I pride myself on the fact that I can associate with, talk with, and even be friends with people from a wide range of religious backgrounds and beliefs. I have friends and associates who are atheist, agnostic, Muslim, Hindu, Pagan, Heathen, and even Christian. That last one can be difficult, and I will admit that anyone who is an evangelical and/or conservative Christian should count themselves lucky if I consider them a valued acquaintance. That’s really probably the best you can hope for, given your theology.

Recent events on Twitter, however, have reminded me once again that the few Progressive Christians I count among my close acquaintances and friends are truly rare finds and I should definitely appreciate our relationship more. Because a lot of the Progressive Christians are reminding me that they are no more trustworthy or safe to be around than the average evangelical/conservative Christian.

So if you are a a Progressive Christian and you want to know how I feel about you and how much I will ever trust you, read the following and consider the questions I ask:

I categorically reject the notion that there is only a single deity (or any deity) that is personal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and omni-benevolent. I emphatically hold a complex view of the Divine which includes the belief in multiple gods (the exact nature of whom I only claim to tentatively understand and expect my understanding to change over time). I categorically reject the notion that I am separated from the Divine and need any sort of mediator — not even a divine being — to connect with and enter into relationship with the Divine. I categorically reject the notion that my soul or any other part of myself needs any sort of “Salvation” from any external source — again, not even the Divine itself. I believe that communion with the Divine is simply a matter of me reaching out (or within) and making contact. And I believe in magic as an inherently morality-neutral discipline that I can tap into.

The above statements of belief are firm and absolutely unlikely to change. Nor are they negotiable. So, dear Progressive, what does your theology have to say about me? My value? The state of my soul? My eternal destination?

How you answer those questions will go a great way in revealing how much I can and will trust you and how open and vulnerable I will be with you. And just for the record, trying to shy away from those shy away from those questions are an answer in themselves.