Progressive Christianity

[JesusHChrist]

JHC: I agree, I can't understand the position. It makes no sense to me, but it makes more sense than full on Christianity which is just crazy. But as far as anyone has the right to call themselves Christian, I see no problem here

Someone can call themselves Samuel L Jackson for all I care as long as they mind their own business. Say "what" one more time! What? BOOM!

[robvalue]

Lol yeah But I mean, other Christians should have no grounds to criticize in my opinion, since it's all arbitrary anyway.

I feel cerca is on a journey here and is evaluating what is and isn't true. I'm all for it!

[Longhorn]

Bsides, we're all cute and fluffy

Sharks are all that ain't they?

Soooo I googled cute fluffy shark and thought you'd like this one

[LastPoet]

Thank you Last, for realizing that I'm not the bad guy here. I'll be waiting in the chambers for the ritual to begin.

Nobody here thinks you are the bad guy. While I understand you, for wanting to give kid's gloves to your friend, she is able of herself. Telling atheists how to act is like herding cats. We have our individual opinions like everybody else has, and your friend has indeed a very peculiar one. But like cats, we also prey on theists. We shall play with your friend untill she gets bored.

[Minimalist]

[JesusHChrist]

Lol yeah But I mean, other Christians should have no grounds to criticize in my opinion, since it's all arbitrary anyway.

I feel cerca is on a journey here and is evaluating what is and isn't true. I'm all for it!

True enough. Hard to say someone is doing it wrong when there is no standard or way of testing.

It's a process! The most useful aspect may be in questioning how one determines what is true or even what "true" means.

The wiki page is helpful:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth

[Redbeard The Pink]

There's a lot of questions there.  I don't limit myself to just Christianity. I agree that there are many venues for truth and goodness and that they should be explored.  I haven't delved into satanic laws and sins - that's an accurate assumption on your part.  I'm not really sure why, other than a bias of discomfort with the idea - a throwback from my personal history and prejudice. (not defending, just being honest about where I find myself) Jesus may not be any different than any other preacher or teacher or philosopher.  I think we as a race have sacrificed many wonderful people, and that he is not unique in that.  I don't know that atheistic Christianity would fit as a label for my beliefs. I do believe there is a creative force, although I fall more closely in line with process theology; it may be more powerful than I am, but not all powerful. I'm not sure if you're asking me about my personal thoughts on Jesus and violence or interactions with his mother - I'll forgo addressing those unless you specifically ask me to. I don't want to cross a preachy line at all here.  I do hear a lot from atheists that I cannot label my beliefs as Christian if I do not ascribe to contemporary conservative Christianity (although I'm not sure you went that far ).  That's a frustrating experience for me, because I believe conservative Christianity to be an entirely different theology and community than what I follow and belong to.

At the risk of sounding preachy myself, the idea that Jehovah exists and that Jesus is his son is not a tenet of "conservative" christianity. It's a tenet of...christianity. By definition, in fact (from google):


"Christianity is the world's largest religion, with about 2.4 billion adherents, known as Christians. Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God, fully divine and fully human, and the savior of humanity whose coming as Christ or the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament."


While I wouldn't presume to tell you what you believe, I might presume to say that if you don't believe the minimal tenets of what christians believe (tenets Christ himself is said to have taught), then you are not a christian, even if you follow some of the other teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. You can call yourself that if you want, I guess, you'd just have to concede that you're not using the same definition of the word that pretty much everyone else is using.

As for your hesitation toward atheistic satanism, I can certainly understand your reasoning and appreciate your honesty. I think you might be surprised at some of what you'd find, though. For a primer, here are the 9 Satanic Sins:

1. Stupidity

The top of the list for Satanic Sins. The Cardinal Sin of Satanism. It’s too bad that stupidity isn’t painful. Ignorance is one thing, but our society thrives increasingly on stupidity. It depends on people going along with whatever they are told. The media promotes a cultivated stupidity as a posture that is not only acceptable but laudable. Satanists must learn to see through the tricks and cannot afford to be stupid.

2. Pretentiousness

Empty posturing can be most irritating and isn’t applying the cardinal rules of Lesser Magic. On equal footing with stupidity for what keeps the money in circulation these days. Everyone’s made to feel like a big shot, whether they can come up with the goods or not.

3. Solipsism

Can be very dangerous for Satanists. Projecting your reactions, responses and sensibilities onto someone who is probably far less attuned than you are. It is the mistake of expecting people to give you the same consideration, courtesy and respect that you naturally give them. They won’t. Instead, Satanists must strive to apply the dictum of “Do unto others as they do unto you.” It’s work for most of us and requires constant vigilance lest you slip into a comfortable illusion of everyone being like you. As has been said, certain utopias would be ideal in a nation of philosophers, but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, from a Machiavellian standpoint) we are far from that point.

4. Self-deceit

It’s in the “Nine Satanic Statements” but deserves to be repeated here. Another cardinal sin. We must not pay homage to any of the sacred cows presented to us, including the roles we are expected to play ourselves. The only time self-deceit should be entered into is when it’s fun, and with awareness. But then, it’s not self-deceit!

5. Herd Conformity

That’s obvious from a Satanic stance. It’s all right to conform to a person’s wishes, if it ultimately benefits you. But only fools follow along with the herd, letting an impersonal entity dictate to you. The key is to choose a master wisely instead of being enslaved by the whims of the many.

6. Lack of Perspective

Again, this one can lead to a lot of pain for a Satanist. You must never lose sight of who and what you are, and what a threat you can be, by your very existence. We are making history right now, every day. Always keep the wider historical and social picture in mind. That is an important key to both Lesser and Greater Magic. See the patterns and fit things together as you want the pieces to fall into place. Do not be swayed by herd constraints—know that you are working on another level entirely from the rest of the world.

7. Forgetfulness of Past Orthodoxies

Be aware that this is one of the keys to brainwashing people into accepting something new and different, when in reality it’s something that was once widely accepted but is now presented in a new package. We are expected to rave about the genius of the creator and forget the original. This makes for a disposable society.

8. Counterproductive Pride

That first word is important. Pride is great up to the point you begin to throw out the baby with the bathwater. The rule of Satanism is: if it works for you, great. When it stops working for you, when you’ve painted yourself into a corner and the only way out is to say, I’m sorry, I made a mistake, I wish we could compromise somehow, then do it.

9. Lack of Aesthetics

This is the physical application of the Balance Factor. Aesthetics is important in Lesser Magic and should be cultivated. It is obvious that no one can collect any money off classical standards of beauty and form most of the time so they are discouraged in a consumer society, but an eye for beauty, for balance, is an essential Satanic tool and must be applied for greatest magical effectiveness. It’s not what’s supposed to be pleasing—it’s what is. Aesthetics is a personal thing, reflective of one’s own nature, but there are universally pleasing and harmonious configurations that should not be denied.


To me, this list represents a much more critical and sensible system for deciding how to think and act (thought I don't necessarily subscribe to it 100%). The 11 Laws of the Earth are pretty good, too, but I'll let you look those up on your own if you want. This post is already pretty long.

[Iroscato]

Sharks are all that ain't they?

Soooo I googled cute fluffy shark and thought you'd like this one

One is a terrifying, soulless creature that devours all it sees and is the scourge of humanity.
The other is a shark.

[Joods]

Thank you Last, for realizing that I'm not the bad guy here. I'll be waiting in the chambers for the ritual to begin.

Nobody here thinks you are the bad guy. While I understand you, for wanting to give kid's gloves to your friend, she is able of herself. Telling atheists how to act is like herding cats. We have our individual opinions like everybody else has, and your friend has indeed a very peculiar one. But like cats, we also prey on theists. We shall play with your friend untill she gets bored.

She won't get bored here. Although she does have a life to tend to. Besides, I wasn't actually telling anyone how to act.

We've talked about it. I think we can just move forward to the next thing.

[Alex K]

Jesus is not a nice man... How do you base your morals on that guy?