16 Ways Progressive Christians Interpret the Bible

by ROGER WOLSEY

Extract:

”9. We seek to read passages in context – within their chapter, within their book, within their genre, and within the over-arching thrust of the Bible.

10. We seek to read the passages with consideration of the historical socio-political contexts, frequently of oppression, which they were written in.
11. We employ a hermeneutic of compassion, love, and justice. (Which Jesus utilized). A hermeneutic is “an interpretive lens” and intentional filter. The hermeneutic of love seeks to see the forest for the trees and that allows the spirit of the law to trump the letter of the law (which Jesus modeled).

“you risk losing your identity…”

“So here I am, still on a journey, still in the church. There were (and are) times when the institution deeply frustrated and alarmed me. However, I chose not to leave, because the church was part of my culture. I think one rejects this at one’s peril—you risk losing your identity. I observe this loss of identity in many… and it deeply concerns me.”—Ian O’Reilly