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About Prince of Peace

 

Why do you consider yourself Progressive Christians?

As Christians we are called to live out our faith on a daily basis, whether we are at home, school, work or play. As progressive Christians we affirm the dignity of all God's children and readily welcome all God's children to His table.   The unique strength of progressive Christianity lies in our ever- concious desire to love all.

What about the role of scripture?

We hold that the bible represents the contextual inspirations of people of faith and to the extent the scriptures reflect human interpretation they are subject to human limitations.
We believe and embrace the revelation of an all-loving God as expressed in the scriptures  and as loving reflected in our community consciousness.

What about the role of tradition?

We are not Christians in isolation but are part of a living faith that spans 2000 years. Tradition is the embodiment of our experience as Christians throughout the centuries. The heart of our tradition is expressed through the Bible, the Sacraments such as the Lord's supper and Baptism. Our tradition is expressed with many voices, among which are a variety of worship styles, , cultures,and music. Progressive Christians encourage this diversity. We seek to value the life and story each person can bring to the community of faith. As in a multi-textured tapestry, each person's offering is woven into the life of the whole, making it stronger and more beautiful

What about the role of reason?

The gift of reason, as a complement to Scripture and tradition, leads us to seek answers to our own questions and to grow spiritually. Anglicans believe that since people were created in the image and likeness of God and since people have the ability to reason and have intellect, reason and intellect must be qualities of God. If something just doesn't make sense or is contrary to reason, a person of faith is not bound to accept it as true just because some authority claims it is true. Quite simply, the heart will never accept what the mind rejects.

What do you believe about God?

We acknowledge God as the Ground of Being, the Source of Life and Love. We exercise caution when we use parental titles for God, because they can easily mislead people into thinking that God is a super-human being. In fact, God is Spirit (John 4:24), present at all places at all times. There is nothing, there is no one, outside the reach of God's loving embrace.
God, having been present before creation (whether one holds to the biblical account of creation or the scientific view of creation) has neither a preferred nor a chosen people. All people belong to God. We acknowledge that groups of people have, at various times throughout history, identified themselves to be God's chosen people. While we appreciate the love of God and thankfulness of those people for the blessings of God that motivated such a claim, the life and ministry of Jesus Christ (MT 8:11) clearly shows that all people are God's people.
As Progressive Christians, we believe that there is one God, known by many different names in many different cultures and belief systems. We affirm that all religions are valid paths to the holy. To claim that we have the only valid belief system is to presume to know the mind of God and amounts to nothing less than idolatry.

What do you believe about Jesus?

We believe that Jesus is the Christ. In his humanity Jesus so completely opened himself to the Spirit of God that he became divine, God-with-us. For Christians, Jesus is the perfect reflection of the Love that is God.
We believe that to focus exclusively on the death of Christ is an error, and denies Jesus' most important function for us in our lives on this earth. Jesus' life and teachings show us how to live the life God created us to live. We hasten to point out that Jesus' Great Commandment makes no mention of his passion:
"'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." (MT 22:37-40)
The life and teachings of Jesus clearly demonstrate his passion for social justice. He consistently stood with the marginalized of his society: the poor, women, tax collectors, lepers, prostitutes, those perceived to be demon-possessed, among others. We learn from this that walking the Christian life means that we are called to follow that example. The PCA is absolutely dedicated to social justice.
In the same way that we acknowledge there are many paths to God, we acknowledge that there are many paths to the Christ. Some find the historical Jesus to be their entry point to belief; others find the Christ of faith, or the Christ Consciousness, or the Cosmic Christ to be their entry point. All are welcome in the Progressive Christian Alliance, for in our diversity we move closer to the fullness of Christ.

What do you believe about the Holy Spirit?

We believe that the Holy Spirit was present with God at Creation (PR 8:1-4, 22-31) and was experienced throughout the Hebrew Scriptures as the Wisdom of God. The experience of the disciples at Pentecost was a radical opening to the presence of the Holy Spirit, not the first appearance of the Spirit in history. The Holy Spirit leads us and calls us to live the life that Jesus led.

 

What about the Trinity?

The Trinity is a doctrine that was developed three to four centuries after the death and resurrection of Christ. Like all doctrines, it is an attempt to say something about the nature of God. Within the PCA there are some who hold to the traditional doctrine of the Trinity, others hold to a more contemporary understanding of the Trinity, and others hold a Christian Unitarian view and reject the doctrine of the Trinity. All views are welcome at Prince of Peace.