“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
Felten and Procter-Murphy aim to re-evaluate the organizing myths of Christianity in their new book, Living the Questions: The Wisdom of Progressive Christianity (HarperOne; August 2012; Paperback; $17.99). Calling on some of the most provocative and authoritative voices in Christian scholarship today—Marcus Borg, Diana Butler Bass, John Dominic Crossan, A.J. Levine, John Shelby Spong, Brian McLaren, and many others—Living the Questions presents a lively and stimulating primer on what it means to be a progressive Christian.
Based on the popular DVD series by the same name, Living the Questions covers twenty-one topics many churches are afraid to discuss—as well as reimagining traditional topics of the faith in an all-new light.
Rather than watch the church pass into the irrelevance of so many religions of the past, Felten and Procter-Murphy aim to fulfill people’s longing for meaning by encouraging them to “live the questions” instead of “forcing the answers.”
The words of Ken Sehested are adapted and re-visioned in this prayer for the New Year from Living the Questions. May Benedicere be your way in 2012!
Benedicere
By Ken Sehested (adapted)
May your home always be too small
to hold all your friends.
May your heart remain ever supple,
Fearless in the face of threat,
Jubilant in the grip of grace.
May your hands remain open,
Caressing, never clinched,
Save to pound the doors
Of all who barter justice
To the highest bidder.
May your heroes be earthy
Dusty-shoed and rumpled,
Hallowed but unhaloed,
Guiding you through seasons of tremor and travail,
Apprenticed to the godly art of giggling
Amid haggard news
And portentous circumstance.
May your hankering
Be in rhythm with heaven’s
Whose covenant vows
A dusty intersection with your own:
When creation’s hope and history rhyme.
May Hosannas lilt from your lungs:
Creation is not done
Creation is not yet done.
All flesh,
I am told,
will behold
Will surely behold…
Benedicere (“to bless, to praise”) is based on a prayer by Ken Sehested, author of “In the Land of the Living: Prayers Personal and Public.”
Concept: David Felten & Scott Greissel
Edit: Scott Greissel
Cameras: Gregg Brekke, Scott Greissel, Jeff Procter-Murphy & Edwin Serrano
Copyright (c) 2012 livingthequestions.com
David Felten, co-creator of Living the Questions, visits with Pat McMahon on some of the lesser known elements of the Christmas stories.
For natives of Phoenix, Pat McMahon is a living legend. A pillar of the local media scene for over 50 years, Pat is not only a respected radio and TV host, but was also at the heart of the Emmy winning comedy team that made The Wallace & Ladmo Show the longest running children’s show in television history. Fans of Living the Questions will recognize Pat from his KTAR radio interviews with Marcus Borg and Lloyd Geering.
David has become a regular on McMahon’s “God Show” and other radio and TV broadcasts. To listen to Pat and David discussing Easter and Halloween, you can find links HERE on The Fountains blog
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For the tech goobs out there, here are a couple of behind-the-scenes shots of what the taping looked like before the green screen was transformed into a digital backdrop:
Thanks to everyone who participated! Stay tuned for the latest developments in upcoming curriculum and networking for Progressive Christians! Merry Christmas!
Bishop John Shelby Spong’s latest book, “Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World,” comes out today. LtQ creators David Felten and Jeff Procter-Murphy were privileged to be included in list of those endorsing the new book. This collection of essays provides an accessible and informal primer on not only the history and significance of the Bible as a whole, but the background and core message of each book. David & Jeff caught up with Bishop Spong at the Canadian Center for Progressive Christianity’s “Widen the Embrace” Conference in London, Ontario, and this is what Jack had to say:
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The LtQ endorsement on the back of the book reads, “Once again, Bishop Spong comes to the aid of those who’ve had a hunch that traditional Christianity hasn’t been completely forthcoming about the Bible’s origins, its purpose, and its truly radical demands on anyone claiming to be follower of Jesus. Re-Claiming the Bible will bridge the gap for anyone serious about an introduction to what is common knowledge among scholars and pastors but has trouble permeating the pew.”
“This is my latest book. It came out in November of 2011. It’s sort of a journey through the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation looking at it from a new perspective. I must say that I was very pleased to get as endorsers of this book some people who’ve been really important to me in my journey. Two of them are pastors in Arizona: David Felten and Jeff Procter-Murphy, who are the creators of “Living the Questions.” They’re people I’ve known for 15 years and people that I admire enormously. I run into their work everywhere I am. I was in Oxford in the UK six months ago and we passed this Anglican church and there was this great big banner out: “Come next Wednesday for the opening session of ‘Living the Questions!'” And I remember when ‘Living the Questions’ was born.”
“Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World” is available in bookstores and online beginning November 8th, 2011
Episcopal Priest Winnie Varghese speaks at the 2011 Clergy Call (image from HRC website)
May 22nd – 24th saw hundreds of faith leaders from all 50 states participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s Clergy Call for Justice and Equality for 2011. Among the leaders gathered in Washington, D.C. to support legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, to ban employment discrimination against LGBT people, and protect students from discrimination and bullying were three of people’s favorite contributors to a number of the Living the Questions DVD series. They included Bishop Minerva Carcaño, episcopal leader of the Desert Southwest Conference of the United Methodist Church, Rev. Winnie Varghese, Priest in charge at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in the Bowery in New York City, and Bishop Yvette Flunder, Senior Pastor of City of Refuge Community Church UCC in San Francisco.
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At a Press Conference at the HRC event on May 24th, Bishop Carcaño said:
Bishop Minerva Carcaño was one of the Living the Questions contributors participating at Clergy Call 2011 (image from HRC's website)
“Hate and violence against persons, whether it is bullying in our schools, the taunting and violating of a person’s privacy to the point of humiliating that person and destroying his or her sense of self worth and belonging, to beatings and even murder on our streets or on the outskirts of our towns, all because of a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, cannot be left unchallenged or unconquered. Such violence against our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender sisters and brothers is a violation of all that is good within us, and destroys the inherent human dignity of all of us.” Read the bishop’s complete statement HERE.
Bishop Flunder added, “Too many are being murdered, too many are being bullied, too many have committed suicide!” In her own remarks, Flunder reminded those gathered that,
Bishop Yvette Flunder (at podium) speaks at HRC's 2011 "Clergy Call" (image from HRC video)
“Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people should have the right to be treated fairly in the workplace. Currently, Federal law provides legal protection against employment discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, age and disability, but NOT sexual orientation or gender identity. Still in 30 states across America it is still legal to fire someone based on his or her sexual orientation and in 38 states it is still legal to fire someone for being transgender. Say it with me, we have work to do!”
In Living the Questions’ “Dream, Think, Be, Do” (see video above) and LtQ2, Bishop Flunder says,
“I have come to believe that true faith in the Church means essentially not gradually moving toward the margin. True faith is when we take a great leap toward the margin. And the question is, in our time, who is most marginalized by Church and society? And right now, what I have come to call the last real blind spot on the body of Christ is the inclusion, the affirmation, and celebration of same gender loving and transgender people in the Church. And I believe that it would be remarkably liberating for the Church to find itself full of extravagant grace and radical inclusivity.”
LtQ2 contributor Rev. Dr. Barbara Rossing speaks for many rational followers of Jesus when she acknowledges that the rapture is nothing but fear-based spiritual abuse. Calling it the “rapture racket,” she points out how the rapture industry preys on desperate people frightened by unscrupulous and misguided teachers. In Episode 13 of Living the Questions 2, “Debunking the Rapture,” Prof. Rossing gives an overview of her book, “The Rapture Exposed.” Make sure to check out the clip below — before it’s too late!
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Sadly, even a lot of non-fundamentalist Christians are allowed to believe a soft version of the rapture claptrap (59% of Americans according to a 2003 poll by Time magazine). Many clergy run scared on the subject and can’t come right out and say that not only is the rapture not going to happen on this or that date, it’s not going to happen EVER. To do so would commit one to the study of historical context and a critical reading of scripture that might very well call into question many of people’s simplistic ideas about their faith.
What’s it going to be? Jesus said love your enemies — unless they don’t believe the right things. Then Jesus is coming back to torture and kill them with extreme prejudice. God is love — unless you’re gay or lesbian and then God thinks you’re an abomination to be “cured” or killed.
The bottom line is that the whole idea of the rapture and the literal and violent apocalyptic second-coming is not only un-Christian but a betrayal of Jesus’ core teachings.
While there is absolutely nothing to fear from the ravings of apocalyptic preachers and fundamentalist personalities, their ridiculous claims continue to erode whatever reputation Christianity still has among thinking people. The challenge for 21st century followers of Jesus will continue to be one of offering an alternative to the fear and violence embraced by so much of the Church. The overall responsibility of disciples today is to bearers of hope and reconciliation to a troubled world; doing our part to realize peace and bring healing to the nations, one person at a time.
Living the Questions contributor, Rev. Dr. Barbara Rossing
Barbara R. Rossing is professor of New Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, where she has taught since 1994. She appears in both Living the Questions 2 and Dream, Think, Be, Do.
You can also see Prof. Rossing being interviewed on May 19th’s “The Last Word” with Lawrence O’Donnell. Video Link HERE
hellabelloo
noun [in sing.] informal
1. irrational tantrums among evangelical Christians over Rob Bell’s book, “Love Wins”: that’s quite a hellabelloo over Rob’s new book!
2. a commotion over “the tiddlywinks and peccadilloes of religion” (Fosdick); a fuss
The evangelical blogosphere is all aflutter over Rob Bell’s soon-to-be-unleashed book “Love Wins.”
Having perused an advance copy, we can say that what’s news in evangelical circles is downright passé to most mainline and progressive Christians. For many evangelicals, heaven and hell are at the heart of their so-called “good news,” resting in the comfort that their told-you-so reward is all the more satisfying in the knowledge that countless others are being punished for eternity by an all-loving but sadistic God.
On a practical level, Bell is messing with the evangelical “business model.” Promising a reward in heaven or threatening people with torture in Hell keeps plenty of butts in the seats of countless mega-churches. But more than that, Bell is threatening the very core of evangelical Christianity’s purpose. Denying Hell’s existence leaves evangelicals to wonder, “Why be a Christian?” After all, what’s their understanding of the gospel if it’s not simply glorified fire insurance? Could Jesus’ life and teachings amount to something more than a Get Out of Hell Free card? We progressives like to think so.
In a recent interview for Living the Questions’ new “Saving Jesus Redux,” Diana Butler Bass echoes Bell’s concern that the Church has put too much emphasis on “right beliefs.” Whether the topic be Hell or Jesus, the old understandings have got to go:
“And I think the shift from having faith in Jesus to having beliefs about Jesus was a negative thing for the Church. And to have a person’s orthodoxy, a person’s right relationship with God tested on the nature of what we believe about something is deeply troubling to me. And it’s troubling to me as a Christian; it’s troubling to me as a post-modern person; and I just don’t think it works anymore. I think that we are coming to a different place in our understandings of Jesus and that believing about Jesus is beginning to be replaced by having an experience of Jesus. And I hope that that shift continues. It’s time to leave beliefs about Christianity, in the past.”
Despite the Bell-inspired tantrums (dare we say a hellabelloo?) on display among conservative Christians, there’s nothing they can do about the reality that Christianity is a-changin’ – and it’s not a new phenomenon. Even back in 1922, Harry Emerson Fosdick observed noisy fundamentalists arguing over inane points of “right belief” and asked, “What can you do with folks like this who, in the face of colossal issues, play with the tiddlywinks and peccadilloes of religion?”
So, while blogger John Piper recently tweeted, “Farewell, Rob Bell,” we offer a hearty “Welcome, Rob Bell!” Welcome to a Christianity that has left behind the fear-based, exclusive, and literalistic burdens of right belief in favor of a gospel that is open, inclusive, and grace-filled. It’s a way of following Jesus that you might even say is hell-bent — on naming and mending the injustices and hells that people suffer this side of death.
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
Based on the popular DVD series by the same name, Living the Questions covers twenty-one topics many churches are afraid to discuss—as well as reimagining traditional topics of the faith in an all-new light.
Living the Questions 
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