Choose the best time for you

Wednesday Sessions 7 to 9 PM
Beginning September 10th

Sessions repeat Saturdays 9 to 11 AM
Beginning September 13th

Is it correct to question traditional Christian teachings? Is the Bible really the inerrant word of God? Was Mary really a virgin? Did Jesus really die for our sins? Is it rational to believe that humankind learned all it could ever learn about Creation, thousands of years ago, during a time when it was believed that the earth was flat and the mountains supported the clouds? Can it be that a story may not be factual and yet contain valuable truths?

The course is based upon Living the Questions II, a DVD based series of exploration and discussion of our spiritual journeys, specifically those based upon Christian teachings. The weekly sessions, provide thought provoking, controversial and insightful discussion by world renowned, progressive bible scholars, ministers and professors. Progressive Christianity classes create an environment where participants not only interact with one another in exploring the best of today’s theological thought, but together strive to explore what’s next for Christianity. The nature of much of the material presented will be “non-linear” – more inductive than deductive. The theme of each session is a broad area of thought and is not designed to “prove” a point or make specific conclusions. Progressive Christianity may bring some of us to a point of “disequilibrium” that is uncomfortable as we are asked to examine our belief systems from varied points of view.

According to its creators, Living the Questions DVD series, the basis for our course, is a study for the countless people of faith who have suffered in silence as the voices of fear and false certitude claim to profess the unchanging truth of Christianity. Its purpose is to provide a resource for the discussion of what is already believed and practiced by many faithful people still holding on within institutional religion while harboring a conviction that what most Christian churches teach isn’t the whole story. It is not intended to spell out new doctrine or create new dogma but to serve as a catalyst to perhaps crack open the door to the future.”

Some of the 30 leading religious voices contributing include Nancy Ammerman, Professor of Sociology of Religion at Boston University School of Theology; Marcus Borg, Hundere Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University; John Shelby Spong, retired Episcopal Bishop of Newark, New Jersey; John Dominic Crossan, noted author and scholar; Emilie Townes, Professor of Christian Ethics at Union Theological School in New York City, along with many notable others.