Welcome to Crucible of Thought! I'm Brandon, and I was a member of conservative evangelical congregations for 45 years. This blog is about things that I've learned since 2020, as I've been undergoing a process of "deprogramming," "deconstruction," "reconstruction"... pick whatever term you want, but basically a process carefully examining many different aspects of my social, political, and religious beliefs to see what really actually aligns with the Bible and specifically the teachings of Jesus, more than what aligns with the host of dogmatic statements I inherited in years of church training. I'm not trying to persuade anyone: I'm sharing my process, in the hopes that it inspires and enlightens others. I welcome you to join me as we move forward in our faith together.

The Impractical Gospel

“They will know we are Christians by our love.” Sometimes, we need to minister God’s love practically, not by preaching at people. I’m sorry to say I used to think the most loving thing I could do for needy people would be getting them saved, and that would lead to any necessary physical benefits in their lives. But now that seems immature to me.

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State by State

Can 330 million Americans actually agree on anything? Did the Founders expect us to solve problems at a national level? Are those problems even solvable, or is our trust in a political solution misplaced?

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Works Of Faith

Deconstruction is causing a sharp reaction in church circles. It’s as if faith has become a form of works. It’s paradoxical that not being unquestioningly faithful to what we were taught reveals a works-like tendency, among those who otherwise believe in justification by faith and not works. In those circles, apparently one must be “faithful enough” to remain saved.

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E Pluribus Unum

Our sense of individualism has become toxic, both politically and religiously. We organize ourselves into collective groups ever more strongly. And those groups actively oppose other groups that we perceive as infringing on our own collective’s individuality.

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The Best-Qualified Candidate

Sometimes, the best-qualified candidate isn’t the best choice for a job. Actually, that’s kind of an aphorism which serves my purpose, but isn’t really what I mean to say. More precisely, sometimes the individual with the best technical qualifications isn’t the best qualified candidate, because of non-technical qualifications.

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