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Originally Posted by Rodney
I call myself an agnostic Christian. I don't know that the Bible stories are true; I don't know much that it matters. It's the teachings and examples that I follow, more of the New Testament than the Old.
Religious worship and practice puts my mind and soul in a place where it's good for it to be. And whether it's put there by the Holy Spirit or simply by the very nature of people gathering together to worship and celebrate sand reinforce the Good, I don't much care. I do belong to a fairly liberal church, one that believes in our responsibility to make the world a better place here and now, rather than waiting for Jesus to come back and take care of it all for us. I believe that we were intended through Christianity to try to be more like Jesus, not simply to come to him with all our troubles. In doing so, we make the world a better place. I do not believe that the world is by nature evil and thus unredeemable by humans alone; that's a cop-out. Even if it were true, we should try. Otherwise, what are we here for?
Given all that, I feel fairly well at home on the TFP. Since I hold to principles rather than dogma, criticisms of Christianity don't insult me. Christianity _should_ be criticized. It needs all the help it can get, and sitting back and taking somebody else's interpretation of Christianity as gospel _is not help._ In my opinion, Christians should question and explore, just as just about everyone here does. There are of course branches of Christianity that don't encourage that kind of thinking.
In that sense, I'm not what everybody thinks of these days as a Christian; but there are a great many like me around. We just don't have the funding :-), or the attention of the media. Moreover, a lot of people who think like us tend to have an aversion to Christianity, I suppose through bad experiences in their youth. Perhaps they were told to "shut up and believe" once too often, or saw friends and family member profess one thing at church but do something wildly different at home. These are problems with religions the world over.
I personally have had some discussions and disagreements with Pastor Tim. Consider them family arguments -- perhaps more passionate than those between strangers. I hope he doesn't take offense, and understands that I honor his Christianity. And I certainly hope that he honors mine. If not: we can discuss it! :-)
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Rodney's post bears repeating, at least to better express my own thoughts. We have a lot in common!
To be clear (perhaps I was not, in my OP), I could probably be classified, if need be, as an agnostic-Christian-Buddhist, with some transcendentalist (or is that Unitarian these days?) flavorings. I know that to the average evangelical, this combination is anathema; if one does not forswear to belong only to Christ and none other, than one cannot be called a Christian. I respect that distinction, so maybe I am not a Christian at all--that is okay with me. I don't much need labels of that sort, anymore.
Let me also clarify: I spent my formative years deeply embedded in the evangelical mainstream. My BA is from an evangelical university, where I engaged myself very much with the values of the community and the examination of scripture and creed. As it stands, while I have chosen to depart from a strict adherance to those beliefs and that community, I respect those who continue to choose that lifestyle. And I want to engage those members of TFP who choose that lifestyle, just as I hope to engage any member of TFP who have chosen other lifestyles. Personally, I find the TFP community to be an almost-adequate replacement for the community I thrived in as an evangelical... this place is amazing.
I like what Rodney said about these being "family arguments," however... because I once considered myself at home in Christianity, and made it my business to know that house inside and out. I am no stranger to it, which perhaps makes my comments seem more antagonistic than others. But it is not out of hostility that I make these comments; it is out of a desire to truly challenge others from the perspective of one who has "been there," and been there deeply. And I am certainly open to being challenged in return, though honestly, I am not sure if there is anything new under the sun in these discussions... but I am open to it, if so.
Maybe this was a bit abstract, but I thought I should clarify my own position.
And thank you for all your responses, so far. I am learning a lot about individual members here.