Progressive
The creators of Religionless Studios identify as Progressive Christians, so the five core values of Progressive Christianity are major influences in our work. By calling ourselves Progressive Christians, we mean that we are Christians who…
Believe that following the way and teachings of Jesus can lead to experiencing sacredness, wholeness, and unity of all life, even as we recognize that the Spirit moves in beneficial ways in many faith traditions.
Seek community that is inclusive of all people, honoring differences in theological perspective, age, race, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, class, or ability.
Strive for peace and justice among all people, knowing that behaving with compassion and selfless love towards one another is the fullest expression of what we believe.
Embrace the insights of contemporary science and strive to protect the Earth and ensure its integrity and sustainability.
Commit to a path of life-long learning, believing there is more value in questioning than in absolutes.
Liberative
Liberation Theology is a movement that takes the words of Jesus seriously in Luke 4:18-19 when he says that he has come to “Bring good news to the poor… and to liberate the oppressed.” In first world countries, we often interpret this to mean that Jesus brings good news for the spiritually poor, and liberation from spiritual oppression. Yet for Jesus’s audience (a poor and oppressed people) this would have had tangible implications for the here and now.
The core tenets of Liberation Theology that serve as the lens for our Bible Commentary are:
God’s preferential option for the poor
God cares deeply for the poor and marginalized in our society, and the prophetic voices of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures are often calling for privileged people to care for the vulnerable people among them.
Salvation = Liberation of the Oppressed
We typically interpret salvation to be about the afterlife, but the biblical authors tend to be about saving people from horrendous circumstances here and now (think of if someone said “you saved me” in a non-religious context).
For example, The Hebrew people say “the Lord is my Salvation” when they are freed from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 15:2).
The Church is called to be a “Sacrament of Salvation”
People who call themselves followers of Christ, or Disciples of Christ, are invited to embody the ministry of Christ. Therefore, if Christ’s Salvation is about liberation from oppression, then the Christian Church is invited to live this out. The Church is a “Sacrament of Salvation” when they exist as a counter-cultural community that is free of oppressive structures/behaviors, and takes action for liberation in the larger world.
Bible
While the creators of Religionless Studios were raised Protestants, we acknowledge the reality that the Bible in the larger Christian Tradition is far more expansive than the 66 books contained in the Protestant Canon. Therefore, Religionless Studios intends to explore the Holy Books from the Bible of not only Protestantism, but of Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy as well.
It is important to note four assumptions that we bring to the table about the Bible:
The biblical narratives are not typically meant to be read literally
The Hebrew and Christian Scriptures are filled with collections of narratives that the authors used for theological storytelling. The biblical authors are often striving to make a point about the human condition and about God, so they use stories to communicate these complex truths. Over the years, many Christians have sought to literalize the text: reading them as historical depictions, and debating to the death with those who dare disagree. Therefore, we at Religionless Studios try to see the message that is beyond the literal in our reading of the books of the Bible.
The Bible is not univocal
Given that Christians follow One God, there is often a tendency to assume that every single book of the Bible speaks in one voice (God’s voice). Yet the Bible was written from a diverse group of authors who would have disagreed on various theological matters. Therefore, there are passages in the Bible that contradict each other and disagree with one another. We try to be faithful to each individual author/book rather than impose another biblical author’s opinion onto a text.
We all bring biases to the text
Every single person is situated in a particular context, so we bring our particular biases to a text. This can often be assumed by the reader as a “plain reading of Scripture.” We recognize that there is no such thing as a “plain reading of Scripture” due to the biases that we bring to the table that cloud our interpretations of the text. Therefore, we do our best to dialogue with various scholars, but recognize that this is an ever-evolving journey of better understanding the text together.
All translation is interpretation
On a similar note to the point made above, the books of the Bible were written in ancient languages (Biblical Hebrew, Aramaic, and Hellenistic Greek). These books have been translated from their original languages into English, amongst many other modern languages, and we acknowledge the difficult task of translating an ancient text. There are often times words and phrases that we might not fully understand, or that do not have an accurate translation into another language, so decisions are often made in the work of translation. Additionally, since we bring our biases to the table, there is often a theological lens that translators who are religious bring to their work. Therefore, we do not think there is such a thing as a “plain reading of Scripture” in a translated book, because there has already been interpreting done for us.
Commentary
Our work aims to make biblical scholarship accessible by creating a video Bible commentary rather than a traditional written Bible commentary. While we seek to present the best information possible, there will certainly be times where we fall short of this. Therefore, similar to a 2nd edition or 3rd edition of an academic work, we will occasionally post updated versions of videos when legitimate critiques are made.