Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

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How Denominations Destroy Faith

by Russell Croft in Christian Issues

‎This guest post is by Russell Croft.

First, let me begin with a disclaimer. I am not anti-denomination or, for that matter, anti-church. I love the rich frameworks and traditions of faith that have been passed down to us through the ages, and the way that new denominations are continually popping up all over the world, seeking greater understandings of God and exploring fresh avenues for worship and connection with him and with each other.

There is something of a unity in the body of Christ, despite the differences that define the particular denomination or tradition to which we personally subscribe. Whether we are Catholic, Pentecostal, or Methodist, Jesus binds us together as brothers and sisters in faith.

There is a lot we can learn from each other as we share our differing perspectives and understandings of Jesus. That is, if we can dare to be a little vulnerable and admit that maybe we don’t have God all figured out.

Being more “right”

This is the danger of denominationalism. When our faith traditions take their statements of faith and hold them up as the be all and end all of who Jesus is. When our particular teachings are held up as superior to those of other denominations, writing them off as misguided at best or heretical at worst. It seems to be the nature of the human condition, to keep God in the box of our understanding, not allowing him outside of the confines of what we know.

Differences in understanding can be good. They can add… [Read more…] about How Denominations Destroy Faith

Why a Perfect God Can Only Lead to Atheism

by Brian Niece in Christian Issues

This guest post is by Brian Niece.

There is a popular understanding of God that holds God as perfect. Of course, there are many definitions of “perfect.” Perfection could mean: flawless, absolute, exact, or complete. But most of these definitions give us a God that is immutable. “Immutable” is a churchy word that means “unchanging over time and unable to be changed.”

I say this is a churchy word, because the word “immutable” exists nowhere in the Bible. It is a concept gleaned from a slightly off-kilter reading of the text. An immutable God cannot move, cannot act, but can only exist as the opposite from everything else, like some divine dark matter.

The inherent problem with projecting a perfect God is that it leaves theology nowhere to go, and nothing to do. Theology that has nowhere to go is simply metaphysics. By definition, “metaphysics” are concepts that deal with abstractions and have no basis in reality. Thinking about God in a way that matters must have something to do with reality and must connect with people.

Many of us would prefer a God who connects with reality and connects with people. If God were wholly and ultimately unchanging and unable to change, what would be our connecting point? There would be none.

The contemporary predicament of God is one of misperception. The traditional theistic classification of God emphasizes the changelessness of God, the extreme independence of God, the absolute control of God, and God’s… [Read more…] about Why a Perfect God Can Only Lead to Atheism

What’s an Evangelical Voting Bloc?

by Bette Moore in Christian Issues

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I was an Evangelical Christian before I could walk or talk. At Lake Avenue Congregational Church in Pasadena, California, the Sunday School class for infants was called the “Cradle Roll”–and I’m sure I had perfect attendance! It seems like I must have spent as much time at church as I did at school in my early years.

One of my earliest memories is a story illustrated with pictures that the teacher would add to a flannel-graph board as the plot unfolded. (Perhaps an early version of PowerPoint?) It was about a little girl who was caught in a “web of sin” when she did terrible things like steal a cookie and lie to her mother about taking it, or get mad at her little brother and yell at him. The teacher added a picture of a large black spider to the board above the little girl, and every time she would do something bad, a piece of black thread was put over her body until she was completely trapped in that terrible web. I was in the second grade. That was when I accepted Jesus as my personal savior for the first time and, like the little girl, was “set free by the blood of Jesus.”

I know I didn’t understand what any of that meant at that time, but I also know I felt very good after I accepted Jesus into my heart. From then on I went forward whenever an altar call was given, until I learned that you only have to be “born again” once. The church continued to be the center of our family life throughout my childhood.

Sadly,… [Read more…] about What’s an Evangelical Voting Bloc?

It’s time to trump the Trump with the Jesus card

by Chuck Queen in Current Events

I have had to break a vow. Several months ago I made a commitment to not be partisan. I said I would talk about political issues without naming political candidates. I would focus on policy, not people. This was before Donald Trump became the Republican nominee for president. Now, I am committed to do everything within my power (as small and limited as that may be) to keep Trump out of the White House.

I agree with Adam Gopnik writing in the New Yorker,

If Trump came to power, there is a decent chance that the American experiment would be over. This is not a hyperbolic prediction; it is not a hysterical prediction; it is simply a candid reading of what history tells us happens in countries with leaders like Trump. Countries don’t really recover from being taken over by unstable authoritarian nationalists of any political bent, left or right–not by Peróns or Castros or Putins or Francos or Lenins or fill in the blanks. The nation may survive, but the wound to hope and order will never fully heal. Ask Argentinians or Chileans or Venezuelans or Russians or Italians–or Germans. The national psyche never gets over learning that its institutions are that fragile and their ability to resist a dictator that weak. If he can rout the Republican Party in a week by having effectively secured the nomination, ask yourself what Trump could do with the American government if he had a mandate.

I don’t for one minute believe the above assessment is sensationalism. I have been… [Read more…] about It’s time to trump the Trump with the Jesus card

Why Letting Go Is Not Falling Apart

by Ronna Detrick in Christian Spirituality

A wise woman tells me she gets this strong sense that I am unable to really let go; like I’m afraid of letting my hair down.

I hear her words, feel the lump in my throat (a marker that truth has been spoken), and in my mind’s eye can already see the story, her story, the one I need to hear.

~~~~~

The town harlot. Marginalized, unseen, shamed, and scorned. And not one bit of that matters. Not to her. She leaves the margins and enters the fray – walking into a room full of men – the insiders, the censors, the judges, the jury. They look up from their feast, reclining, interrupted by the shock of her presence. Head held high, she ignores every incredulous face, sidelong glance, and whisper of contempt. There’s only one goal, one guest, one man that matters. No amount of shame or scorn will stop her. She will be seen.

And she will not bow or scrape. Not today. She will stand. Eye-to-eye, face-to-face, toe-to-toe with this God-man, this healer, this miracle worker, this Love enfleshed. Jesus.

So she did. Time slowed. Din silenced. Shame dissipated. Scorn dissolved. Only the two of them existed.

And maybe this is what enabled her next move: the visceral and complete awareness that this moment and this man were all that mattered, that she mattered.

She let go.

She wept. So much that she rained down tears on his feet. Then, in front of all her accusers – those leaders, law enforcers, and rule-followers – she let down her hair. Literally.… [Read more…] about Why Letting Go Is Not Falling Apart

Fundamentalism and Domestic Violence

by Alex Camire in Fundamentalism

I was having a conversation with a friend earlier today. We don’t talk that often, at least not about politics or religion, because our opinions are entirely different. I’ve recently been going through a transition away from fundamentalism and into a more progressive belief and relationship with Christ. This has unfortunately created a rift in some of my friendships with those who are still quintessentially evangelical.

I don’t recall how this conversation started, but we ended up talking about hell. Hell was one of the major catalysts that caused me to reevaluate my beliefs about God. I grew up in a church that taught what might be called a traditional view on hell: that it’s a place of eternal conscious torment.

After a period of doubt, I found myself no longer able to reconcile this belief with the idea of a loving God. The two things just didn’t seem compatible. I’m not sure yet if I consider myself an Annihilationist or a Universalist, but that’s a decision I’ll come to in time after more study, thought, and prayer. The point is, I no longer subscribe to the concept of eternal conscious torment, and that alone has had an enormous effect on the way I see God and the way I view my relationship with God.

So my friend and I were talking about hell; he was aware of my change in thought and that, of course, did not sit well with him, though he was at least willing to have a conversation about it. Most of the conversation was the typical back and forth, but there was a… [Read more…] about Fundamentalism and Domestic Violence

White people. It’s not our call!

by Chuck Queen in Current Events

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By now, all of us have heard the uproar evoked by Colin Kaepernick’s decision to protest social injustice and the injustice in our criminal justice system by kneeling during the National Anthem.

Being an NFL football fan (Who Dey! Go Bengals!), it upset me to hear commentator Trent Dilfer on the Monday night pregame show judge Kaepernick’s actions as selfish.

I thought Kaepernick’s response was right on the money:
“I think that’s one of the most ridiculous comments I’ve heard … I would ask him to really have a conversation with the families of people that have been murdered and see if he still feels that way. Because I bet that he doesn’t, because he hasn’t experienced that type of oppression.”

Kaepernick makes a great point that all white people should heed. African Americans have been enslaved and oppressed by white people in this country, and while we have made a lot of progress, it should be clear to all that injustice continues. The police shootings of recent days, racial profiling, and sentences handed out to people of color in disproportion to the crime while far lesser sentences are given to white people for the same offense all highlight the ongoing blight of racism and the oppressive misuse of power by the white establishment.

Kaepernick is utilizing his constitutional right (thank God we have these) to highlight such injustice. And whatever you think about his approach, it has worked. Here we are talking about it.

Regardless of what… [Read more…] about White people. It’s not our call!

Are Gay People Welcome?

by Christopher Newport in LGBT

I recently revisited one of the churches I used to attend. The sermon was about Christians and the world, and was given by one of the pastors who I have known for many years and who I respect. He spoke about the troubles facing the world in general, but especially about the problems facing Western society, such as drug addiction, family abuse, alcohol dependency, and marriage equality. I was in shock!

Many Christians, such as my ex-pastor, do amazing work with the oppressed, the downtrodden, and the destitute. But sadly, they also treat homosexual people with contempt, fear, and disgust. Why? In 100 years, will our descendants look back at the church of today and wonder what all the fuss was about? The church is a living, evolving, and welcoming thing—isn’t it?

The Church versus the Secular World

I wasn’t a Christian until I was in my adulthood. So where did a young person, me, learn how to treat people? First, through my parents, who taught me about respect and kindness. Second, at a young age I found that I had a love for acting and the arts (and I still do). What I discovered in amateur theater was that people of different backgrounds, social standings, and beliefs were all welcomed. Specifically, gay people were—and still are—welcome in the theater community. The first gay people I met were through theater. I now have many gay friends and, quite frankly, their sexual orientation is of little interest to me. In theater we all work together for a common… [Read more…] about Are Gay People Welcome?

Live the In-Between — It's the Part of the Story that Matters Most

by Ronna Detrick in Christian Spirituality

Once upon a time, long before women had volition or will as to who they married, a search commenced for the perfect wife. A servant was sent out – commanded to find a bride, but only from particular tribes, with particular lineage, holding particular pedigree. Perplexed as to how this would ever happen he prayed. “O God of my master, please give me success today. I will stand by this spring as the young women of the town come out to draw water. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’ let her be the one I am to select…”

As the story goes, this is exactly what happened. As she finished speaking the words he had hoped to hear, he adorned her with a gold ring for her nose and two gold bracelets. She took the servant to her family. Negotiations ensued with her father who finally asked her: “Are you willing to go with this man?” She replied, “Yes, I will go.”

The servant began the long journey back to his master with this young woman in tow. One particular evening, after days of traveling, she looked up and said, “Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?” The servant replied, “It is my master.” She covered her face with her veil as the servant told his master the story of how he had found her. And the text says, “Isaac brought Rebekah into his tent and she became his wife. He loved her deeply…” ~ from Genesis 24

Tell the truth. Even if only for a brief moment,… [Read more…] about Live the In-Between — It's the Part of the Story that Matters Most

Christians need to be honest about biblical contradictions (especially in the Bible's different portrayals of God)

by Chuck Queen in Christian Issues

Christian leaders and churches need to admit that we have done a poor job in teaching parishioners how to read biblical texts critically. Perhaps Christians wouldn’t believe and do such silly things if they had been taught to read the Bible critically before trying to appropriate it spiritually.

The Revised Common Lectionary on the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost of Year C pairs Exodus 32:7-14 with Luke 15:1-10, providing Christian preachers a wonderful opportunity to talk about the importance of reading the biblical text critically, honestly facing the inconsistencies.

In Exodus 32, Moses goes up to the mountain to talk with God and receive God’s instructions. Meanwhile, the people God brought out of Egypt grow impatient and decide to make an image and worship the image. So God says to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff necked they are. Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn against them and I may consume them, and of you I will make a great nation.” God has lost all patience and is ready to consume them.

But Moses intercedes. Moses says, “Now God, let’s step back, take a deep breath and talk about this. You brought these people out of Egypt by your mighty power. Think about what the other nations and peoples will say about you. Your reputation is on the line here. They will say: ‘The God of Israel brought his people out of Egypt so he could wipe them off the face of the earth.’ Think about how that makes you look. And then too,… [Read more…] about Christians need to be honest about biblical contradictions (especially in the Bible's different portrayals of God)