TheseDryBones Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Hey guys. It's Zeke from Texas. Pretty excited to check this message board out, but I guess an introduction is in order, right? I come from what Bishop Spong might call a "Fundamentalist" Christian home. I was raised to believe in the literalness of the Bible, the omniscient, omnipresent benevolent power of God as Creator and Judge, and the perfect, sacrificial life of Jesus Christ, his Crucifixion, his subsequent Resurrection, and the Salvation ultimately found in Him, since Jesus is (as I was led to believe) one part of the Triune God: Father, SON, and Holy Spirit. Now, as an 18-year-old male, college sophomore living at home, I have found these principles increasingly indefensible and vaguely thought out, especially in the megachurch I attend and all the other churches I've attended (my family moved around a lot). These stolid, closed-minded ideals do not hold up in a world that is so much more complex, so much richer than what I'd been told. This is a fairly recent development for me. The switch of gears took place in the space of one month, propelled by the work of archaeologist and naturalist writer Loren Eiseley, various artistic/philosophical websites, and, finally, the ideas of Ret. Bishop John Shelby Spong, who I first encountered on a video interview conducted by Dan Schneider of Cosmoetica. My whole life changed after that. That is not to say that I am now a ridiculously enlightened guy. If anything the world has become staggeringly complicated and terrifyingly daunting. I, and no ideology created by man, holds all the answers. Including the Christian faith. But, to "walk into the mystery", as Spong puts it, has become a dear and profound goal in my life. That said, I do not blindly follow the teachings of anyone, even Spong, whose outright denial of the supernatural somewhat puzzles me, as I have had personal experiences with events of, admittedly, hearsay of events (told by close friends who would have no reason to lie to me!) that can be described as "supernatural". Who knows? Guess that's for me to figure out (or not?). So why join the site? Like-minded individuals are hard to come by these days. Plus, my father has decided on kicking me out due to my "disrespectful" and "harmful" beliefs (no resentment; it's his house) so a community is something I need right now. Life happens, it's a little scary, but hopefully I don't have to live it completely alone! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulS Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Welcome Zeke, Like you, I was raised in a very similar home and around 18 I too started to question what I had been taught when I started to see how it didn't really marry up with what I was seeing in the 'real world'. I completely lost any faith and determined that Christianity was a man made religion and not the one sole 'way' it proclaims to be. For me I had no idea there was any alternate way to look at Christianity and it was until about 5 years ago ( and 20+ years since I left Christianity) that I learnt about Progressice Christianity, the likes of Spong and Marcus Borg, and resources like this forum. It's opened a crack to a window of a new way of looking at Christianity, Jesus and the bible that I wish I knew about at your age. Welcome to the forum and I hope you find it both useful and fulfilling here. Cheers Paul 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephM Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 Welcome Zeke, I hope you find this site helpful and supportive of your journey which at times can be as I have found somewhat painful. Again welcome and thanks for the introduction. Joseph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatherman Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 As far as I'm concerned, there is room for the supernatural ways of God in PC. I really don't think God cares what we believe about it. If God's gonna do it, he's gonna do it. And he's certainly done it to me. Welcome to the board! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soma Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Zeke, I like your attitude, curiosity and spiritual enthusiasm because it will help you find our individual place in creation and appreciate the true meaning in life; therefore, the rules and programs of the church carry little significance if they don’t lead us to a spiritual experience. The universe cooperates with each of us, working in partnership to give us the best, but we must be curious, still the mind to become aware that the universe is working with us every second and not against us. Glad to see your energy here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheseDryBones Posted September 27, 2015 Author Share Posted September 27, 2015 Thanks, everyone, for the encouragement! My spirituality is in something of a limbo right now (I've found less and less time to introspect and discover between work and school) but I know where I stand. It's good to know I'm not alone in doing it. The awareness of your essential smallness in the universe, but, simultaneously, a strange significance your life bears, is not something I would call an easy revelation. But, it's something we need to realize. Again, thanks! Zeke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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