Happy to be aboard! I am a former Lutheran minister (ELCA), now a hospital chaplain and member of a Unitarian Universalist congregation. Hence Luth + itarian. (I could have gone with Unitutheran, but I couldn't say that and keep a straight face).

My theological 'heroes' would have to be Paul Tillich, John Dominic Crossan, Marcus Borg, and Bishop Spong. I recently read Crossan and Borg's The Last Week, which was a terrific look at the final week of Jesus' life according to the Gospel of Mark.

I have a keen interest in Buddhism and in East/West religious dialogue (also, as one might guess, in the contemplative traditions of Christianity represented by, say, for example,Thomas Merton and Br. David Steindl-Rast; and of Buddhism, represented by the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh especially.

One of the things that appeals to me about being a chaplain in an urban trauma center is the diversity of the cultures and faiths I serve.

Wow! You'll fit in with our eclectic group just fine.

Unitutheran. LOL.

Welcome to TCPC.

Welcome.

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Thanks! Kinda figured I would! Looking forward to getting to know folks around here.

For some time, I 've been a regular on the discussion boards on Beliefnet, and I like the diversity over there, but I hope to find much more in the way of Progressive Xianity here.

Thanks again for the welcome! Luth

"Where two or three are gathered in my name..."
I can always count on running into another "Bob". Just call me Bob or Luth--whatever. Thanks for the welcome.

Would I recognize your handle from the Christian to Christian debate board? If you don't want to say what it is, I totally understand.

Over on B'net, I go by Luthitarian also (so, my imagination is limited--sue me!) I generall stay away from the Christian to Christian debate boards, because...well...people don't often behave very much as Christians. I tend any more to just hang out with selected discussion groups. Less stress on the old blood pressure!

Welcome to our rebellious little band of theological misfits, at least that's what others probably say. But then, who care's what others may think !

Again, welcome !

flow....

I use AletheiaRivers all over the web. I like using the same name. It's like a footprint; clues to follow.

May heretics abound!

Aletheia, do you find getting around on the B'net boards easier than the layout here? Of course, I'm still getting accustomed to it over here, but this seems so much more difficult to sort out.

However, I can see one distinct advantage, and this may be one of the things that threw me at first: it's easier to respond to a specific post (that may not be the most recent or among the most recent) without getting lost or following the thread. Also, it's handy to have the emoticons right here handy and available.

I find this board so much EASIER than bnet. The formatting tools are right there when you reply. No need to know HTML.

The one thing I find that many do, like in your post above, is to hit "Reply" rather than "Add reply." The former quotes everything, the latter quotes nothing. I'd rather cut and paste what I want rather than have the entire post I'm responding to show up in my reply.

The one thing I wish the board had was WYSIWYG editing.

In your control panel you can set it to send you emails when you get a reply to a thread you are subscribed to. You can sub or unsub from threads. I like avatars too, though not many on this board use them.

It's way different than bnet, but imo, much easier.

Yeah, so what the hell are avatars? And how do some of you end up with favorite quote running through your threads at the bottom?

At the very top of the screen you'll see "My Controls." Click on it to go into your control panel. Once you are in, you'll see options on the left of the page to add a signature, or post an avatar, or put in details about yourself.

You can upload a picture from your puter for an "avatar," (mine is 'Mnemosyne') or you can pick from among the generic (and cheesy) ones that the board offers you.

Thanks! I see what you mean.

I may have to wander over to the Christian to Christian debate board on B'net to see what you are up to. Given some of the troglodytes over there, it's good to know there is a strong liberal witness in the midst of these folks who learned their theological debating techniques from Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh.

I rarely post there, although I do read from time to time. Most of my posts are on the Progressive Christian forum.

I actually stopped posting there because I can't stand the interface. Supposedly they are updating the board software to something similar as TCPC this year.

It hasn't happened yet. B'net is still the same ol' stuff to me. By the way, as I have gotten more accustomed to finding my way around this site, I would have to agree that it is finally more user friendly. I like having the features you pointed out here! They're quite handy for a computer illiterate such as myself.

I consider myself basically a roadkill on the information superhighway! There is so much about computers and the internet I don't know and don't understand. I don't even know enough usually to form an intelligent question to ask for what I need to know. Saying things like: "I've go this thingamajiggy that's blocking my whatchamacallit, and it's got everything damn near ferhooldled" ain't much help.

I just joined. Still wet behind the ears. Did I see flowperson on this thread or was it on the other thread I posted--about Spiritual Abuse, maybe. It was flowperson who suggested I post here. And it was Alethia, whom I know is on this thread, who gave me this address. I want to thank both of you for the encouragement. Maybe I should say this in my own intro, which I plan to post in just a bit.

Luth, reading your first post made me feel right at home. As did your subsequent posts. Computer illiterate--that's how I feel, too. I'm looking for your first post to respond more accurately to it but can't find it without hitting "back" and I'm afraid that would delete the post I'm writing. You said Paul Tillich is your favourite theologican. Mine, too, so far. And the others you mentioned are also in the "right" category. Made me feel like I've found people like me. And someone said "let heretics abound," and called this a "batch of rebels." Wow! does this ever feel good!

The reason I chose this thread to read is your name luthitarian. I am studying theology in a Lutheran seminary. And one of my classmates (she's moving on and I'm still there so I guess it's a former classmate now but we sat next to each other for about two years) is training for ministry in the Unitarian Church. So I heard a lot about Unitarians. And I wondered if perhaps you somehow or other mixed and matched Lutheran and Unitarian. So it was no surprise to see you moved from Lutheran to Unitarian.