Progressive Christians: Raise your voices

This morning as I was writing the Frequently Asked Questions page for CrossLeft, I took a break and came across an article written by John C. Danforth, an Episcopal minister and former Republican senator from Missouri and I realized that even though I am progressive politically, much of what he was saying was quite similar to what I am saying as a progressive Christian.

In fact, in his article Danforth issues a call to action to Christians who hold convictions like mine.
He says that we should add our clear voice of moderation to the debate on religion in politics, which is exactly what we are working to do here at CrossLeft.

When people ask me why we''ve created CrossLeft, I tell them that we are doing this because we care about our faith and about the state of our nation.

We believe that as progressive Christians we have the responsibility to bring our progressive Christian values into the world.

We believe that the increased activism of the Christian right has produced an imbalanced view of Christianity and that this has had an adverse impact on our nation''s politics and policies and therefore our country and ultimately the world.

We believe that it is time that there be a movement to recenter the conversation as it relates to Christianity and to our core Christian values. Moreover, as progressive Christians, we reject the notion that religion is defined by a set of wedge issues used by expedient politicians at election time.

We believe that Christ taught us to be tolerant and to reach out to those we disagree with.

He taught us to be inclusive.

He sat with tax collectors and with sinners. He welcomed them to the table and taught us that we should do as did he.

He taught us to love God, our self and our neighbor.

As children we are taught that for Christians the Golden Rule and love is the foundation for all other commandments.

As progressive Christians, we believe that we can not accept a political agenda that does not speak to, model and act on that love. And we believe that as Christians we must be in action around that core value of our faith.

This is a critical time in the history of our great nation and the world.

We can not be mere spectators.

We have a moral obligation to raise our voices, take responsibility and engage in dialog. And through this dialog, we believe that our movement will help to re-frame the conversation that is being had as it relates to Christianity.

We invite you to join us at the table and be a part of the voices that are raised on behalf of Christianity. Share with us your thoughts & blog on CrossLeft.

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In fact, in his article Danforth issues a call to action to Christians who hold convictions like mine.