Alien

I have not only read it, but attended a class at church that went through it chapter by chapter and discussed it. I found it a a "belief changing" experience. Get it! Read it! You won't be disappointed.

Yes, it can be. I have tended to keep out of theological discussions of late, not because I mind a bit of hostility, but because I've realised that conservatives and liberals almost can't have a serious discussion as their basic assumptions are so different. It's like: Liberal: "I think X is likely". Conservative: "No that's definitely wrong because the Bible clearly states Y". Liberal: "So?". On the other hand, I do get tired of young people who, quite frankly, need to get out and actually live for a while, thinking that because Jesus was rude to the Pharisees at times that gives them carte blanche to be the the same to anyone who disagrees with them. This may be a pleasant change of pace.

Hmmm, are you asking me to tell you what it was? It's one of those "personal" things that probably isn't too convincing to anyone but me. Oh alright, but not today, it's kind of long ....

You'll suffer the wrath of Dee Dee if you're not careful! You know, that can't be coincidence.

Hello everyone. Aletheia suggested (over on TheologyWeb) that I have a look at this forum so here I am. Let me tell you a bit about myself. I am 65 years old, an ex-pat Brit living in the USA, and was an agnostic/atheist until about three years ago. Then something happened that convinced me that God existed. About 6 months later I became a Christian. (that's really leaving out a lot of detail! ). About a year ago I was getting worried - was I right to continue to label myself "Christian"? I had no problem with my relationship with God (other than that it wasn't close enough!) but it seemed that the "boundaries" of Christianity were defined by belief ... believe in penal substitution, believe in the virgin birth, believe in the resurrection, believe that God created everything .... and so on and on. It was not that I particularly wished to deny any of these things (well, some maybe) but that there didn't seem to be sufficient evidence for me to take a position, and I can't "just believe" something, sorry. Then I took a Sunday School class on Marcus Borg's book The Heart of Christianity and I realised that I had found a home within Christianity, and no longer had misgivings about describing myself as "Christian". I am a member of a United Methodist church. I feel comfortable there, because it encourages a wide spread of beliefs and discourages the kind of "God in a box" attitude that is found in so many evangelical churches. So, I'm here to give TCPC a try. If anyone has any questions, or wants me to expand on the very brief information I have given above, please feel free to ask.