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Living
the Questions - An Adult Class at Lummi Island
Congregational UCC
This is a different kind of Bible
study, focusing on questions of faith and how these questions impact our
lives. We're not looking for answers, but cracking open old ideas in an
effort to spur dialogue and new understandings of faith for our lives,
which can deepen our relationship with God.
The class will use a 20 minute DVD each week, with a variety
of well known progressive theologians of our time (John Cobb, Nancy
Ammerman, Tex Sample, John Shelby Spong, Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan,
Bill Nelson, John Bell, Minerva Carcano, Lloyd Geering, Leslie Griffiths,
Stanley Hauerwas, Siyoung Park, Stephen Patterson, Emilie Townes) offering
insights and raising questions which may challenge our world views and
understandings of God. Facilitated by Cindy, the class will discuss the
insights and questions raised in the DVD, not necessarily to find the
answers, but to broaden our understandings of God and enrich our own faith
journeys.
Wednesday evenings, from 7 to 8:30
pm, in the church hall.
- Preparatory reading
material will be available in the kitchen, by the mailboxes, each week
before class. While this reading will be helpful, it is not a
prerequisite for attending class.
- Respect for a variety of
perspectives is required.
You are welcome to come to individual classes or the whole
series:
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January 9
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Invitation to the Journey: the Role of Biblical Authority
Faith is not a destination, but a journey. The authority
we place in the Bible plays a critical role in where and how we will
travel on this spiritual journey.
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January 23
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Thinking Theologically
While family, education, social class, and geography all
contribute to how we think about God, our experiences and perceptions
along life's journey also shape our thinking. Being comfortable with
ambiguity, metaphor, and uncertainty help us get God "out of the
box" and rethink theological ideas that have become barriers to
further spiritual growth.
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February 13
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Creativity and Stories of Creation
How we perceive the creation stories is not only critical
to the way we look at the Bible, but our world view and self-understanding.
Our perception impacts our understanding of the purpose of creation, the
essence of human nature, and the attitude we have toward the environment
in which we live.
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February 27
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Restoring Relationships
There are three Biblical "macro-stories" which
shape the whole of the Bible narrative: bondage and liberation, exile and
return, and sin and forgiveness. Each story illustrates a different facet
of the human condition and demonstrates what is necessary for the
restoration of relationships on a variety of levels.
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March 5
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Evil, Suffering, and a God of Love
If God is
all-powerful, all-loving, and all-good, how do we explain and respond to
the existence of so much suffering and evil in the world?
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March 12
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Intimacy with God
The idea of
prayer as the primary method of interaction with God is best thought of
as a way of life rather than an activity reserved for specific times,
places, and formulas.
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April 2
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Social Justice
Being a person of faith demands balancing spiritual
pursuits with action. In a society which is often unjust, inequitable,
and whose very structures are responsible for generating untold suffering
and poverty, we are compelled to pursue social justice as an expression
of our abiding hope in realizing a better world.
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April 9
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A Kingdom Without Walls
The good news of the gospel tells of a radical hospitality
where boundaries, barriers, and walls are overcome by a grace that knows
no bounds.
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April 23
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Lives of Jesus
From divergent opinions
on Jesus' "program" to the reasons for his having been killed,
the many portrayals of Jesus in the gospels, in various traditions,
theologies, and the arts, amount to a Jesus who lived many different
lives - each of which help us in teasing out what it means to be a
disciple of this mysterious and profoundly significant phenomenon called
Jesus of Nazareth.
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May 7
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Compassion: the Heart of Jesus' Ministry
Jesus was not
primarily a teacher of correct beliefs or right morals. He was a teacher
of a way that transforms people from legalistic rule-followers into
compassionate disciples of putting people first.
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May 14
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A Passion for Christ: Paul the Apostle
Little of what
most people think of as Christianity has been untouched by the legacy of
Paul's writing and influence. The many understandings of his
interpretation of Christianity continue to be re-examined in the 21st
century.
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June 4
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Out into the World: Challenges Facing Progressive
Christianity
There is a reformation
afoot in Christianity a re-visioning of the traditional understandings of
Jesus, the virgin birth, substitutionary atonement, and the Christian
life as a whole. Long held ideas of divinity and of faith are changing
and evolving to reflect 21st century thought and spirituality.
Progressive Christians can claim a distinctive voice by being in
solidarity with poor, countering the idolatry of wealth, practicing
non-violence, and by seeking justice and inclusivity in a culture
dominated by fear.
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The Living the
Questions Series has been graciously loaned to us by the
Kirkland United Church of Christ. Living
the Questions was created by two United Methodist pastors in Phoenix, Arizona:
Rev. David M. Felten and Rev. Jeff Procter-Murphy.
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