For almost eighty years, my life centered around the Episcopal church. During my first twenty years in the ministry, the church was a powerful and positive force in our nation. Today, I see much of the institutional church as a negative presence, sometimes even trying to destroy democracy with its theocracy. In 1945, 75 percent … Read more
“Are you a Christian?” is a question I hear often because I label myself as an a-theist. That means I don’t believe in an anthropomorphic god living in a mansion above a flat earth. My answer to whether I’m a Christian is more complex than a simple yes or no. If someone asked, “Do you … Read more
This summer, I’ve been teaching a series of classes about Progressive Christian thought. One of the courses is called Charting the Twenty-First-Century Reformation. I would like this reformation to start at Irvine United Congregational Church because this Progressive Christian congregation offers what the reformation needs. But the reformation faces a big problem with mainstream Christianity’s … Read more
Some folks might find it strange that an A-Theist even bothers to go to church where there is a great deal of talk about an UpThere God who isn’t UpThere—as far as he’s concerned. Wouldn’t it be easier just to stay home and do something more interesting? It seems so hypocritical to waste time hearing … Read more