In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre, the loudest voices seem to be focusing on curbing the availability of certain weapons and preventing unstable individuals from acquiring weapons. But Dom Crossan believes that “The most important question we have to face today really is violence.” Recalling John’s version of Jesus’ trial before Pilate, Crossan points out the way it is commonly misinterpreted: “Jesus himself says to Pilate, ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’ And if he had stopped there, [Pilate] would have said, ‘Well, he means it’s up in heaven.’ No, [Jesus] says, ‘If my kingdom was of this world, [my] guys would be in here to liberate me.’ In other words, ‘We’d use force and violence, just like you people did.’ So a kingdom not of this world is not a kingdom ‘in heaven.’ It is a kingdom here below which does not use force or violence.”
John Dominic Crossan is one of the world’s most respected Jesus scholars and author of numerous books, including “Jesus, a Revolutionary Biography” & “God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now.” He is featured in a number of Living the Questions programs, including “First Light” and “Eclipsing Empire.” In 2012, Crossan served as the President of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL)
Thanks to you and who-knows-how-many other fans of LtQ, Living the Questions: The Wisdom of Progressive Christianity hit #1 on Amazon’s Theology Bestseller List on December 12, 2012! Thank you!!
It’s a “Thank You” Sale!!
50% off ALL LtQ Home Edition DVDs now through Christmas!
Are you a fan, groupie, or friend of LtQ? Then here’s your chance to help spread the word about Living the Questions and Progressive Christianity!
David and Jeff’s new book, “Living the Questions: The Wisdom of Progressive Christianity” is available wherever books are sold or downloaded – BUT, if we all band together and buy a copy on ONE DAY, there’s a good chance that we’ll make it into the “Bestseller” category!
So c’mon – you know you were going to buy a copy anyway.
Be sure to go to Amazon.com and buy one (or twelve!)
TODAY – December 12th 2012 (that’s 12.12.12!).
Score the perfect Christmas gift for that hard-to-buy-for friend or relative! Buy a copy for the person you’ve been arguing theology with for years!
Or just buy a copy!
Thank you in advance for helping David and Jeff out in this hair-brained scheme to conquer the heights of Bestsellerdom.
Thanks to ProgressiveChristianity.org, Blogger and Facebook friends, and all of you who’ve FWDed this message and helped spread the word — we appreciate your encouragement and support! Many thanks!
With Pope Benedict’s recent release of a book reflecting on the Nativity, the historicity of the Virgin Birth is yet again back in the news. It seems that Benedict is more concerned that barnyard animals are inaccurately included in most traditional Nativity scenes than the fact that insistence on a literal virgin birth is one of the reasons many thinking people leave the church.
Retired Episcopal Bishop Jack Spong sees it differently than Pope Benedict — and offers an alternative vision for interpreting the meaning behind the parable of the virgin birth. With apologies to Dr. Seuss: “Maybe Christmas, Jack thought, doesn’t come from a virgin. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a Spirit emergin’…”.
Are you a fan, groupie, or friend of LtQ? Then here’s your chance to help spread the word about Living the Questions and Progressive Christianity! David and Jeff’s new book, “Living the Questions: The Wisdom of Progressive Christianity” is available wherever books are sold or downloaded – BUT, if we all band together and buy a copy on ONE DAY, there’s a good chance that we’ll make it into the “Bestseller” category!
So c’mon – you know you were going to buy a copy anyway. Be sure to go to Amazon.com and buy one (or twelve!) on
December 12th 2012 (that’s 12.12.12!).
Score the perfect Christmas gift for that hard-to-buy-for friend or relative! Buy a copy for the person you’ve been arguing theology with for years! Or just buy a copy!
HANG ON! DON’T ORDER TODAY – WAIT UNTIL 12/12
Everyone ordering on ONE DAY is the key!
Thank you in advance for helping David and Jeff out in this hair-brained scheme to conquer the heights of Amazon Bestsellerdom.
–and we’d greatly appreciate your help spreading the word. Many thanks!
Tragic as the downfall of CIA Director General David Petraeus might be, it’s just the symptom of a much larger problem: the “spirit of militarism.” The high rates of military divorces, suicides, and PTSD diagnoses seem to suggest that what we have asked our military to do over the last ten years has put severe strain on rank and file soldiers and their families.
The paramilitary SWAT team of the Louisiana State Police patrols post-Katrina New Orleans.
Whether or not the cracking up of the personal lives of soldiers and generals creates a practical national security challenge remains to be seen. But what is not in doubt is the spiritual question that is raised not only when the military solution seems to be perceived as the most effective choice for countries around the world, but when our whole culture becomes militarized — from our police forces to our childrens’ video games to our economy’s enslavement to the military-industrial complex.
Brian McLaren shares an incident from Jesus’ life that suggests that the “spirit of militarism” itself is the problem:
“I think of an encounter Jesus has with this fellow and he says, “What’s your name?” He calls out from him the name of what’s disturbing him. And the name he gives would be like today somebody saying, “Platoon” — because he uses a military word: Legion. So, what’s driving you crazy? What’s making you insane? “Platoon.” And so it’s this language of living in this world that’s so militarized. “This is what’s making me crazy.” And so that man is now restored to humanity from being oppressed by something inside of him, the spirit of militarism you might say.”
Jesus managed to cast out the demon that possessed the man (see Mark 5 and Luke 8). But today, the “spirit of militarism” seems all the more entrenched — and poised to not only define, but cripple our culture and our legacy.
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Brian McLaren is a pastor, emergent church leader, activist, and speaker and has been named one of the most influential Christian leaders in America. He is the author of numerous books, including Everything Must Change, A New Kind of Christianity, Naked Spirituality, and Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road? Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World.
The McLaren quote is an excerpt from the “Living the Questions” program, “Saving Jesus,” just one of many programs designed to spark conversation in questioning the dominant pop theology of Christian orthodoxy.
In a reflection reminiscent of Emerson’s appeal to see in every fair flower a “wayside sacrament,” Philip Clayton urges the seeker to not miss the miracle of every moment:
“Do not, in your rush to find ultimate meaning and the ground of all being, neglect the transcendence that lies around you like a miracle at every moment . . . every outlook, every walk in a park is a call to horizontal transcendence.”
— Philip Clayton (from LtQ’s upcoming series on Science, Religion, and Evolutionary Spirituality)
Philip Clayton is the author of numerous books, including, Adventures in the Spirit: God, World, Divine Action (Fortress Press, 2008), In Quest of Freedom (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2009), The Predicament of Belief (Oxford 2012, with Steven Knapp), and Religion and Science: The Basics (Routledge 2012). He has served as the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean of Faculty, and Professor of Theology at Claremont School of Theology and is currently the Provost of Claremont Lincoln University.
Marcus Borg contends that Jesus has something to say about the way we organize ourselves in community — that when a society is structured to serve the self-interests of the wealthy and powerful it is not a just society. “If you have a society in which 1% of the population own 43% of the wealth, it is pretty clear that the 1% has structured that society so it kind of worked out that way — and they have a tremendous amount of power to sustain it.”
— Marcus Borg in Living the Questions 2.0
Internationally known in both academic and church circles as a biblical and Jesus scholar, Marcus Borg was Hundere Chair of Religion and Culture in the Philosophy Department at Oregon State University until his retirement in 2007. Borg has been described by The New York Times as “a leading figure in his generation of Jesus scholars” and is the author of over twenty books, including the popular “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time” & “The Heart of Christianity.”
“LtQ Clips” offer thought-provoking observations and comments on spirituality and religion from prominent authors, scholars, and thinkers. These excerpts from“Living the Questions” curriculum are designed to spark conversation in questioning the dominant pop theology of American Christianity.
There are four “canonical” gospels in the Bible. While Matthew and Luke are the only gospels to tell the story of Jesus’ birth, their stories are very different from one another.
Our play opens as Matt & Lucy volunteer to help with this year’s Christmas pageant. Little do they know that the Director will give them each a different script and leave them to work out how to put on a play with conflicting story lines, characters, and settings.
As the play ends, the Director explains how having two stories gives us an appreciation of the diversity of ways early Christians expressed their understanding of who Jesus was.
Program
Matt & Lucy’s Version Births can be as simple or elaborate as you decide. There are four speaking parts for youth and seven delightfully singable songs for young children (aged 3 and up). The LtQ Equip-kit includes two CDs: a TRAX music CD containing separate instrumental and vocal tracks of the seven musical selections, and a CD-ROM with printable pdf files of the script, production notes and lead sheets (arrangements) of the songs.
“This is a fabulous script. We adapted it by dividing up Matt and Lucy’s lines between about 6 other theater staff to create more speaking roles. It was convenient that the theater people could rehearse separately from the choir. We had choir members play the character roles. The theology was outstanding, and meaningful to the kids as well as the adult audience. The rhythm of songs and spoken lines kept it all interesting. Our audience clapped after each song, which gave us lots of time for transitions. This script format is really a masterwork, and we look forward to more productions like this. Thank you very, very, much.”
Sue Ellen Braunlin at First Congregational UCC, Indianapolis
“Dear LTQ, We did Matt and Lucy’s Version Births yesterday at church. Parents and my senior minister agree that it was the best program the church has ever produced. The script was clever, the kids loved the songs, it was very easy to put together, and the parents were proud as could be. Thanks for making our holiday program great!”
Dan Rodriguez Schlorff, Director of Religious Education, Bradford Community Church Unitarian Universalist
Kenosha, WI
“We absolutely loved this program. Traditionally the Church School would hold a “Christmas pageant” after lunch on the Sunday before Christmas, followed by an all-church party. We decided what “Matt and Lucy’s Version Births” had to say was too important for anyone to miss: our children took over the sermon slot so that everyone could hear. We have a tiny, but enthusiastic, Church School – in fact we used the large puppets the young people had created for telling other stories in church, as the holy family, to help us out when one family of several children could not attend at the last minute. The songs are catchy and fun. The backing music is provided. It does not take memorization so much as stage directions, and those are not complicated. The message fits our preaching and it opened doors to encourage people, once again, to our Living the Questions stable studies. Thank you!”
Janet Douglass, Assistant Pastor, Christ Church, United Methodist, Troy, NY
Pastors David Felten and Jeff Procter-Murphy, along with the voices of top Bible scholars and church leaders—including Marcus Borg, Diana Butler Bass, John Dominic Crossan, Helen Prejean, and John Shelby Spong—provide a primer to a church movement that encourages every Christian to “live the questions” instead of “forcing the answers.”
Based on the bestselling DVD course, "Living the Questions: The Wisdom of Progressive Christianity" tackles issues of faith, dogma, and controversial subjects that many churches are afraid to address. "Living the Questions" is the most comprehensive survey of progressive Christianity in existence today.
Available at www.livingthequestions.com, through online booksellers, and as a Kindle download!
“A welcome book that is bold (without being contentious) and courageous (without needing to be triumphant), Felten and Procter-Murphy give voice to a faith that provides a profound alternative to the dominant ideology of ‘American Christianity.’ Attention should be paid!”
— WALTER BRUEGGEMANN, PROFESSOR EMERITUS, COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Concept, Visuals, & Edit: Scott Greissel (Creatista) 
John Dominic Crossan is one of the world’s most respected Jesus scholars and author of numerous books, including “Jesus, a Revolutionary Biography” & “God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now.” He is featured in a number of 
Living the Questions 
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