oneness of all of us. Asking what is good for the self is important, but not more important than asking what is good for us all, including the earth.

About Actions

Our actions are much more important than what we say we believe, actions reveal the heart.

God is bigger than we can ever imagine, understand, or plan for; there is not a need to convert others to Christianity because we believe God can - and does - exist in other religious beliefs. 

A progressive Christian believes we are born into original goodness and reflect God the most when we are most authentically ourselves as God created us. We believe we can absolutely experience God inside of the church walls but that God also exists far outside of the church walls and is often found in places we least expect it.

A progressive Christian is not someone who says everyone can do whatever they want; it's not a free-for-all.

About Spirituality

We never believe we don’t need God in our lives; we very much need and want God in our life and pursue that path.

Spiritual practices are important and help us grow in our personhood, connection with God, and movement of the spirit but don’t need to be limited to traditional reading of the bible, prayer, and singing. Spiritual practices can be anything such as being aware of the divine while washing dishes, taking a walk on the beach, meditation, painting, or reading a novel.