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How it all went to hell We’ve spent centuries terrified of a place Jesus never meant literally, while missing the point of the parables entirely: the kingdom of heaven isn’t about later—it’s about now. And maybe hell is simply what happens when we choose anything less than grace.
No, Hell is not in the Bible.
revelation not atonement Maybe we’d got it all backwards. Maybe the sacrificial system wasn’t God’s invention but ours. A kind of theological security blanket to convince ourselves we were still in God’s good books.
But all it really did was create victims.
In fact, that’s where the word “victim” comes from—literally, "a creature killed as a religious offering."
The cross was violent. It was sacrificial. But the violence wasn’t God’s. It was ours. And God didn’t demand it. God endured it—to show us that love was never something we had to earn.
Insert—Name—Here: Breaking the cycle of sacrifice Cycles don't break themselves.
They need to be seen.
They need someone brave enough to name them.
To step outside the ritual and say: "No more."
That's what Jesus did.
He didn't just step into the cycle of violence —
He exposed it, absorbed it, and undid it from within.
He showed us:
The price was always too high.
The God we thought needed sacrifice was never in the audience.
And once you see that...
you are free to choose a different way.
The way of mercy.
The way of peace.
The way of forgiveness that doesn't wait for someone else to make it safe first.
The Shape Under the Blanket For many of us, the dominant story we inherited was this:
We are sinful. God is holy and just. Sin must be punished. Jesus took our punishment. Now we can be forgiven - if we believe the right things about Jesus.
This is often called penal substitutionary atonement—though no one called it that in Sunday school. And to be honest, it has its appeal. It gives a clear problem and a clear solution. It uses Scripture. It makes grace feel costly.
It’s also not without biblical support. There are courtroom metaphors in Paul. Hebrews talks about sacrifice. You can make that case.
But over time, we began to notice the cracks. This version of the story made God sound like a judge who can’t forgive without blood. A father who won’t let it go until someone gets hurt. It made Jesus the nice one who steps in to protect us from the angry one.
And maybe worst of all—it made love sound like a legal loophole.
The music at the end of this episode is called “Light of your Grace”. It is an expression of the Gayatri Mantra or “Universal Prayer”.
Written in Sanskrit, in English it translates as:
"May we meditate upon the divine light of the Supreme Creator. May this divine light enlighten our minds and guide us on the right path."
Lent traditionally follows Jesus into the wilderness. This is because of the suspicion that there lies certain wisdom and insights at the edges of things, that the centre just can’t hold.
As a Mohawk Elder said after one of John Phillip Newell’s talks:
“𝑨𝒔 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔, 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚 - 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑬𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒐, 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝑳𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒔.”
— Mohawk Elder During Lent 2025, inspired by John Philip Newell’s "Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul", we’ll explore the voices of Pelagius, Brigid of Kildare, Alexander John Scott and others, rediscovering a Celtic spirituality that has always been present - even if often overlooked.
Lent traditionally follows Jesus into the wilderness. This is because of the suspicion that there lies certain wisdom and insights at the edges of things, that the centre just can’t hold.
As a Mohawk Elder said after one of John Phillip Newell’s talks:
“𝑨𝒔 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔, 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚 - 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑬𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒐, 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝑳𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒔.”
— Mohawk Elder During Lent 2025, inspired by John Philip Newell’s "Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul", we’ll explore the voices of Pelagius, Brigid of Kildare, Alexander John Scott and others, rediscovering a Celtic spirituality that has always been present - even if often overlooked.
Lent traditionally follows Jesus into the wilderness. This is because of the suspicion that there lies certain wisdom and insights at the edges of things, that the centre just can’t hold.
As a Mohawk Elder said after one of John Phillip Newell’s talks:
“𝑨𝒔 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔, 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚 - 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑬𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒐, 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝑳𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒔.”
— Mohawk Elder During Lent 2025, inspired by John Philip Newell’s "Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul", we’ll explore the voices of Pelagius, Brigid of Kildare, Alexander John Scott and others, rediscovering a Celtic spirituality that has always been present - even if often overlooked.
A recent article in The Telegraph celebrated the Church of England’s decision to reject a proposal for gluten-free bread and non-alcoholic wine in Holy Communion, dismissing it as "wokery" with "no biblical precedent." But this argument—that churches shouldn’t adopt practices without a direct scriptural example—is not just weak. It’s profoundly anti-Christian.
The Bible itself is full of faithful people doing things for which there was *no* biblical precedent at the time. When Peter and the early church welcomed Gentile believers into the Eucharist, there was no scriptural basis for doing so—on the contrary, Jewish tradition would have strongly resisted it. And yet, led by the Spirit, they pushed forward into a new expression of faith that better reflected the radical inclusivity of Christ’s love.
Christianity isn’t about simply replicating past practices; it’s about discerning where God is leading us today. To say, “If it’s not in the Bible, we shouldn’t do it,” is to ignore how the church has always evolved. There’s no biblical precedent for church buildings, Christmas services, bishops’ vestments, or even, ironically, the Bible as we know it today. And yet, these things are embraced because they are believed to serve the church’s mission.
More to the point, there is biblical precedent for rejecting tradition when it excludes or marginalises. Jesus repeatedly challenged religious leaders who clung to rules at the expense of compassion. He healed on the Sabbath. He dined with outcasts. He placed love above legalism.
The argument against inclusivity in the Eucharist boils down to this: “We’ve always done it this way.” But history shows that Christian faith isn’t about clinging to the past—it’s about courageously stepping into God’s future. And if the church is happy to ignore biblical precedent when it comes to appointing bishops (no one is casting lots like they did in Acts 1), why not be equally willing to move forward in the name of inclusion, justice, and love?
Ultimately, faith was never about conserving or parroting the insights of those who came before —it was always about following Christ in our own time and place. And there is certainly no biblical precedent for making the Bible, rather than Jesus, the object of Christian devotion.
In the light of all this, one has to ask: Where have all the “radical believers” from the Charismatic Revivals gone? Aren’t there any Christians left who are committed to the rewilding of faith? Didn’t we embark on a mission to reclaim a church that is vibrant, unpredictable, and truly alive - where love and justice flourish beyond the fences of convention?
Dismiss it all as “wokery” if you want, but that was always the point - to stay awake.
But we didn’t, did we? We just shrivelled the whole thing up into “getting saved” while piously calling for Jesus to “take the wheel” as we ourselves slumbered along the sacred road.
Now, conservative fundamentalism has the wheel, slowly suffocating the life out of a once vibrant and courageous faith. We can’t even agree to make the most basic invitation to the Lord’s Table an inclusive one - no wonder we’re all so emaciated. God help us.
Part Four of “A Wondering Through Genesis”.
The fourth in a series of talks on how to read the book of Genesis through the lens of a more progressive faith.
Genesis 4 Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have produced a man with the help of the Lord.” 2 Next she bore his brother Abel.
Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen, your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
12 When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”
13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! 14 Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.”
15 Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him. 16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
17 Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch, and he built a city and named it Enoch after his son Enoch.
Part Three of “A Wondering Through Genesis”.
The third in a series of talks on how to read the book of Genesis through the lens of a more progressive faith.
“The book of Genesis” by Kei Millar
Suppose there was a book full of only the word,
let – from whose clipped sound all things begin: fir
and firmament, feather, the first whale – and suppose
we could scroll through its pages every day
to find and pronounce a Let meant only for us –
we would stumble through the streets with open books,
eyes crossed from too much reading; we would speak
in auto-rhyme, the world would echo itself – and still
we’d continue in rounds, saying let and let and let
until even silent dreams had been allowed.
Part Two of “A Wondering Through Genesis”.
The second in a series of talks on how to read the book of Genesis through the lens of a more progressive faith.
Part one of “A Wondering Through Genesis”.
The first in a series of talks on how to read the book of Genesis through the lens of a more progressive faith.
For more info on Enneagram see https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-descriptions/
This episode also features music from the song "One" by "Sleeping At Last".
After the Fall: Explorations of Faith After Deconstruction Part One We know what it's like to feel alienated from a religious faith you once took for granted. This is sometimes called "deconstruction", and many Christians have experienced it.
This doesn't mean you have to abandon your faith. In fact, if you stop and look down, you may even find your feet already walking the yellow brick road back to the renewed and vibrant spirituality you never saw the first time round.
Over the next four Sunday mornings (28 July - 18 August) we'll be hosting a series of talks with Andrew Cunning on exactly this topic.
If you're curious about faith after deconstruction, feel free to join us any Sunday from 11am for a warm welcome and space to breathe again.
“First the fall, and then the recovery from the fall, and both are the mercy of God.” ~ Julian of Norwich
“The Bible does not exist to explain away mysteries and complexities but to reveal and explore them with a respect and restraint that resists conclusion.” ~ Marilynne Robinson
If we only understand the incarnation as what happened long ago when Jesus walked the earth, and we don’t learn to universalise that truth into to seeing the incarnated God present in every face we see, then all we have is junk religion and we have not been liberated.
But we never really wanted freedom did we? We just wanted to know what the rules were so we could figure out how to win the game.
Pentecost shows us that the Spirit leads, not church “orthodoxy”. Are we really ready to trust the Spirits leading?
“I’m suggesting that maybe the outpouring or coming of the Holy Spirit available to ALL people is the central point of the New Testament.”
Thanks to John for today’s Pentecost Sunday sermon.
When it comes to the Christ Event, the end is just as important as the beginning. Jesus proceeds from God, he exemplifies God, and he returns to God.
Incarnation.
Exemplification.
Ascension.
It’s not that God was only with us for the duration of Jesus' life on earth. It’s more that God has always been present to us, and Jesus helps us come awake to that truth.
The ascension brings this profound moment to a necessary end, so that we can pick up the story in the realisation that WE are the body of Christ, and always have been.
Like Dumbo the elephant releasing the feather in mid air, we have to let go of the earthly Jesus if we are ever to fully realise that we could fly all along. The symbolism of the feather is important, but it only really works when we let go of it.
And we must have that profound realisation, because there is another one coming. The realisation that since WE are and always have been the body of Christ, we are also and always have been vessels for the presence of the Holy Spirit.
If the incarnation is about God coming to earth, then the ascension is about God leaving the earth.
But was God really only with us for the duration of Jesus’ earthly life? Was our Emmanuel, our “God with us”, really that short lived?
Or is there something else we can learn between the sunrise of Jesus coming to earth and the sunset of his leaving it?
Could it be, that the beautiful day between the dawn of incarnation and the dusk of ascension holds the truth of every other day we’ve ever had? That God was always present to us and has never left. The only variable being the degree to which we can accept that freedom giving truth.
In 2016 a Silicon Valley start-up launched “The Juicero Press” for the bargain price of $600. All you had to do was load in your juice pouch and this WIFI connected, hi-tech gadget delivered 4 tonnes of force to produce “organic cold-pressed juice everyday at the push of a button.”
You don’t need one of these
It wasn’t long, however, before users discovered they could also just squeeze the pouch by hand and achieve the same result. The Juicero company shut down after only 16 months.
The Juicero Press was a classic case of “over-engineering”, a product trying to solve a problem that no one actually had. Just because you can combine sophisticated circuitry, electrical motors and WIFI technology into a high end juicing product - that doesn’t mean anyone needs you to.
The same principle can be applied to Christian theories of atonement. These are well meaning theoretical ideas that go by different names and which try and explain exactly how the death of Jesus bridges the gap between God and humanity. When you put them together though, they are more likely to confuse than to enlighten.
Did God offer Jesus as a kind of ‘ransom’ to purchase our freedom from the devil? Or did the death of Jesus ‘satisfy’ the honour of God impugned by a sinful humanity? Then again maybe a wrathful God ‘substituted’ Jesus in our place and punished him instead of us so that we could be forgiven. Or does Christ ‘defeat’ death itself by rising from the dead and so become “Christus Victor” on our behalf?
A lot of work has gone into these arguments, but in reality they are over-engineered pieces of theological gadgetry that don’t produce anything you actually need.
Yes, with a bit of effort, smart people can indeed fashion a ransom-captive or penal substitution theory from a bit of Hebrews here and a slice of Colossians there. But that really doesn’t mean you have to buy one.
The problem is that all these theories are assuming the need for something called “propitiation”. That is just a fancy way of saying they are all different ways of trying to explain how the death of Jesus reconciles God with humanity.
But what if no reconciliation were needed in the first place? What if the only barrier between humanity and God was the one we imagined to be there?
How would God then convince a reluctant humanity that, in fact, there was no separation and that “nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God”?
Well, perhaps God could become one of us. An incarnation of the divine, right here on earth. Fully God and fully human - literally no separation to speak of. That would be a great start. An advent worthy of celebrating every year!
And then what if that God-human closed the supposed gap even further and went straight to live with those we assumed to be farthest away from God? What if this divine presence welcomed those outcasts with open arms and told them their alleged sinfulness was simply “forgiven” on the spot? What if he also told them not to worry about being overlooked by others, because as far as God was concerned, they couldn’t be any closer to the Kingdom of God already?
Would we get it then? Or would that only anger those of us who insisted we were God’s favourites, and that those “others” should be kept at arm's length lest they drive God away?
Maybe if the God-human told parables about powerful and wealthy rulers who simply forgave the debts of their servants with no atonement needed - asking only that they pay the generosity forward? Would it start to sink in then?
And what if there were a story about a son who squanders his father’s generosity and finds himself in a prison of his own making? And then that son starts to make his way home armed with a whole atonement theory of his own about how he would win his father’s favour back. “I’ll do a substitution one,” he thinks to himself. “I’ll swap my status as a son for that of a hired servant. That way, my father will be able to take me back into the household without losing face.”
It turns out, however, that the father was never one for atonement theories. Before the son can even get the words out, he is embraced and pulled into the love of God without a moment’s hesitation.
In that moment, the son realised what Jesus wants us all to discover - that there really is no propitiation for love.
Would a story like that help us to understand there is no actual separation between us and God? Or would we identify with the older brother, brimming with pious indignation? “What about justice?” we cry. “Surely there has to be some atonement? You can’t just forgive without some mechanism for explaining the debt away!” Surely it can’t be that simple.
So off we sulk, away from the bright welcome table and back to the gloomy theological library in search of some rational explanation for the mechanics of God’s love.
Even when Jesus has his life threatened by the religiously insecure, he refuses to back away from them. As they hoist him literally broken and bleeding onto the cross, he embraces them anyway. “It’s ok,” he reassures them, “I know you don’t realise what you’re doing, and you are forgiven still.”
What a gospel that would be. Surely enough to convince us that our assumptions of the divine have been wrong all along, and that God never needed to be placated in the first place. There’s a reason that Jesus himself never taught a model of atonement - because none was ever needed.
So you can study all the atonement theories you want, but you’re only going to end up with a very expensive juicer that you don’t even use. That’s because the gospel itself shows that God never needed a blood sacrifice in order to forgive us. Our religious ancestors were starting to suspect this even in the Old Testament : “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.” Ps 51:16
It turns out that the cross was never God’s wrath poured out on Jesus - the wrath was always ours. It was ours because we just couldn’t accept the outrageous message of grace that Jesus offered, and so we killed him to hide our own nakedness.
But such fig leaves are no match for God’s relentless love, as the resurrection shows. This is truly the only Good News any of us needs, and spilling endless ink over the mechanics of the cross won’t add any value to the life of faith. Yes you really can be a sincere follower of Jesus without signing up to any atonement model at all.
All you have to do is embrace the simple message that God has always loved you and the cross shows how Jesus would stop at nothing to bring you that truth. Complicated theories of atonement only muddy the water and you’re better off without them.
Unfortunately, they tend to get everywhere. Like expensive gadgets that no one actually needs, once they’re made people will start to market them with gusto. They may be born in theological institutes, but atonement theories show up in hymns, sermons and CS Lewis books aplenty. After all the effort gone into making them, you better believe that the church industrial complex really wants you to buy one, and preferably the latest model.
But Advent gives me hope. At Advent, we can reset the system and go again with the start of a new liturgical year. It’s an opportunity to receive the incarnation with fresh and innocent hearts as though hearing the story for the first time.
Maybe this time we can receive the Christ child not as a sacrifice waiting to be made in order to appease an angry God, but as a profound expression of the love of God we already have.
Let us therefore not reduce Christ to a mechanism of reconciliation that suits one atonement model or another. But let us instead repent of our own religious insecurities and live deeply into the example and teachings heralded by the advent of our Emmanuel.
Make what you want of the cross, but it is the life and teachings of Christ that really open our eyes to the presence of God everywhere.
The name very Emmanuel, after all, does not mean “God might be with us if only we could understand how it works”.
It has always meant, quite simply, that “God is with us” already. Maranatha.
In calling people out “to the other side of the Jordan” (beyond the borders of Israel) and then baptising them back into their own faith, John the Baptist was doing something highly controversial with profound implication for us as people of faith today.
If the whole thing about Jesus dying on the cross for our sins doesn’t chime for you any longer, then you’re really not alone. It doesn’t have to end there though, and if you’d like to think again, jump right into this fourth and final episode of “The bells that still can ring”.
What do we mean when we talk about “God”? Some kind of super being? Or perhaps even “the most” super being? Or do we mean something beyond all that entirely? Listen in for Brendan’s take on “Meta-Theism”!
Should we really be trying to make our own experience of God submit to codified religion or dogma? Brendan doesn’t think so.
In this session, Brendan calls into question some of our common assumptions about The Bible, and asks instead if we’re willing to embark on a journey of discovery through The Writings.
“In one of his many arresting statements, Jesus advised: “Truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
Jesus knew what he was talking about; such integrity led him to the cross.
It can also lead us to liberation.
Many dogmas, confessions and articles of faith have stifled creativity, preventing us from owning and embracing our experiences of the Divine.
They need to ‘fall into the earth’.
So too, do the commands, decrees and regulations that have blighted countless lives through centuries.
The culture of Christendom that still pervades Christian thinking needs to be buried.
It is time to die. That we might rise... and bear new fruit.”
The Church ought to be a custodian of the grace revealed at Calvary. It ought to make space for welcome, drawing people from everywhere to sit, rest and eat.
On the Friday of Holy Week, we turn our attention to the experiences of Jesus leading up to his execution. Through this story, we might consider how in Jesus we see God standing in solidarity not with the highest religious and political authorities, but rather with those most vulnerable to policies that serve the interests of the wealthy and powerful.
The woman at the well is often misrepresented as some kind of sinful outcast who Jesus takes pity on. Spoiler alert, she’s way more than that - and so are you.
Christians tend to have a complicated relationship with the bible. On the one hand many Christians claim that the Bible is the literal, authoritative, inerrant, infallible - word of God. On the other hand, the same book sits on many a shelf gathering dust - because we don’t know how to read it.
“God” is not the name of the Christian deity. “God” is actually a placeholder word for that which cannot be named. Only after we drop our graven images of God, can we truly come into the presence of the One who has no image.
So whilst it has been widely reported that many same sex couples will rightly be celebrating their civil and humanist marriages by valentines day next year, I wonder how many of us realise that same sex couples of faith will be relegated to the margins once again - still waiting their turn for equality.
“Clearly, if the relationships in Genesis are to be held up as “God’s design for marriage”, then it’s not a very good one. Especially if you happen to be female.”
“You’ve got to remember, God isn’t just loving. He is also holy, just and righteous.” This solemn pronouncement was recently made to me in support of God’s supposed ordering of genocide and ethnic cleansing in the Old Testament. “But what do you think is holy, just or righteous about killing women and children?” I protested. “It doesn’t matter what I think,” came the confident reply, “my job is just to believe it.”
A four week “Introduction to Progressive Christianity” mini-course at Harbour Faith Community.
Listen. Share. Discuss. Progress.
07 March Session 1 - Putting the Bible in its place 14 March Session 2 - The Cross and Forgiveness 21 March Session 3 - Accepting Sexuality 28 March Session 4 - Living on a Prayer
All sessions start at 19:30 at 8 Governors Place, Carrickfergus. Click for more details.
In a part of the country largely dominated by a more conservative evangelical version of Christianity, we aim to provide a home for those who wish to explore or express their faith in an alternative way. This has become known to many as "Progressive Christianity", which encourages thoughtfulness in faith, is not afraid of doubt, excludes no one and fosters a more optimistic view of our shared future together.
This is the heart of what it should mean to be a Christian of any designation; the desire to continue to move and grow and learn and change, even if those things place us in opposition to the person we once were or the beliefs we once held firmly or the testimony we once gave. As we move through space and time, our faith should be in continual evolution. We should always look back at the previous version of ourselves and realise how much we didn’t know then. We should be able to see how far we’ve come in matters of spirituality.
This is intended by Jesus to catch us off guard. Even the characters in the parable itself are surprised by how the final judgement was actually playing out. This, as with many of the parables, is meant as a warning to those of us who think we have it all sewn up.