Church
Next Entries »From Legalism to Grace
Tuesday, April 24th, 2007My Journey Away From Organized Religion and Into the Arms of Christ, Part the Second
Despite my legalistic tendencies, God had begun to come for me in ways that I didn’t recognize until later. My pastor from the time I was 10 until I was 18 was a truly loving, God-centered man, and had an incredible [...]
A Child Following Hard After Father
Monday, April 23rd, 2007My Journey Away from Organized Religion Into the Arms of Christ: A Testimony, Part the First
Introduction: A couple of months ago I began a series on my personal blog titled “My Journey Away From Organized Religion.” I have written a few posts but upon further reflection feel the need to delve much more deeply and [...]
My Journey out of Church and into the Body of Christ: A Personal Testimony (Part 4)
Monday, April 23rd, 2007The threat of church discipline brought back the fear, in spades. I had watched the church of my childhood go through a heartrending split over church discipline issues, and the last thing I wanted to do was cause anything of the sort among another local assembly, particularly one where many of the close friends I [...]
My Journey out of Church and into the Body of Christ: A Personal Testimony (Part 3)
Sunday, April 22nd, 2007I’d been depressed before. My mom had died the previous year and I remember sitting in my room while she lay down the hall suffering from the second bout of cancer, which would eventually kill her, thinking to myself, “I’m glad I know there’s a God, and that he actually cares about me, because if [...]
My Journey out of Church and into the Body of Christ: A Personal Testimony (Part 2)
Saturday, April 21st, 2007I decided that I wanted to attend a conservative Christian college that was just starting up on the other side of the country. It was billed as a place where, unlike some other, more infamous Christian schools, the students would be taught to think for themselves, and to defend their beliefs against those who would [...]
My Journey out of Church and into the Body of Christ: A Personal Testimony (Part 1)
Friday, April 20th, 2007It was a Saturday night, and the young man was deep in discussion with the woman he was dating. Their discussion centered around the church he was preparing to attend the next morning, of which he had been a member for several months. “I don’t mind if you go,” the young woman said, “I’ve just [...]
I Don’t Believe in Pastors
Tuesday, April 17th, 2007Much has been said and written, in the time since Christ’s ministry on earth, of the supposed office of “pastor.” Unfortunately, a great deal of this writing has been crafted from pure and simple speculation. More of it is grounded in isogesis: the time-honored art of reading into scripture whatever you want it to say. [...]
A Former Footsoldier of the “Christian Right”
Monday, April 16th, 2007My wife has posted quite capably on the “Formerly Known” series of essays sweeping across the websites and blogs of we the disenchanted with the institutions and traditions that have appropriated the name Christ gave to those dedicated to a life following Him: “The Church.” Her contributions have been posted both here and at her [...]
Formerly Known…
Monday, April 16th, 2007A few days ago I discovered a blog post that’s making the rounds and getting quite a bit of attention titled The People Formerly Known As The Congregation. It’s a great look into the thoughts and perceptions of someone on the outside of traditional church perspectives. Then I discovered that several other bloggers had written [...]
Why I am an Agnostic Christian
Sunday, April 15th, 2007I have been asked, of late, by a number of people whose opinions I value, why I refer to myself at times as an “agnostic Christian.” Some have expressed concern with my answer, and I therefore feel a need to clarify. This post will be the first of several relating to my thoughts and studies [...]
Next Entries »