Blog
This column first appeared on johnshelbyspong.com on Dec. 1st, 2016. It is re-posted here with permission. Dear Jack, When I learned of your stroke in September, I was en route to the fourth Common Dreams Conference in Brisbane, Queensland. Having no details at that point and being a half-a-planet away, I was anxious about having to…
Read More“Our society is dominated by the self-serving who proceed by ways of calculation and cunning and manipulation and deceit. But such a society — with its violence, its consumerism, its militarism, its alienation — is no way to live. To ponder an alternative, from greed to generosity, from self-serving to gratitude, our whole life made…
Read MoreTen years ago, the real world needs of two United Methodist pastors in Arizona led to the development of a DVD and web-based curriculum designed to help people wrestle with the relevance of Christianity in the 21st century. Rev. David Felten and Rev. Jeff Procter-Murphy believed that, “at its core, Christianity has something good to…
Read MoreSPECIAL LIMITED TIME OFFER Save 50% on Saving Jesus Redux Curriculum Edition now through Tuesday March 24th when ordering online at www.livingthequestions.com! Ever feel like Jesus has been kidnapped by the Christian Right and discarded by the Secular Left? Saving Jesus Redux is total revision of Living the Questions’ popular 12-session DVD-based small group exploration of…
Read MoreDavid Felten, author and co-creator of Living the Questions, joins author, storyteller, and professional firebrand Peter Rollins presenting keynote addresses at this year’s Epiphany Explorations in Victoria, British Columbia. Since 2003, First Metropolitan United Church has organized this eclectic mix of presentations, music, and visual arts. The conference includes stimulating and provocative presentations by prominent theologians, authors and writers…
Read MoreWith the recent terror attacks in Paris and Africa, it becomes all the more important to be vigilant in not letting Radical Islamists destroy the reputation of Islam. Creating a world at peace requires seeking understanding and building relationships with those whom we may not have had much interaction — especially those who are dehumanized and excluded…
Read MoreAnybody know a good Christmas carol based on Mark’s version of Jesus’ birth? You don’t? Well maybe we should write one! How’s this? “The No News Good News” A Christmas Carol According to Mark Tune: St. Louis (O Little Town of Bethlehem) Of Jesus’ birth we have no news, No details or anecdotes. It likely…
Read MoreThanks to everyone for their enthusiastic responses, shares, and praise for George Stuart’s lyrics! In response, George has written two BRAND NEW sets of lyrics. More Christmas than Advent, one is to the tune of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and the other is to the tune “The First Nowell.” In keeping with LtQ’s encouragement to actually…
Read MoreMore and more, practitioners of Progressive Christianity are speaking out about the beloved but threadbare hymns in current denominational hymnals. Most are intolerable. The rest are downright counter-productive to the foundations of 21st century faith. As George Stuart has noted, these traditional hymns use lyrics and words that “express ideas which singers no longer enthusiastically or…
Read More“Apocalyptic Awakening” By Bruce Sanguin (from If Darwin Prayed) O Holy One, we are a sleepy lot, slow to stir to the calling of the cosmos, deaf to the cries of the Earth and the forgotten ones, human and other-than-human. We distract ourselves with trivialities that have become idols; while the sun and the moon…
Read More