chriscargill

Thank you for the warm welcome, Paul. I could look up each theological school in the world to help me narrow it down to one. I anticipate that being a wise path. Private schools can be expensive, as I'm sure you're aware, so my goal is to obtain scholarships, a fellowship/mentorship, and to already possess a portfolio of work to help me qualify for other possible financial aid and opportunities. I am open to traveling to Australia, the UK, and other places in the world if I feel confident that I will be challenged as a progressive christian. I feel like I am learning and growing exponentially right now. I suspect that rate will change, particularly as I visit this forum, read, and watch everything I can. As I view the content of the board, I am persuaded I will take my time before I open up. I hope this board will be a place for me to fellowship with others in Love and the endless pursuit of Truth for decades to come. The issue of relevance for upcoming generations is quickly becoming central to any interest in religion or spirituality. I would like to be a part of the increasing scrutiny and diligent academia that will have a great impact on the world per God's revelation.

Hello, I made my name very easy for you - Chris. I have been studying conservative and fundamentalist christian apoloetics articles and debates. I have come to a great many conclusions which I have been documenting. I still have some more work to do with this. 6 years ago, I graduated from a Christian university with my B.A. in Biblicial Studies. I have been a middle school special education teacher since then. The second semester of my senior year, I began looking up some of the resources my professors in philosophy of religions and world religions classes recommended to challenge us. I went beyond that, and the more I researched, the less the bible and its contents made sense. That's not to say I had not already been questioning, and in fact, wrote and delivered my senior year honor's program symposium research paper on homosexuality as described throughout the New Testament. Long, long story short, I became an atheist and then an atheistic-leaning agnostic. I held a copious amount of hatred for religion. As I was listening to old Four Horsemen of Atheism - Christian debates and working on a project, I couldn't help but hear the Christians winning. I, of course, thought this was probably a mistake so I sat down and watched and listened exclusively to the debates. Indeed, the Christians had better arguments and a more holistic worldview, I felt. So here I am. I come to this forum with many of my own theological and biblical beliefs, very unlike anything I learned in school. The one thing that is always present and that guides me is critical thinking. I love and miss my professors. I very nearly went straight into missionary work and to earn a Masters degree, but I did not. And I have no regrets about that given the timing. Still, I would like to go back to school in the near future for a graduate degree in theology. If anyone knows of a resource in which I could find liberal and progressive theological grad schools, much like the global directory for churches, I would appreciate your help. I am open to moving within the United States in order to complete advanced degrees so that I may be better informed and better prepared for a career in scholarship. I cannot tell you just how happy I feel right now - returning to god, finding likeminded people and their writings, and gathering with you here. Thank you. ~chris