I wish every pastor in Ghana, those ones who preach witches and wizards and biblical fundamentalism, could read a book like this and not the insubstantial, quick-fix answers they seem to give – just say the magic words and you can be saved!
Instead they scaremonger, by telling their flock that they will go mad if they ask questions about God, making Christianity a tool for stupidity and thereby maintaining their authority.
“To not ask questions is tantamount to forfeiting one’s own spiritual birthright and allowing other people’s experience of the Divine to define your experience”
- Living the Questions: The Wisdom of Progressive Christianity by David M. Felten and Jeff Procter-Murphy
Instead of raising funds to send yet more bibles to the public, perhaps we could fundraise to send copies of books such as this to the pastors?
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- Link love: Progressive Christianity (chrysalisjourney.wordpress.com)
Thank you, Graham, for this suggestion. I myself I am interested at reading it.
When in Ghana, I often thought of distributing another book to pastors and other Christians, namely Luther’s treatise on “Christian liberty” (and having it translated into Twi and maybe other Ghanaian languages), as I (with me on the “guilty side”) was often confronted with questions what a “real” Christian was supposed to do and what not.
I think there is an interesting debate to be had and also a whole other world of Christianity to be introduced into Ghana to broaden the narrow conceptions of what Christianity is, can be, and what it means to be one.
i want to read that book where do i find it.pastors dont what to be asked dip things about they are teachings.i have allways asked them.no answer.i ask about the bible what it says and what they teach people no answer they will say dont ask dip things abt god he never likes it just read the bible. mge!-.
Sorry to say I had to buy my copy for my Kindle as it was the only way I could get it in Ghana. Your story about not getting answers from your pastors is one I have heard many times from people. It is one of the reasons many Ghanaians became atheist – they were either told not to think, or the answers they were given were insubstantial. Christianity has a tradition of asking questions but it seems many pastors in our countries are ignorant of this and fear critical enquiry.