An Open Christianity?
Open Christianity is a movement among progressive Christians to revitalize Christian faith for the time in which we live. I wrote An Open Christianity to describe a way that an open Christianity might differ from traditional Christianity. It is not a new dogma or doctrine. It is not a new denomination. It is a way of being Christian from an open perspective rather than the closed manner in which Christianity is usually and almost always presented.
Why write about An Open Christianity? Christianity has morphed into thousands of denominations, congregations, and cults. To remain relevant each must protect its brand even if doing so subverts or diminishes the key objectives of the faith which for an Open Christianity means loving of God and loving neighbor (see the One Minute Bible on this website). In An Open Christianity everything is measured against these two commandments.
Loving God One cannot love an unlovable god. Christianity, with all its creeds, doctrines, dogma, theories and practices accumulated over centuries has muddied the waters. Is God a superhuman with a physical body located somewhere? Is God a spirit? Does God control everything, following a predetermined plan? Does God punish nonbelievers with eternity in hell, believers with eternity in heaven? Did God demand the cruel sacrifice of Jesus in exchange for atoning with humanity? These common beliefs about God make it difficult to love God.
A Lovable God In An Open Christianity, God is understood as the cosmos’ ubiquitous perfectly loving consciousness. God suggests, inspires, and patiently informs, but does not control. In God are the values inherent in what it means to be fully human.
God as Love If we extrapolate Paul’s description, indeed the Christian understanding of love, then God is patient (e.g. it took 4 billion years to evolve human life), God is kind, keeps no record of wrongs (so much for a judgement day or physical hell), is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. God does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in truth, but bears all things, understands all things, hopes all things, endures all things and is eternal.
Who is Jesus? Was Jesus the son of God? Yes, perhaps metaphorically. Physically, No. The son of God idea comes from the period of when kings ruled nations. The king’s oldest son was the heir apparent to carry on the policies of the father. But we know that didn’t always happen. Often when the king’s eldest became the ruling monarch policies changed. In healthy families sons and daughters are raised to become their own people equipped to deal with the issues of their time. In An Open Christianity Jesus does follow the metaphoric son model. His life posts the wilderness was one of living out the values of the cosmos’ ubiquitous perfectly loving consciousness. Jesus was the epitome of what it means to be fully human as the essence of God is fully human. It is an image into which we have not yet fully evolved.
Transcendence vs. Transaction For many, Christianity has become transactional. Salvation is personal. Only certain believers are saved. Really? Is the point of Christianity to save people by having them literally believe ancient creeds and practices as though they are literally true? Is Christianity to be focused on life after death while the world goes to hell? Or is it to muster men and women to love, transcend self-focus, and work toward common betterment? An Open Christianity suggests it is the latter.