Co-creator of Living the Questions, Rev. David Felten, was interviewed this week for the nationally syndicated radio show, “Culture Shocks” with Rev. Barry Lynn. Lynn is an ordained UCC pastor, constitutional lawyer, noted activist, and longstanding civil libertarian. For over twenty years, he has served as the executive director for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all Americans. David serves on the board of his local chapter of AU in Phoenix, Arizona. The interview was aired on Monday, June 10th and will be available streaming online by clicking on the graphic above or HERE, the Culture Shocks website.
“Martin Luther King may have never made it to the promised land, but the vision of that promise inspired him to do everything he could to get there.
That vision — that promise — requires of us what it required of King: to be in solidarity with the poor, to counter the idolatry of wealth, to practice non-violence, and to seek justice and inclusivity in a culture dominated by suspicion and fear.”
From “Living the Questions:
The Wisdom of Progressive Christianity”
by David M. Felten & Jeff Procter-Murphy
“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
We spank children to teach them not to hit one another. We sanction the killing of killers as a deterrent against killing. We advocate the arming of citizens to promote personal safety. Is it any wonder that people are being deluded into complying with a system that allies them with violence, not compassion; with death, not life?
Even our language is overwhelmed with a continual drumbeat of violence. From seemingly innocuous phrases like, “Shoot me an email” to the “war on poverty” to “He’s da bomb” and even the “Fight for Peace” are simply “to die for” in our culture.
We are a wholly compromised culture that can’t even imagine the existence of any alternatives. Why? Because violence is entertaining, exhilarating, and as Chris Hedges has argued so poignantly, it gives many of us meaning.
From “The Myth of Redemptive Violence” in
Living the Questions: The Wisdom of Progressive Christianity
Bruce Sanguin understands evolution as a divine strategy for making a world that can make itself, and that God is in the business of alluring all of creation into the deep enjoyment of realizing the highest possible expression of goodness, truth, and beauty.
“Everything and everybody is involved in a sacred, evolutionary process, including the Christian faith. What might it look like for a church to consciously embrace and celebrate the “blessed unrest” that is coursing through us as a work of Spirit? We have more questions than answers at this point, and that’s part of the adventure.”
As a Christian, Sanguin believes the Heart and Mind of God–that which was in Jesus–is incarnate in every bit of this blessed universe and planet of ours. Along with the rest of life, we need to creatively adapt to changing life conditions, or suffer the evolutionary consequences — which we’re seeing with the decline of the mainline churches. The crisis that we’re going through right now on the planet could very well be birth of a new reality. This creative adaptation and innovation is driven by Spirit. It’s up to us to be part of the evolution.
Rev. Bruce Sanguin is the Minister of Canadian Memorial United Church and Centre for Peace in Vancouver, B.C. He is a leader in evolutionary Christianity, teaching evolutionary theology and practice with a passion for updating the theology and practice of the church in light of the reality of evolutionary processes and the creative impulse of the universe.
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!) 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!
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
