[Flatliner]

Michaeljc4, on Aug 30 2006, 10:24 AM, said:

3. I can't find a denomination that really fits my beliefs...perhaps because my beliefs are not quite set yet. I've been to Unitarian, Methodist, Anglican, and Congregationalist/UCC churches...and nothing feels just right. So I keep searching.

Hi Michael and welcome. I look forward to hearing more from your perspective. Enjoy the search.

[Ted Michael Morgan]

Michaeljc4, on Aug 29 2006, 07:24 PM, said:

Greetings and salutations (that's how I actually talk). My name is Michael, a.k.a Michaeljc4 on the board. I wish I had seen this topic before I started bloviating elsewhere on the forums. I am a former Catholic who is discovering Christianity for the first time in his life. My spiritual autobiography is rather long, so I won't bore you all with it. Suffice it to say that after being raised as a Catholic, followed by 18 years of atheism, I had an experience that I recently learned is called a metanoia. For the past several years, I've been reading, praying, visiting different churches, and trying to figure it all out. Here's what I've learned so far:

1. There are a lot of big words in the field of theology.
2. I'm not a Catholic. I really tried, though. For example, I read more than 30 books on Catholicism. I tried to list them all on Amazon, and they would only let me list 25: Books I read about Catholicism
3. I can't find a denomination that really fits my beliefs...perhaps because my beliefs are not quite set yet. I've been to Unitarian, Methodist, Anglican, and Congregationalist/UCC churches...and nothing feels just right. So I keep searching.
4. Faith is a very good thing to have. Although my little flame flickers and wavers, the difference between faith and atheism is vast.

So there you have it, in a nutshell. This seems like a great site, and I've already read things that have made me think. If I had to pin myself down, I'd say I fall somewhere between the UCC and the UU churches, but I'm flexible.

Hope to talk to you all soon!

Michael

Indeed, welcome, I have looked for a denomination for almost 40 years. Nothing quite fits me.

[des]

Howdy (some people DO say that here in New Mexico). I usually say Hey or Hi (btw, I was
in St. Louis and they do NOT say "Hey" (meaning "Hi") in St. Louis. I got some looks.) :-)
I think St. Louis people are more formal, as a species. :-) (or else New Mexicans are from
another planet, I haven't ruled that out. :-))


Funny thing, I feel I am in between UU and UCC. I go to a UCC church that is very progressive
so I am reasonably happy most of the time. I don't buy all of it, but I appreciate the community.
I've found a lot of people who think pretty similar to the way I do.


--des

[Flatliner]

des, on Oct 9 2006, 04:42 PM, said:

Howdy (some people DO say that here in New Mexico). I usually say Hey or Hi (btw, I was
in St. Louis and they do NOT say "Hey" (meaning "Hi") in St. Louis. I got some looks.) :-)
I think St. Louis people are more formal, as a species. :-) (or else New Mexicans are from
another planet, I haven't ruled that out. :-))
Funny thing, I feel I am in between UU and UCC. I go to a UCC church that is very progressive
so I am reasonably happy most of the time. I don't buy all of it, but I appreciate the community.
I've found a lot of people who think pretty similar to the way I do.
--des

Hey des,
I say hey too which I picked up from a friend visiting from Nth Carolina. Most people here in Australia say Hi and a whole lot of people really DO say "G'day" (only it gets all mushed up). I did say Hiya for a while but everyone kept answering "I'm fine thanks" which tells you that Aussies drawl quite a bit.

I think once you start questioning and searching it becomes clearer that there are parts of every faith structure, ideology, denomination (or congregation) that you like and don't like, accept and don't accept, own and disown. Personally, I really don't expect to find one particular denomination or congregation that I will feel like I can truly accept and rest in, 100%, mind you I am a glass-half-empty type of person and I've been to a lot of churches trying to find "the one". I'm changing and thinking and questioning so even if I DID find one I liked 100%, by next week I'll be personally in a 'different place' (as will everyone else there). I'm trying to do the buddhist thing and live in the moment more than I usually do. Best wishes on your quest Michael,
FL

PS - Speaking of St Louis, go Cardinals!!! Go Pujols!!

This post has been edited by Flatliner: 10 October 2006 - 09:05 PM

[des]

G'day mate!

Do you like your shrimp on the barby? (There was an old ad on tv about going to Australia where you
can get your shrimp on the barby and so on.) I get the idea that Aussies are like New Mexicans in being informal. Maybe it is all the desert. :-)

But one thing I have to ask, do you do everything manana (tomorrow)? (should have a tilde on the
n, I can get a tilde or an "n" but not both at once).

I agree with your assessment. I was talking to a friend about UU, which she goes to, and we are pretty simiiar in our beliefs. I think she was kind of surprised that I didn't believe in a literal resurrection (either).
Though I think my thoughts about a metaphorical resurrection, got the idea that she never quite thought
about it that way, surprised her. Maybe she wondered why anyone put time into thinking about such things.
:-)

Hasta luego,
(lots of folks say that here, because it is Spanish.)


--des

[Mystical Seeker]

Flatliner, on Oct 10 2006, 07:04 PM, said:

I think once you start questioning and searching it becomes clearer that there are parts of every faith structure, ideology, denomination (or congregation) that you like and don't like, accept and don't accept, own and disown. Personally, I really don't expect to find one particular denomination or congregation that I will feel like I can truly accept and rest in, 100%, mind you I am a glass-half-empty type of person and I've been to a lot of churches trying to find "the one". I'm changing and thinking and questioning so even if I DID find one I liked 100%, by next week I'll be personally in a 'different place' (as will everyone else there). I'm trying to do the buddhist thing and live in the moment more than I usually do.

I gave up on the UU church in my town because I found it so spiritually unsatisfying, so I've been attending UCC services lately, along with a Wednesday evening Taize service at a local Episcopalian church that is magificently spiritual and ecumenical and nondogmatic. My feelings about the UU church versus the UCC is that I would rather have a spiritual form of worship where the theology is pretty close even if I don't 100% agree with it, than a spiritually empty form of worship that doesn't force any theology on me whatsoever. So that i why I like the UCC better than the UUs, but I've still been searching for a better fit for me, if it exists. Maybe there is no perfect fit for me, but at least by looking around I can see what is there and what the possibilities are.

[des]

MS,

It's about my feeling about UU. Though I am probably closer to being UU theologically, I like
the stained glass, the hymns, the quiet, the communion service, etc. The things that
add what Bawer calls the "experience of the vertical". That is thigns that transcend
and are different than normal day to day experience. To me UU seems more like
a lecture series. (From what I read some UUs are getting that idea and are introducing
their own forms of ritual and so forth, but that isn't the case with those I have attended".
And it is strictly my own feeling about it, not meant to try and convince or persuade others.


--des