I fully agree. God is God by any other name or names. Considering characteristics of God according to the 3 religions.... Maybe it is even ontological... "God is love" according to Christian teaching. That is not true for Muslims is it?
There is a substantial difference between the real United Methodist Church and the image of the UMC asserted by traditionalists anxious to justify their decision to leave it. The real UMC is tens of thousands of congregations and pastors faithfully witnessing to Jesus Christ in the difficult context of contemporary society. In reply to my recent blog post ( https://xroadschristianityandculture.blogspot.com/2022/12/why-remain-in-umc.html ) Kevin B responded on Facebook, " The article is good in mentioning the positive contributions the Methodist connection has made even before the UMC was formed, but it fails to address the significant and ongoing rejection of Methodist doctrine and practice that has caused this split. " The charge that the UMC has "significant and ongoing rejection of Methodist doctrine and practice" is now a commonplace among the group identifying as "traditionalist" and their associated organizations like the Good News Movement, the
How do we experience our own humanity in contemporary cultural contexts? The answers are contextual and therefore they are varied, but there are themes that emerge. It is no longer comprehensible for rising generations to imagine being human apart from our interconnectedness with all of creation; from entangled life of fungi and plants to the ecosystems that we depend on for food and nurture, to the rapidly changing climate that threats the entirety of earthly life. What was once a perspective associated with primal cultures is now both available to, and demanded of all cultures. A theological anthropology that privileges humans in its understanding of soteriology, that cannot comprehend in a new way that all creation groans for the revealing of the children of God, has become worthless. It has nothing meaningful to say to contemporary humans whose lives are intimately entangled with all living creatures and immediately threatened by global warming. It is no longer comprehensible f
Much has been written. I believe there are three key points for me. The UMC allows us to be an effective local expression of a genuinely global, ecumenical, apostolic, missional Church. The UMC allows us the room to try new ways of adapting to our constantly changing social and cultural context. It allows us the space to disagree for the sake of loving our neighbors, particularly those who have been despised and rejected. It allows us the freedom to make mistakes, grow in knowledge, and be reconciled to one another. Remaining in the UMC is an expression of fidelity to those who over decades and indeed centuries have been faithful to us, providing material support, intellectual encouragement, spiritual sustenance, and prayer for our well-being and our journey in faith. In the New Testament we learn that the first local churches, the first Christian congregations, were formed by the apostles as part of their mission to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
I fully agree. God is God by any other name or names. Considering characteristics of God according to the 3 religions.... Maybe it is even ontological... "God is love" according to Christian teaching. That is not true for Muslims is it?
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