5 Theses for the Next Reformation

    500 years ago TODAY, Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the door of a German church, kick-starting the Protestant Reformation, and changing the course of history.

    500 years later, the religious world is once again in turmoil, grappling with new questions and new technologies, new sciences and new visions.

    A week ago, I examined our place in history, and what we might expect to emerge from this critical moment. I believe we’re in the middle of the Next Reformation—a reformation that will be defined, not by another Martin Luther, but by all of us.

    I believe that what will emerge from this Next Reformation is a profoundly forward-looking faith, that will proactively engage the future, and draw us toward new levels of flourishing as a society and as a world.

    Toward that end, I offer 5 theses for the Next Reformation.

    1. Christians must abandon the war against science and technology, and embrace them both as profound expressions of the image of God.
    2. Christians must abandon escapist notions of the future, and embrace the biblical vision of God working to renew the cosmos.
    3. Christians must abandon the ethics of blindly following rules, and embrace Christ’s ethic of sharing in the purposes of God.
    4. Christians must abandon theologies which disempower humanity, and embrace the biblical vision of participation in Christ.
    5. Christians must abandon religion that exists only for itself, and recover the call of Abraham to bless all creation.

    What would you add? Share your own theses here.