Progressive Spirituality - Page 6 of 9

Easter, Secularism, and Social Responsibility

April 18th, 2014

If you were raised Christian, you probably spent Easter Sunday eating chocolate rabbits and hunting for pastel-painted eggs. Perhaps as you grew older, the significance of Easter faded away into the mists of Christian legends about Christ’s resurrection (alo Continue Reading »

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The Growth of Bible Skepticism in America

April 14th, 2014

“For the Bible tells me so”. Most Christians in America probably remember singing these very words as children in Sunday school. It is a simple proclamation that if the “Good Book” says so, you can be sure it is true. But this strong faith in Biblical Continue Reading »

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Rethinking Our Attitudes about Sin

February 17th, 2014

As we move closer to the Carnival and Lent seasons, many Christians are beginning to reflect on the juxtaposition of Carnival’s sinful pleasures, and the self-restraint and reflection of Lent. With this in mind, it behooves us to re-consider what we think ab Continue Reading »

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Scientologists Gain Equal Marriage Rights in Britain

December 17th, 2013

As ULC ministers, we sometimes take our religious freedoms for granted. We usually think of LGBT people when we think of couples fighting to have their marriages legally recognized, but religious minorities also struggle to have their marriages legally recogni Continue Reading »

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“To Heaven and Back”: Three Powerful Near-Death Experiences

December 5th, 2013

What does it feel like to die? This was the question explored in Anderson Cooper Special Report: To Heaven and Back, which aired recently on CNN and featured the personal testimony of three individuals who died and came back to life. The stories are at times h Continue Reading »

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Uniting Traditions with the “Menorah Tree”

November 18th, 2013

You have probably heard people say that the benefit of having divorced parents is that you get twice as many Christmas presents. It might also be said that the benefit of having both Jewish and Christian parents is that you get presents on Christmas as well as Continue Reading »

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A ULC Minister Asserts Environmentalism as Religion

October 16th, 2013

Can environmentalism be a religion? Of course it can, according to a Universal Life Church minister, Ken Layne. On his blog on Gawker, Layne explains that environmentalism shares many of the characteristics of conventional religion, but it is relevant to more Continue Reading »

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Evangelist Billy Graham Blasts “Trendy Religion”

October 10th, 2013

Do religious trends pander to self-centered desires? Evangelist Billy Graham suggests they do in his new book, The Reason for My Hope: Salvation, which is due for release on 15 October. In it, he criticizes churches for compromising the integrity of Biblical d Continue Reading »

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Does Belief in God Give Life Greater Purpose?

September 23rd, 2013

A new study from the University of Pennsylvania suggests that people who strongly believe in God are more likely to reject the notion that life has no purpose than people who believe less strongly in God. Even so, most people who believe less strongly in God s Continue Reading »

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Does the Pope Really Care if You Believe in God?

September 16th, 2013

Recently on the ULC Monastery blog we discussed Pope Francis I’s unprecedented statement that atheists can enter heaven, too. Now the leader of the world’s largest Christian denomination has qualified this statement by suggesting that following one’s con Continue Reading »

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