Alien Posted May 24, 2006 Posted May 24, 2006 (edited) 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. Edited May 24, 2006 by Alien Quote
fatherman Posted May 24, 2006 Posted May 24, 2006 I'm so glad you're here, Alien. I've always said that we need an 65-year-old ex-pat Brit around here. Haven't I always said that, Aletheia? I'm reading Borg's book and doing the Sunday School curriculum at my UMC right now. It gives me hope for Christianity and for Christianity's relationship to the world. Welcome. You will be a blessing to us, Alien. Fatherman Quote
AletheiaRivers Posted May 24, 2006 Posted May 24, 2006 Welcome Alien! I'm so glad you're here. I lured Jeanott over as well. I'd like to lure NeilUnreal too. I'm such a devil. I've always said that we need an 65-year-old ex-pat Brit around here. Haven't I always said that, Aletheia? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes, yes you have, repeatedly. Just the other day you say "Hey Aletheia, do you know any 65 year old ex-pat Brits that we could invite to the board?" and I said "Actually, I do. I'll go ask him now." Quote
Alien Posted May 24, 2006 Author Posted May 24, 2006 Welcome Alien! I'm so glad you're here. I lured Jeanott over as well. I'd like to lure NeilUnreal too. I'm such a devil. You'll suffer the wrath of Dee Dee if you're not careful! Yes, yes you have, repeatedly. Just the other day you say "Hey Aletheia, do you know any 65 year old ex-pat Brits that we could invite to the board?" and I said "Actually, I do. I'll go ask him now." <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You know, that can't be coincidence. Quote
fatherman Posted May 24, 2006 Posted May 24, 2006 You know, that can't be coincidence. I don't believe in coincidence. But I have been know to dabble in revisionism. Then something happened that convinced me that God existed. Alien, I promised myself I would be patient about this extraordinary statement, but I see a whole 2 hours has gone by... Perhaps another day? I look forward to the privilege. Quote
AletheiaRivers Posted May 24, 2006 Posted May 24, 2006 (edited) You'll suffer the wrath of Dee Dee if you're not careful! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Heck, I've already mentioned I like Brian McLaren and NT Wright. I think I'm on her hit list just for that. Hehehe. But honestly, that's why I begged you not to report me as spam. Hopefully, she doesn't read this board. Oops. DeeDee, I'm not trying to be subversive. I promise! Tweb is awesome, but sometimes it's just too hostile to a liberal like me. In all fairness, I've also told quite a few about Tweb. Darby will testify for me! Edited May 24, 2006 by AletheiaRivers Quote
Alien Posted May 24, 2006 Author Posted May 24, 2006 Alien, I promised myself I would be patient about this extraordinary statement, but I see a whole 2 hours has gone by... Perhaps another day? I look forward to the privilege. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> 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 .... Quote
Alien Posted May 24, 2006 Author Posted May 24, 2006 Tweb is awesome, but sometimes it's just too hostile to a liberal like me. 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. Quote
AletheiaRivers Posted May 24, 2006 Posted May 24, 2006 This may be a pleasant change of pace. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It is a breath of fresh air. Not that we don't have our differences on this board (which we have), but it's not nearly as contentious. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.