Implications of Evolved Christianity for Liturgy, Worship, and Prayer

In the chapter, consideration is given to the question of how liturgies should evolve or change in light of the Evolved Christian paradigm presented in Chapters 2-4. A brief history showed that the Christian liturgy changed multiple times since the first century C.E., so there is no inherent prohibition against further changes deemed necessary. The fact that so few people attend religious services is also addressed from a motivational standpoint. Prior to presenting a proposed new format for Christian liturgies, consideration is given to how liturgies reflect the human tendency to embrace and express ritual. Finally, the proposed new liturgical format is proposed.

The Role of Emotions in Christian Thought and Behavior

In the scriptural analyses presented in earlier chapters, there were many references to the emotions of Jesus, his disciples, and other characters. It will be clear by the end of this chapter that emotions play an important role in Christian and un-Christian behavior. The first section explains what emotions are and why humans have them. The second section catalogs the emotions expressed by characters in the four Gospels. It is interesting to see how the emotions expressed by Jesus were different than those expressed by other characters and also what prompted emotional reactions in Jesus. The third section generalizes the role of emotions in Christian behavior beyond the cataloging of the second section. This chapter is crucial for understanding motivations to engage in certain kinds of Christian behaviors that will help solve major problems in the world.

Pillars That Derive From the Experiences of His Earliest Disciples

The chapter focuses on the next set of pillars that seem to have derived from the experiences of the earliest disciples of Jesus rather than from his message per se. These pillars relate to miracles, the Resurrection, the Messiah, Atonement, Parousia, continued existence of Jesus, and Pentecost. After careful consideration, it is argued that the majority should be retained though revised in light with persuasive argumentation that has appeared over the centuries.

What Does It Mean to Be a Developing Christian in Today's World?

All the preceding chapters have built up to this final and perhaps most important chapter. As the title of this chapter suggests, the goal is to present a clear answer to the question, “What does it mean to be a developing Christian in today's world?” Although there are many pressing problems in today's world that a developing Christian is obliged to confront, five key categories of problems are discussed: (1) poverty and income equality, (2) the immigrant and refugee crisis, (3) the many faces of violence, (4) the many faces of bigotry, and (5) the problems caused by power and oppression. In each case, consideration is given to explaining why developing Christians should consider the problem to be intolerable, why the problem exists, and potential solutions to them. To make the arguments in this book even more concrete and practical, the life of an exemplary modern Christian (Dorothy Day) is discussed and linked to the present and prior chapters. The chapter ends with a plea for dialog, unity, and a call to social action.

What Would Jesus Do?

Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem and also preached by the shore of the Sea of Galilee. If we are supposed to imitate him, does that mean we also need to ride a donkey into Jerusalem and preach by the Sea of Galilee? The chapter shows how it is important to go beyond superficial mimicry to understand how to imitate the mind of Jesus at a deeper level. It ends by contrasting two cases that more or less demonstrate what it means to imitate Jesus (i.e., Anthony of the Desert and St. Francis of Assisi).

Biblical Research, Critical Thinking, and 18 Pillars of Christianity

In this chapter, the central themes or “pillars” of the Christian paradigm are grouped into three categories: (1) those that were central to the message of Jesus's preaching, (2) those that derived from the experiences of his closest disciples, and (3) those that represent Christological stances that are argued to be unwarranted or unnecessary. Then, each of the pillars in the first category (central to his messages) are described and critiqued in turn. The goal is to see which should be retained as is, which need to be revised, and which should be dropped. The chapter ends with the conclusion that all should be retained in essentially their original form.

Pillars Deriving From an Explanatory Overreach

The chapter focuses on three remaining pillars that appeared to be derived from reasoning about who Jesus must have been and his origins. They represent an explanation of his actions and their own experiences that was vigorously contested in the first few hundred years of the Church and then later during the 17th and 18th centuries. It is argued here they are unnecessary and/or incoherent. They are the Dual Natures and Incarnation Pillars, The Trinitarian Pillar, and the Virgin Birth Pillar.

On the Need for a New Form of Christianity

The chapter lays a foundation for all remaining chapters by describing the two sources that will be relied on when the central pillars or themes of the Christian paradigm are examined critically: biblical research and critical thinking. In addition, the strengths and weakness of two alternative approaches to Christianity are discussed: The Traditional (magisterial) Paradigm and an alternative paradigm proposed by a group of biblical scholars known as the Jesus Seminar. Combined with troubling survey data regarding level of support for the Traditional Paradigm, this discussion reveals the need for a new form of Christianity that is called Evolved Christianity.