Posts by Rev. Adam Ericksen (Page 3)

Interview with Author Timothy Murphy – “Sustaining Hope in an Unjust World”

How can we sustain hope when the world seems to be falling apart? That’s the question Rev. Timothy Murphy explores in his latest book Sustaining Hope in an Unjust World: How to Keep Going When You Want to Give Up. Timothy is the senior pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. A minister-scholar-activist, he is the former executive director of Progressive…

Open and Affirming Part 2: The Misuse of Paul, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, and the Heterosexual Agenda

First a question: How many times did Paul use the word “homosexual”? The answer is zero. As in 0. Nada. Zilch. Nunca. Never. In fact, in its original languages, the Bible never uses the word “homosexual.” That’s because the term didn’t exist at the time. It was first coined in the 19th century. Many like to quote a modern translation of the…

Open and Affirming Part 1: The Bible Leads to Full Inclusion of Our LGBTQ Siblings

Some people claim that we at Clackamas United Church of Christ are open and affirming of our LGBTQ siblings *in spite* of what the Bible says. That is false. We are open and affirming *because* of what the Bible says. Please read Acts chapter 10. The biggest controversy in the first few years of the church was whether to fully include Gentiles…

Did Jesus Believe in Peace through Strength? – Mike Pence and “Space Force”

Last week, Vice President Mike Pence, who asserts that he is a faithful Christian, claimed that we need a military force in space because space “is a warfighting domain just like land and air and sea.” Apparently, no place in God’s creation is safe from human violence. Pence went on to say that “it is not enough to merely have an American…

Progressive Christianity and the Bible

I love the Bible. I think it’s an awesome book. But here’s the thing. I don’t “believe” in the Bible. I don’t believe Christians are supposed to “believe” in the Bible. Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s an amazing book that has a lot of great teachings. But there’s a reason we are not called “Biblians.” Progressive Christians don’t “believe” in…

Progressive Christianity: We’re Open and Affirming!

You may have heard that Progressive Christians are open and affirming of our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer siblings. We are proudly open and affirming at CUCC. I’ve received Facebook notifications from certain people asking how our church can be open and affirming. After all, doesn’t the Bible say it’s a sin? Let me answer that question as clearly as I can. No. The…

What to Do with Doubt

There’s a great story about doubt at the end of the Gospel of Matthew. The resurrected Jesus met the disciples on a mountain. They had followed Jesus for three years, sharing good times and bad times with him. One bad time was Good Friday, which, despite the name, was actually a really bad day for them all. But here they were, face to…