From Energion author Bruce Epperly, a post from 2012.
Progressive Christians struggle with the stories and theology of the incarnation. Following Rudolf Bultmann, most progressives see the angelic visitation to Mary and the virgin birth as myths reflecting the early church’s affirmation of Jesus’ uniqueness not unlike stories of other political and savior figures. Moreover, most progressives also question Jesus’ metaphysical uniqueness and relationship to God – that is, the belief that he was not only different in degree of God consciousness from us, but also different in kind, truly God and truly human.
We progressives celebrate Christmas, but often see it primarily as a reflection of God’s presence in the marginalized and powerless. Many pastors gloss over the magi, shepherds, and angels, telling the Christmas story, but keeping their fingers crossed. Deep down, they no more believe in the traditional Christmas stories or God’s extraordinary presence in the manger than they do in Santa Claus.
Still, the child in us — and perhaps our deepest self — wants to believe in the incarnation and uniqueness of this innocent and humble child.
Read more at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithforward/2011/12/why-we-need-an-incarnation-a-progressive-vision/.
We progressives celebrate Christmas, but often see it primarily as a reflection of God’s presence in the marginalized and powerless. Many pastors gloss over the magi, shepherds, and angels, telling the Christmas story, but keeping their fingers crossed. Deep down, they no more believe in the traditional Christmas stories or God’s extraordinary presence in the manger than they do in Santa Claus.
Still, the child in us — and perhaps our deepest self — wants to believe in the incarnation and uniqueness of this innocent and humble child.
Read more at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithforward/2011/12/why-we-need-an-incarnation-a-progressive-vision/.
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Let me be the first person to wish you “A Very Process Christmas.” Process theology and Christmas just seem to fit together. That might surprise you, especially since process theology asserts that God acts naturally, through the regular processes of nature, and not supernaturally, showing up from the outside every so often to overturn the laws of nature to perform a miracle or defeat an enemy. Just the same, process theology joyfully proclaims the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph’s beloved child, and the boy who grew up to be healer, reconciler, prophet, and world-changer. God was in the stable and God is in our lives, too! Every day is an advent adventure in which can train eyes for signs of new birth in a world of threat and challenge.
The world incarnates God! Emmanuel, “God with us,” is just as real today as it was in Bethlehem’s stable. A child is born in Bethlehem and a baby cries in a refugee camp, recalling the fact that shortly after Jesus’ birth, the holy family set out on a refugee journey to Egypt. 
The cosmos continues to exist. The theist claims that God created the world. Those two claims imply that there are two realities, God and the world. That means that there is some relation between them. Talk about creation as beginning, and we have a question about whether the relation of God to the world at the beginning and to the world as a continuing reality is the same relation. Does the creative relation to the world continue as it was in the beginning or is there some difference between that ‘original’ reality and the present continuing reality. Or has God’s relation to the cosmos found its fulfilment at the beginning with the existence of the cosmos.
The word “evangelical” has taken on negative connotations in many circles. While it has traditionally been used (in the United States) to designate conservative Protestants who are Biblicist in their reading of the Bible (insists that the Bible is inerrant/infallible) and believe that one’s salvation is dependent on affirming Jesus as one’s savior and lord. In recent decades, it has come to designate persons of conservative political commitments, with strong focus on two social issues (abortion and gay marriage). Now, it is used to describe Protestant supporters of Donald Trump (the so-called 81% of White Evangelicals who are alleged to have supported his candidacy). While it is true that many evangelicals are among Donald Trump’s most fervent supporters, I’ve become increasingly uncomfortable with the development of this stereotypical view of evangelicalism. In my experience, evangelicalism, including white evangelicalism, is much more diverse politically and even theologically than the stereotype would allow.
Recently, as our congregation’s sexton was changing the sermon title on the congregation’s marquee, a woman drove up and asked him, “Are you the new age church?” He responded, “We’re part of the United Church of Christ and our pastor is a biblical preacher.” She continued, “But, how can you be Christian? You’re celebrating earth day and have reiki group meeting at church on Saturday. This isn’t Christian; it’s pagan.”
A growing number of liberal Christians are rethinking what it means to be liberal. Many of us are choosing to call ourselves “progressive” as testimony to our dynamic, energetic theological naturalistic vision of reality. We don’t see ourselves or our theologies as “shallow, insipid, plastic, and fuzzy,” as Olson suggests. In fact, despite the inherent limitations of every theological vision, theology is important to us – a lively, well-articulated theology that privileges the love of God, the partnership of God and humankind in healing the world, original wholeness rather than original sin, the affirmation of science, interdependence, and spiritual practices that are both heavenly minded and earthly good. 
If the history of Christianity teaches us anything, with all the divisions, doctrinal disputes, conflicts and even a few wars, it is that a correct understanding of God’s Word is not easily achieved. Of course, one could just take the position, as some Christians do, that it really is easy for them to read and understand God’s word, and as for those who do not accept their interpretation, well, they are just letting the things of the world cloud their understanding.
Through the resurrection God brings into being His new people, the community of resurrection faith. The spokesmen of this earliest faith, the writers of our New Testament, related what God had done in Jesus Christ to what He had done in Old Testament days. They read what God had done in Jesus Christ in the light of what He had promised and what He had done in the history of the Hebrew people. They saw that, in different ways, the revelation of God to Israel had now been fulfilled in Jesus Christ and in His new community, the church of the resurrection. Jesus, as the act of God, had come to them from a past in which talk of God’s activity was assumed at the very basis of faith. It was this knowledge of God, as a God of mighty acts, a saving God who moved to effect the health and the salvation and righteousness of His people, that enabled the Christian believers to proclaim that in the resurrection of Jesus there was manifest the decisive act of God.
Through the resurrection God brings into being His new people, the community of resurrection faith. The spokesmen of this earliest faith, the writers of our New Testament, related what God had done in Jesus Christ to what He had done in Old Testament days. They read what God had done in Jesus Christ in the light of what He had promised and what He had done in the history of the Hebrew people. They saw that, in different ways, the revelation of God to Israel had now been fulfilled in Jesus Christ and in His new community, the church of the resurrection. Jesus, as the act of God, had come to them from a past in which talk of God’s activity was assumed at the very basis of faith. It was this knowledge of God, as a God of mighty acts, a saving God who moved to effect the health and the salvation and righteousness of His people, that enabled the Christian believers to proclaim that in the resurrection of Jesus there was manifest the decisive act of God.