Does Christianity matter at all?
A Holy Week reflection
At a recent Harbor Zoom gathering, a participant shared that they weren’t sure about progressive Christianity. And the progressivism wasn’t the problem. Does the Christian faith actually add anything good, they wondered, that isn’t already present in secular progressive spaces?
I am not here (at Harbor or this blog post) to convince that person or anyone else to be or remain a Christian. So, to be clear, that is not the purpose of this reflection. But this question is one I have been pondering quite a bit for the last few years, so I share these thoughts in case they help anyone else who is wandering toward or away from Christianity.
Progressive Christianity is a better fit for me than secular progressivism. There are quite a few reasons why, but here are three that I hope clarify some of the differences between religious and secular approaches to progressivism.
A reason to be progressive. A reason to be.
Not everyone needs a basis or underlying reason for their activism, principles, or values. I think I do. Why is justice better than injustice? (And even if a more just world is a bit worse for me materially.) To some, the answer “It just obviously is” might suffice. But it helps me to believe that Love is what this universe is about. And that Love seeks the flourishing of all people. And that flourishing within a society requires just policies and equitable access to resources. In that sense, my faith inspires and energizes me to work for peace. It was in the first Holy Week that Jesus told his friends, “Love one another. That is how people will know you follow my way.”
Concern for both the oppressed and, yes, I will say it, the oppressor
Spend about 3 minutes on Twittxr, in the progressive corners, and you will see a rage that has long ago left behind any concern for what happens to people classified as oppressors. I am not blaming anyone for their rage, and of course I approach this idea from a place of privilege. But I think there is a wide gap between the “get fucked” energy of many progressive enclaves toward all conservatives or rich people or white people or Zionists or Democrats-who-are-too-centrist, and the approach of Jesus. He critiqued religious leaders constantly, showing a real preference for the poor and marginalized. But you can also find him ministering to violent Roman centurions and corrupt tax collectors. He seems more interested in mutual belonging than in litmus tests or gatekeeping.
The hope of resurrection
One of the things religion always brings to the table is an exploration of the hidden things, the mysteries that defy scientific answers. Sometimes as our science advances, certain topics or questions are shifted (by most people) out of the religious bucket and into the scientific one. Things like, How old is our planet? or What is lightning? But it feels like What happens to us after we die? will remain a religious question for a long time (possibly forever). And as long as we don’t expect our faith to give us certainty about a question like this, I find it uplifting and comforting to hope that there will be a resurrection of all things. That Jesus really did go to prepare a place for us. That God really will wipe away every tear. Or, to use Samwise’s words to Gandalf, that every sad thing really is going to come untrue.
