[Vision2020] What’s the Least I Can Believe and Still Be a Christian?

[Joe Campbell]

What’s the Least I Can Believe and Still Be a Christian? A Guide to What
Matters Most
By Martin Thielen
>From the Huffington Post

When I first met Danny, he said, "Preacher, you need to know that I'm an
atheist. I don't believe the Bible. I don't like organized religion. And I
can't stand self-righteous, judgmental Christians."

I liked him right away!

In spite of Danny's avowed atheism and my devout Christian beliefs, we
became close friends. Over the next year Danny and I engaged in numerous
conversations about faith. During that time Danny softened his stance on
atheism. One day he announced with a laugh, "I've decided to upgrade from an
atheist to an agnostic." Several months later Danny said, "I've had an
epiphany. I realize that I don't reject Christianity. Instead, I reject the
way that intolerant Christians package Christianity." A few weeks after that
conversation, Danny said, "Martin, you've just about convinced me on this
religion stuff. So I want to know--what's the least I can believe and still
be a Christian?"

"What's the least I can believe and still be a Christian?" What a great
question! Danny's provocative question prompted me to write a new book,
using his question as the title. Part one of the book presents 10 things
Christians don't need to believe. In short, Christians don't need to believe
in closed-minded faith. For example, Christians don't need to believe that:

• God causes cancer, car wrecks and other catastrophes
• Good Christians don't doubt
• True Christians can't believe in evolution
• Woman can't be preachers and must submit to men
• God cares about saving souls but not saving trees
• Bad people will be "left behind" and then fry in hell
• Jews won't make it to heaven
• Everything in the Bible should be taken literally
• God loves straight people but not gay people
• It's OK for Christians to be judgmental and obnoxious

On the other hand, there are things Christians do need to believe, which is
the focus of part two of my book. They need to believe in Jesus -- his life,
teachings, example, death and resurrection. A great benefit of these beliefs
is that they provide promising answers to life's most profound questions
including:

• Who is Jesus?
• What matters most?
• Am I accepted?
• Where is God?
• What brings fulfillment?
• What about suffering?
• Is there hope?
• Is the church still relevant?
• Who is the Holy Spirit?
• What is God's dream for the world?

Like Danny, many people in the 21st century hunger for an open-minded
expression of Christian faith. That's especially true for young people. For
example, in a recent episode of the popular television show Glee, several
high school students explain why they are turned off by religion. From their
perspective, the church is down on gays, women and science. When you add to
that the arrogant and judgmental attitudes found in many religious-right
churches, it's easy to see why people are repelled by religion. If the only
faith options are fundamentalism or no religion, many people will opt for no
religion. Thankfully, a better alternative exists -- vibrant, open-minded,
grace-filled, gender-equal, life-giving, centrist, moderate/mainline faith.
Promoting that kind of faith is my greatest passion in ministry. For
example, I received the following e-mail a few weeks ago from a woman named
Shelly:

I was raised in a religious-right fundamentalist church. Suffice it to say
that my experiences were such that by the time I finished college, I was
totally estranged from religion. Twenty years later, I realized that I was
neglecting an important part of my life, and I began searching for a church
home. I attended a few churches and was so discouraged. I wondered whether
it was possible to find a church where my children would not hear hate and
intolerance preached. Then one day my family and I visited your
congregation, and were filled with joy to find a church that embraces grace
instead of judgment. So here we are, a year later, and I actually look
forward to Sunday services each week. I feel God's presence in my life for
the first time in many years, and I want to thank you for your part in this
process.

In a nutshell, that e-mail explains why I wrote What's the Least I Can
Believe and Still Be a Christian? I want people like Shelly to know that a
viable alternative exists to arrogant, judgmental, closed-minded religion. I
also wrote the book for moderate and mainline churches. We in the
moderate/mainline tradition have a compelling faith story to tell. However,
we need practical resources to better share that story. So I devised a
seven-week congregational initiative based on the book that moderate and
mainline churches can use to better tell their story.

Complete information about the book and congregational initiative can be
found here.

http://thielen.wjkbooks.com/
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