It looks that Christians are today often considered as conservatives, and religion has often an image of being reactionary. But this opinion may be unfair to many aspects. In many ways it depends on the interpretation of texts. That is the reason why it is necessary to gain an approach that favors a demanding way of considering spirituality.
The Evangiles are showing, in my opinion, a very progressive approach of Christianity. For instance we can consider that Christians tend to build an approach that favors feminism. To this extend Marth and Mary parabole is an example. Marie was listening to the teaching of the Father, and Marth was reproaching her to do nothing; while the father told her that Mary was right. This vision is showing that the Christ is favoring feminism, and women should have the right to access teaching. In his time it was a total heresy, and it was necessary to consider this approach. This vision also applies to Marie Madeleine, who was an adulterian, and Jesus helped to overcome this process. Moreover Jesus is favoring the excluded and the oppressed, for instance the Samaritans. This approach makes gives him a real progressist approach, favoring the poors, and the excluded, in the Beatitudes.
This approach may be seen as revolutionary. The Jewish vision of redemption is showing the impact of this. To this extend it is necessary to build an approach that favors human freedom. Anyway it is seen that forgiveness has to be won, not given. This approach looks to be fair, and can be considered as really progressist in the time the Bible was written. However, for Christian, especially for Protestants, men are seen as sinners in front of God ; it doesn’t prevent them to be as fair as they can in the earth. Both aspects have to be separated. There is not a last judgement as in Judaism that takes into account the achievements of life in the earth. That is the reason why, without denying the potential progressism of Judaism, the Christ is offering a vision that is extending to the whole mankind some aspects of the Jewish approach. It is possible to say, to this extend, that Christianity can offer an approach based on forgiveness at any conditions.
Those examples show that Jesus was very progressist for his time. This can also apply to children for instance. But to the same extend, it can be said that Jesus was in the side of the excluded. It is important to say reading the Evangiles can be very different from the image we have of the Christians. It looks, from research that has been made, that Jesus was part of the Essenians, who were mysticist ; to this extend he opposed to the Pharisians and the Sadduceans, who were more “official” and convervative religious people. It is true that, for instance, Saint Paul went to some extend not in the sense of a message of pure inclusion, as can show his speech on homosexualism. If Paul brought the idea of grace (which will be used by Saint Augustine and later by Luther) and of continuous energy to bring about the grace of God, it is necessary to build an approach that can favor this. That is the reason why if Jesus, with his parabole of talents, was hard in a way and wanted to instaure a hard working attitude, he was really progressist for his time in his inclusive demeanor. This approach doesn’t have to be forgotten.
In today’s society, this approach is inspiring. In a context of rise of intolerance, of communautarism, but also the problems linked to education, Jesus incites us on the contrary to a demanding demeanor, but at the same time to welcome oppressed and marginalized people. This approach can build a balanced view on what should be an inclusive society, in a spirit of dialog but also of hard working process.
The observer 