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.Labels
A transformative moment for me recently was realizing that my compulsive need for labels to figure out how to treat people was harming my relationships, and keeping me from truly loving people who are very different than me.
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.
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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.
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Who’s Your Enemy?
What is an enemy? Do we Christians really even HAVE enemies? For that matter, are we supposed to?
A New Kind of Testimony
Our testimony isn’t just for unbelievers. Sometimes it needs to be for our fellow Christians, inviting them to see a different perspective, expanding their existing awareness. And a gentle invitation is so much more effective than a demanding assault on what we see as error.
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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.
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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.
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Shoot First, Ask Questions Later: The Morality of Preemptive Violence
Do we as Christians have the moral right to preemptively use deadly force? And do we as Christians have the moral right to kill to defend ourselves or our property? Some thoughts.
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An Incomplete Bible
Is the Bible truly everything we need to know about God and the universe and history and our lives?
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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.
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