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Christian Issues

Faith in the Fog: Surviving as a Skeptical Christian

by Emma Higgs in Christian Issues

How do I trust God when I’m no longer convinced he even exists?

How do I stop myself from being swallowed whole by the fear and despair that can come from seriously rethinking my beliefs?

How do I pray when it seems like there’s probably no-one listening?

Can my faith survive this?

If you have ever asked questions like these, I hope you know that you are not alone.

If your doubts become so overwhelming that you wonder if you are losing your faith altogether, then you are in good company.

Having serious doubts about the faith that has been a (possibly the) central part of your life can be unsettling, confusing, and scary.

I don’t know many things for sure these days, but I am fairly certain that it’s possible to have an authentic, healthy, and soul-nourishing faith while also being a skeptic. I continue to wrestle with these questions almost daily, but I no longer fear that I am losing my faith. I actually think these questions are a valuable part of my faith.

One of the biggest shifts in my thinking has been the realization that faith is not supposed to be about having strong beliefs.

It’s still a widespread assumption that being a Christian is mostly about what you believe. Of course, how you choose to live is important — there are very few Christians who would deny that. But it seems to me that what matters most to the majority… [Read more…] about Faith in the Fog: Surviving as a Skeptical Christian

The Racist God of America

by Sheri Faye Rosendahl in Christian Issues

I remember the first time I realized that the god of the majority of American Christianity was basically racist. Someone dear to me was trying to make a case for Christian Zionism and, as I stood in a dim-lit hallway listening intensely, I felt this sort of “what the fuck, are you actually being serious right now?” type of confusion.

With no hesitation and I’m sure no chill, I responded with a couple of blunt, but serious questions: “Are you telling me that God cares for one group of people more than others based on their bloodline? Well how pure does one’s blood have to be at this point to be part of this group of chosen ones? Wow, so what you’re telling me is that God is prejudiced based on factors completely out of our control?”

By the end of the conversation and after my fiery disposition had wound down, I had come to a new conclusion, which I calmly expressed, “If the Christian god is essentially racist, then I have no interest in your god.” It wasn’t a declaration of atheism, but a declaration against the idea that God could be a bigot.

At the time, I was deeply lacking in my understanding of the way of Jesus. For all I knew, he was a raging bigot. Eventually, I had a major paradigm shift as I discovered that the Jesus of the red letters was vastly different than what I saw in American Christianity. This Jesus wasn’t a religion, this Jesus is love. They were wrong, as was I.

With our lovely regime change last November, it’s hard to deny the… [Read more…] about The Racist God of America

I Miss You Too, But…

by Alex Camire in Christian Issues

I miss my former church. I do. And I don’t think I was prepared for that feeling because of the certainty I had in my decision to leave.

This is an odd thing to admit because in doing so I feel like I am opening myself up to the arguments and passionate persuasions of people who tell me that they miss me in, I sense, an attempt to get me to come back. This then puts me in the complicated position of not knowing if or how to respond or explain to people why I felt I had to leave.

Do I break out into a random theological debate?

Or perhaps talk about my criticisms of the policies and protocols that enabled our legalistic culture?

Do I talk about the larger American, Christian church’s marriage to harmful, politically conservative rhetoric and the damage that does to racial and sexual minorities as well as the impoverished?

No. This doesn’t seem like the right thing to do at that moment for me. I stand there, and I say, “I miss you too.”

That’s all I feel I can muster at the moment because I don’t believe it’s my role to push over someone’s neatly organized filing cabinet of ideas about God, faith, Christianity, and the role of the Church. So I say, “I miss you too,” awkwardly, uncomfortably — that’s all I can say. But, it is true, I do miss you.

And, I’ll take responsibility for changing the status quo. There’s a reason we don’t see each other as much anymore. It’s because our relationship was grounded on our collective proximity to a fixed point (church)… [Read more…] about I Miss You Too, But…

The Real Face of the Persecuted

by Darryl Ward in Christian Issues

Reflections on 1 Peter 3:13-22.

Two and a half years ago, Florida charity worker Arnold Abbott made world headlines when he was arrested. His crime? Feeding the homeless.

Arnold, who was ninety at the time, had been helping prepare hundreds of meals every week since 1990. In 1991, he founded the Maureen A. Abbott Love Thy Neighbor Fund, whose name was a tribute to his late wife, and which sought to continue the work they had done together. Love Thy Neighbor is based on two core principles: “We are our brother’s keeper,” and “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” And it is open to people of all religions, beliefs, and races, who wish to help those who are worse off than themselves.[1]

Love Thy Neighbor carried on with its good work of helping the homeless without drawing any international attention, until the City of Fort Lauderdale passed an ordinance severely restricting their activities. Feeding the homeless had to take place at least 500 feet away from residential properties, and food sites were restricted to one per city block. These restrictions were motivated by residents and businesses, who were concerned about homeless people being attracted to their neighborhoods (and presumably thereby lowering the tone of them).[2]

But Love Thy Neighbor was not going let this stop them. And on November 4, 2014, Arnold, along with two ministers from the Sanctuary Church, were arrested while they were distributing food to the… [Read more…] about The Real Face of the Persecuted

For the Literal Love of Christ, Stop Making Jesus White

by Lindsay Mustafa Davis in Christian Issues

I was browsing Buzzfeed the other day when I ran across an article about the Mary Magdalene film starring Rooney Mara (as Mary) and Joaquin Phoenix (as Jesus).

At first, I thought it was great that a film about Mary Magdalene would be coming to theaters soon, especially because of the issues many in the Church might have with her story being portrayed well on screen (read: not as a prostitute).

Then I saw the casting and I got frustrated that, once again, two white actors are portraying religious and historical figures of color.

I quickly went to IMBD to check out the rest of the cast and discovered that black, Israeli, and Algerian actors will be playing Jesus’ disciples.

Which is better than having them all be white, too, I suppose.

This being said, Hollywood is not off the hook. The fact that, in most biblical films, Jesus is cast as a white man while the people of color are relegated to the supporting cast is a symptom of the American white savior complex.

The simplest way to define the white savior as an entertainment trope is a white character rescuing people of color from their plight. While many well-meaning people defend these characters as benign and even admirable (perhaps saying that they learn a lesson about themselves and “those people” and become “better” in the end), they are actually harmful.

The danger of the white savior mentality is that it enables the savior to look down on the ones they try to “save.” It allows the savior to say, “You are only… [Read more…] about For the Literal Love of Christ, Stop Making Jesus White

I Don't Want to Be an American Christian, I Just Want to Follow Jesus

by Sheri Faye Rosendahl in Christian Issues

This guest post is by Sheri Faye Rosendahl.

The label “American Christian” is largely and globally associated with negative connotations. How many American Evangelical Christians supported the Muslim ban? Who are we bombing today? What was that reason we can’t love the most vulnerable? American Christianity far too often looks nothing like its Savior.

I grew up in your typical American Christian home. I was exposed to Evangelical Christianity my entire life, but somehow I never got into religion. I think I picked up on the hypocrisy at a very young age and, in all honesty, it took me a quarter of a century to figure out who Jesus truly is.

Regardless, deep down I always believed the basics after essentially yelling at Jesus to get into my heart when I was four or five because I was terrified of hell. However, I have never in my life wanted to call myself a Christian. These days I try to follow the ways of the red letters with everything in my soul, but the idea of putting myself under that label is still beyond uncomfortable.

The truth is, I don’t relate to the general American Christian population because I can’t relate Jesus to many of the actions and beliefs of the general American Christian population.

I mean, come on now, the American Christian elite have managed to bring to power a literal bigoted-misogynistic-racist sexual predator as the “leader” of this nation. Conservative Christians stand firmly against health care for the vulnerable, but they are… [Read more…] about I Don't Want to Be an American Christian, I Just Want to Follow Jesus

A Mother’s Day Without Proverbs 31

by Janene Cates Putman in Christian Issues

In my fundamentalist life, by now I would have been dreading Mother’s Day — not because I didn’t want to honor my Sweet Little Mother (who is clearly a saint) or because my children didn’t honor me (ah, the days of the noodle necklaces and handprint art). I dreaded it because of the ubiquitous Mother’s Day Sermon. Y’all know the one I’m talking about: the text is Proverbs 31 and the subject is “Biblical Womanhood.” This prospect filled me with dread because I knew I couldn’t — and wouldn’t — be the model of a “Proverbs 31 woman.”

May I point out that Proverbs 31 was most likely written by a mother (the queen) who was advising her son (the prince) on choosing a wife? Now come on, boy moms, what would you include in that list? What kind of woman would be the dream wife for your son? May I propose that fundamentalist Christians might be reading and teaching this poem inaccurately? May I further propose a better way?

The “Proverbs 31 woman” was a wife, mother, businesswoman, and community activist. She was never meant to be held up to all women everywhere as the example of who we should be and how we should behave. And, by the way, “she” wasn’t a real woman. She was a literary device, one written to honor and value women’s many roles, not to assign a single, limiting way of being a “virtuous woman.”

Thanks to Rachel Held Evans, we all know that Proverbs 31 wasn’t written to be a guide for devout women. It was written to celebrate the “woman of valor” in all her varied roles.… [Read more…] about A Mother’s Day Without Proverbs 31

It's Okay to Love Your Religion without Forcing People to Convert

by Sheri Faye Rosendahl in Christian Issues

Why does the idea of simply trying to follow Jesus, loving others, and NOT trying to convert people upset so many Christians? I posed this question on social media and naturally it rubbed quite a few people the wrong way.

“What about the Great Commission? What about preaching the gospel?” they said.

Why has the goal of conversion overridden the Great Command of Jesus? You know, that love others thing that he said was on par with loving God. I mean, if I am going to go out and teach the things Jesus taught, wouldn’t it revolve around bold love?

The Christian agenda to “get” people is so weird to me. Having these strategizing meetings to best figure out how they can convert whomever and convince them of the “truth” they hold. I imagine Christians having a conversation with whomever non-Christian they want to convert, sitting there not listening but waiting for any chance to strategically insert their beliefs. It’s uncomfortable–that’s not how normal people have a conversation.

I’m not saying to never talk about your faith and beliefs. I really like Jesus and I talk about him all the time, but not with the agenda to convert anyone–that’s where it gets weird. Awkwardly inserting your religious ideals or straight up arguing why someone needs Jesus so they won’t go to hell is kind of creepy.

What if, instead of focusing so much on how we can convert, we focused all that energy on how we can love more boldly, like Jesus? Seriously, have meetings to figure out how to love our… [Read more…] about It's Okay to Love Your Religion without Forcing People to Convert

Do Our Pets Go to Heaven?

by Tony Cutty in Christian Issues

Do our pets go to Heaven? What about animals in general—will there be any animals in Heaven? The Bible is silent on this issue, but since so many people own pets and, rightly, grieve their passing, we often wonder whether animals will join us in Heaven, especially those who are our animals.

Let me first clarify that I’m not discussing whether Heaven happens now or later,  or whether it’s on Earth or “somewhere else.” What I’m referring to is simply the “afterlife.” And if there is an “afterlife” where we go to be with Jesus, do our pets join us there?

Other than a brief mention of “the lion shall lie down with the lamb,” the Bible is quiet on the “eternal fate” of animals. But it does hint that, just as humans are redeemed, so too Creation as a whole is redeemed on the back of our redemption. It’s all a bit mysterious, but the concept can be seen in passages such as Romans 8:19: “For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.” It’s as if, once the saints come into their inheritance, Creation follows suit. If Creation is truly redeemed, I think Heaven is going to be full of animals!

I’ve read many websites that downplay the idea of animals in Heaven. They talk about animals not being able to “accept Christ” and not being able to “understand salvation.” Clearly, many of these writers have never known the love and affection of a devoted family pet or the close relationship of a working animal with its master. When… [Read more…] about Do Our Pets Go to Heaven?

We Agree: We Can't Agree to Disagree on Anti-Gay Bigotry

by Don M. Burrows in Christian Issues

Over on the Patheos Evangelical Channel, some authors are still fighting the losing battle against the social acceptance of gay and lesbian people. I know, so 2004, right?

Well, every once in a while it’s probably good for us to engage their tired thinking and to once again point out why anti-gay theology is so fraught with problems. So when the Patheos Facebook Page recently shared a problematic piece by Grayson Gilbert titled “We Can’t Agree to Disagree on Homosexuality,” I went ahead and read it against my better judgment.

Before I take a closer look at Gilbert’s exegesis, let me concur with his title: it’s true, we can’t agree to disagree on what amounts to bigotry. I wouldn’t “agree to disagree” with a racist, and I’m not going to agree to disagree with someone who, like racists, clings to a traditional set of prejudiced notions despite the mountains of evidence against them, using instead a host of illogical and “biblical” rationalizations — just like the racists of yore did.

But when bigotry uses the tools of my trade — in this case Greek philology — I feel duty-bound to, yet again, set the record straight.

Gilbert, a self-described aspiring master’s student at the fundamentalist Moody Bible Institute, lectures us all about the meaning of the Greek in the famous clobber passage of 1 Cor. 6:9. In so doing, he parrots Al Mohler and a host of other conservative pseudo-intellectuals whose knowledge of Greek is clearly limited to the New Testament, making the routine… [Read more…] about We Agree: We Can't Agree to Disagree on Anti-Gay Bigotry