There is Joy in Disconnection
When we learn to release what other people think of our doctrine or politics or God, there’s a real joy and freedom. I may be feeling betrayed, but I’m also feeling released and freed.
Deconstruction
Betrayal
Betrayal causes a trauma response in humans. Institutions, not just people, can be the source of betrayal. A normal human response to betrayal trauma is to disengage completely from the institution. That’s where I am in relation to several institutions I previously trusted and depended on for my identity.
Becoming Multilingual
As my religious understanding changes, I’m discovering that so does my language about religion. But to “be all things to all men, so that I may save some,” I have to become multilingual – fluently speaking the native language of whatever tribe I am with.
Is the Bible the Final Word?
Did God stop speaking at the end of the first century AD? Did He tell us literally everything we need to know in the Bible? I’ve been thinking about the various basic approaches to reading and understanding the Bible. It seems to me that there are at least two related methods of Bible interpretation, and their interaction results in some rather different outcomes depending on your assumptions.
The Day the Magic Died
I remember the day my relationship with fireworks changed. When I suddenly noticed that I could see the shells climbing and trailing sparks and finally bursting, something of their magical nature died for me. So it was with my faith.
The End of My Evangelicalism
It’s taken a couple years, but I realized this week that I’m completely done with being called an Evangelical and a Republican. I simply cannot abide the toxicity inherent in both labels. Here’s some thoughts about why.
A Rainbow of Faith
Faith perhaps, should be something like a basket of Easter eggs: each one colorful and unique and ornate in its own way, each containing something different and surprising, but all together comprising the totality of Christianity, in the promise offered by Easter Sunday.
An Incomplete Bible
Is the Bible truly everything we need to know about God and the universe and history and our lives?
What I Feared Did Happen – And That’s Good
There are many things I once feared would happen if I questioned what I believed. And all those fears came to pass. But from the other side of it, I’m so glad it happened, because I found out how wrong I had been.
Shedding My Dragon Skin
Recently a friend asked me what it felt like to lose so much of my faith. I don’t think I lost anything: instead, I feel like I’ve shed things that weren’t mine to begin with. Let me tell you about my own encounter with Aslan.