10 Commandments of Progressive Christianity - Chapter 4

Gracious Behavior is More Important than Right Belief

Is gracious behavior more important than right belief? Yes or no? Why or why not?

Is what really matters is simply to be kind to people?

Gulley argues the problem with the Pharisees was their “fixation on orthodoxy” and their “misguided quest for theological purity”(p.22). Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Do you agree with Kruger’s translation of Gulley position, “if you care about orthodoxy you are probably just another Pharisee?” (p.22) Why or why not?

What was the Pharisees problem according to Jesus? Read Matthew 23.

Kruger believes that the Pharisees main problem was that they cared too little about good theology. Our focus should be on teaching people good theology and modeling it. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Does theology comfort and liberate people or does it harm and oppress people? Why?

Is a person behavior more important that their theology?

“One cannot determine godly behavior in the absence of sound theological categories and concepts, for behavior is only “right” if it fits with God’s law and God’s character” -Kruger, p.23

“A declaration about right or wrong behavior is a theological declaration!” True or false? Why?

Does one get more “grace” by prioritizing behavior? Why or why not? Scripture?

Does gracious behavior flow most readily from moralism? Is moralism the way of Jesus?

“The strange thing about Christianity was that it adopted an entirely different method [for how people change]. It transformed the lives of men not by appealing to the human will, but by telling a story; not by exhortation, but by the narration of an event… The lives of men are transformed by a piece of news.” -J. Gresham Machen

“The church’s rush to form an orthodox theology had several unfortunate consequences: It discouraged honest seeking, branding as heretical any conclusions that contradicted the church’s settled assumptions. And by suppressing theological exploration, it kept people spiritually underdeveloped, dependent on the church to supply meaning and define reality. While the creeds provide a theological snapshot of the third and fourth-century mind-set, they may no longer offer a credible way forward for those interested in a faith that engages the heart and mind. For many people, common sense, reason, and intellectual advances have made these ancient assertions unpalatable” -James Gulley, If the Church Were Christian, p. 73-74

Is right behavior more important than right theology?

Questions and quotes based on the book by Micheal J. Kruger, The 10 Commandments of Progressive Christianity