Rick Mattson's Blog, page 11

Slippage Part 5: Is the Ancient Faith Dismissible?

In my prior post I shared about Sean and how his new found progressive religion reshaped the entire faith of his upbringing. Here is my response to Sean: Since traditional Christianity was no longer relevant to Sean – and even seemed to block the pathway toward his ideals of justice and compassion – he merely dismissed it. But it seems ...

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Slippage Part 4 of 5: How Sean Lost His Faith (or most of it)

In my last post I noted how the dismissal of biblical social ethics regarding gender, sexuality, and religious pluralism is often a result of ignorance.   Leavers too often believe the media/cultural hype about the Bible and the “institutional church.” Thus, there is a bandwagon effect of rejecting parts or all of Christianity. But another group of critics is more ...

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Slippage Part 4: How Sean Lost His Faith (or most of it)

In my last post I noted how the dismissal of biblical social ethics regarding gender, sexuality, and religious pluralism is often a result of ignorance.   Leavers too often believe the media/cultural hype about the Bible and the “institutional church.” Thus, there is a bandwagon effect of rejecting parts or all of Christianity. But another group of critics is more ...

Read More

The post Slippage Part 4: How Sean Lost His Faith (or most of it) appeared first on Rick Mattson Outreach Ministry.

Slippage Part 3 of 5: Injustice and the Bible

In my prior post I made the observation that emerging progressive thinkers are often motivated by 21st century notions of compassion and justice, which the Christian tradition, they say, does not support. Examples would be the unjust treatment of women, LGBTQ, and persons of color. As a traditional Christian, I share these concerns from within a biblical framework. But is ...

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The post Slippage Part 3 of 5: Injustice and the Bible appeared first on Rick Mattson Outreach Ministry.

Slippage Part 3: Injustice and the Bible

In my prior post I made the observation that emerging progressive thinkers are often motivated by 21st century notions of compassion and justice, which the Christian tradition, they say, does not support. Examples would be the unjust treatment of women, queers, and persons of color. As a traditional Christian, I share these concerns from within a biblical framework. But is ...

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The post Slippage Part 3: Injustice and the Bible appeared first on Rick Mattson Outreach Ministry.

Slippage Part 2 of 5: Observations about the New Progressives

In my previous post I wrote about the common practice these days of moving from conservative to progressive on a variety of theological and social issues. A list of such issues might include gender and sexuality, Jesus as a historical figure, the resurrection, religious pluralism – and the doctrines of universal sin, salvation through Christ, and hell. A sampling of ...

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The post Slippage Part 2 of 5: Observations about the New Progressives appeared first on Rick Mattson Outreach Ministry.

Slippage Part 2: Observations about the New Progressives

In my previous post I wrote about the common practice these days of moving from conservative to progressive on a variety of theological and social issues. A list of such issues might include gender and sexuality, Jesus as a historical figure, the resurrection, religious pluralism – and the doctrines of universal sin, salvation through Christ, and hell. A sampling of ...

Read More

The post Slippage Part 2: Observations about the New Progressives appeared first on Rick Mattson Outreach Ministry.

Slippage Part 1 of 5: Progressing Out of Traditional Christianity

It’s fairly common these days to hear the noble declaration, “I can no longer hold to [the Bible, Christianity, traditional stance on social issues, miracles, etc.] in good conscience. “I used to be so certain of these matters. But I can’t keep up appearances any longer. I need to be true to myself and to the oppressed. The truth of ...

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The post Slippage Part 1 of 5: Progressing Out of Traditional Christianity appeared first on Rick Mattson Outreach Ministry.

Slippage Part 1: Progressing Out of Traditional Christianity

It’s fairly common these days to hear the noble declaration, “I can no longer hold to [the Bible, Christianity, traditional stance on social issues, miracles, etc.] in good conscience. “I used to be so certain of these matters. But I can’t keep up appearances any longer. I need to be true to myself and to the oppressed. The truth of ...

Read More

The post Slippage Part 1: Progressing Out of Traditional Christianity appeared first on Rick Mattson Outreach Ministry.

Slippage

It’s fairly common these days to hear the noble declaration, “I can no longer hold to [the Bible, Christianity, traditional stance on LGBT, miracles, etc.] in good conscience. “I used to be so certain of these matters. But I can’t keep up the charade any longer. I need to be true to myself and to the oppressed. The truth of ...

Read More

The post Slippage appeared first on Rick Mattson Outreach Ministry.