Category: Theology

For those who believe the Bible is the final authority for Christianity, there are many doctrines that are not found in the Bible. One of them is the Trinity

The Bible

Yes, the Bible does talk about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But in no place does it say that these three persons are of one essence.

Four Sources of Authority

But for Progressive Christians, like myself, this is not an issue. The Bible is not the final authority for Progressive Christianity. Rather we have four sources of authority. They are Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Personal Experience.

We get the doctrine of the Trinity from Tradition, not from the Bible. Yes, the doctrine harmonizes with the Bible, but its source is from Tradition.

Tradition

I capitalize the word Tradition because here I’m speaking specifically about church Tradition that is virtually universally accepted. That is, there’s a general consensus about the doctrine over a long period of time.

But Tradition is not the final authority. The final authority is the church, the Christian community itself. It is the church that defines and interprets those doctrines that are authoritative. And it negotiates these based upon the four sources of authority, which again are Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Personal Experience.

Reason and Culture

And just to quickly clarify, by Reason I’m including science, history, and modern scholarship, as well as logical and reasonable arguments.

The general culture of a society can inform the church to renegotiate issues that may have been misinterpreted. At no time is the doctrines of the church infallible or inerrant. They are always open for negotiation based upon new evidence and new information.

Theologies is derived from two words. Theos which can be translated as God, and logos which can be translated as word. So theology is a word about God.

The Study of God

I particularly don’t like the definition of theology as the study of God. God cannot be an object of study. God is infinite, and you cannot study the infinite. You can only study the finite. And that is not God.

The Science of God

I also don’t like the definition of theology as the science of God. This also is inaccurate. God is not some object that can be experimented on and verified through empirical means. It misunderstands both science and theology.

The Discussion about God

The best definition of theology is the discussion about God and our relationship with God. That is how I would define theology. This recognizes the humility in trying to understand the infinite, which is simply impossible. The best we could do is look through a glass dimly.

Consensus

But I also like the fact that discussion means that it’s more than one person’s opinion. As a progressive Christian, I believe Tradition, Reason, and Personal Experience are also sources of authority for the church to have a discussion about what it believes.

I believe the authority of the church is the consensus that it’s derived through a process of discussion. Theology is the discussion about God and our relationship with God. The result is the doctrines and teachings of the church for a particular time and place.

Progressing in Knowledge

Because we don’t know everything, our doctrines and teachings have to change according to increasing knowledge. We need to progress in knowledge as we better understand the world we live in and the cultural influences that shape and mold our beliefs.

Progressive Christianity is about progressing in knowledge. It doesn’t believe that we have the truth set in stone in infallible and inerrant words. Rather, we believe that we’re in the pursuit of God and are teachable and open to growing in our knowledge of God.

“She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matt. 1:21).

Are You Saved?

How do you answer this question? First you have to understand what the person is asking. They are asking if you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

The Altar Call

But secondly, let’s be honest, this is a shallow understanding of salvation. A lot of Evangelicals mistakenly think that responding to an altar call and saying the sinner’s prayer makes them a Christian. It does not.

You will look in the Bible in vain for an altar call and a sinner’s prayer. That’s not how people were saved in the Bible or in the early church. People are saved by repentance, belief and baptism.

Repentance

Repentance is about changing your mind. That means you change it from a self-centered mindset to a God-centered mindset. Another word for this is conversion, which literal means to turn. It means a turn from self and turn to God.

The simple fact is that a faith that makes no difference in your life makes no difference to God. God does not save people in their sins, he saves them “from their sins.”

More than Words

We need to really take to heart Jesus’ warning about just saying “I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior.” Listen closely to Jesus:

“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you who behave lawlessly’” (Matt. 7:22-23).

Knowing Jesus

That knowing Jesus is talking about a transformative ongoing experience of Christ in your life. It is a day by day relationship in which you “work on your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). When you stop growing, you start dying.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:15).

Conviction

Salvation is both an event and a process. First step in salvation is conviction. In order to accept a savior, you need to know that you need a savior. Conviction is the process of knowing that you need a savior.

Repentance

The second step is to repent. That means to change your mind, to turn from a self-centered life to a God-centered life.

Faith

The third step is to believe. That means to put your trust in Jesus Christ as Lord of your life and Savior of your soul.

Justification

The fourth step is justification. That means that God pardons you of your sins. He forgives you and puts you in right standing with him.

Sanctification

The fifth step is sanctification. That means that you set yourself apart from sin and consecrate yourself to God. This means to unlearn the old habits of selfishness, and learn the new habits of loving God and neighbor.

Glorification

And the sixth step is glorification. This is the process of resurrection and one’s entrance into heaven.

Rewards

And the seventh step is rewards. This is where you will reap what you have sown, and gain eternal rewards in the Kingdom of heaven. Here you are judged by your works.

Event and Process

I will admit that this is sim byplified. Salvation is the event where you surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. But salvation is also the process of bringing you into the Kingdom of heaven. That’s why I said salvation is an event, and also a process.

Deconstruction is the process of taking apart the building blocks of a literalist interpretation of Christianity. That is, it is the process of unlearning and relearning.

Not Literal

The simple fact is that Christianity is not literally true. That is, the many of the stories in the Bible cannot be taken as literal history, science, and fact. That is not how religion works.

When you begin to look at Christianity as a network of myths interwoven over many ages, cultures, and peoples, you begin to see Christianity for what it truly is. It is a spiritual story of a spiritual and psychological journey.

Metaphor is Not a Lie

And so Christianity is transmitted by myth, metaphor, and parables. A metaphor is not a lie, it is a symbol that is taken figuratively. It expresses in figurative language what cannot be properly expressed in literal language.

For example, Jesus is called the door. That doesn’t mean that Jesus is a piece of wood that hangs on hinges. It means that he is the gateway to the spiritual world. Most of the Bible operates on this level.

Childish Thinking

Christians usually begin their spiritual journey taking the Bible literally, because they don’t know better. But there comes a time when we need to put away childish thinking. Taking the Bible literally is childish thinking.

Once we begin to see the Bible as myth, metaphor, and parables, then we begin to understand the deeper meaning of its symbols. We move from denotation to connotation.

Science and History

>We turn to science and history to learn facts, we turn to religion to discover spiritual and psychological truths. Confusing those two will cause a spiritual crisis. Many have left Christianity because of this confusion.