A House for Hope

I just picked up a copy of A HOUSE FOR HOPE: THE PROMJISE OF PROGRESSIVE RELIGION FOR THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY written by John Buehrens, former president of the Unitarian Universalist Association and Rebecca Ann Parker, the president of Starr King School for the Ministry.

The book uses the metaphor of a theological house to articulate the 'frames that give our dreams shape and meaning.' Among the ways that this metaphor is used include:

1. The Garden. The authors begin with "eschatology." Eschatology is the topic in theology that deals with the ultimate end of life and of the earth. As the earth is our habitation and since liberal theology places salvation as belonging in this world, the earth and our relationship to it is the focus here.

2. The Sheltering Walls. This is the section on ecclesiology, or the doctrine of the church. The question they pose: how can we approach religious communities in ways that promote not competitive parochialism but authentic interfaith engagement and cooperation?

3. The Roof. This is the section on soteriology, our salvation. What constitute's progressive religion's understanding of what we need to be saved from--and how?

4. The Foundations. What about God?

5. The Welcoming Rooms. Pneumatology. How might liberal religion reclaim a doctrine of the Spirit--a pneumatology--that affirms the importance of ritual and art? The authors say: In the liberal heritage, the notion that humanity is created in the image of God is foundational, making reflection on human experience a primary source of theology, and setting ethics and spiritual practice in the context of an affirmation of human powers and capacities.

6. The Threshold. Without pretending to any messianic powers, what is the mission of a liberal or progressive religious community?