Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

Outside the Gate

by James Clark in Christian Issues

Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood. Hebrews 13:12I don’t much care for the Church.

It’s a relief, after thirty odd years of trying, to admit to that troubling fact and decide that she’s probably just not the one for me.

A horror of divorce lurks deep in the bones of this cradle Catholic, so it wasn’t the easiest of decisions.

Truth be told it wasn’t a decision at all, in the ordinary sense of that word: I just woke up one Sunday morning and couldn’t face her.  The months have gone by and I am not at all sure that I will ever face her again.

The air is far sweeter out here. It’s pregnant with the heady scents of relief, freedom, and faith. The Scriptures still sing their impossible promises. The Spirit still hovers over the waters giving life to the dead and calling into existence the things that do not exist (see Romans 4:17).

Elizabeth Barret Browning wrote that,
Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.
Moses knew that too (Exodus 3:1-3).

So I realized something, perhaps for the first time, though it was something I glimpsed in waves for many years: I actually believe the Gospel.

Actually, it’s better than that: I know it’s true.

And I know, beyond all shadow of doubt, that it’s not conditional on Church membership of any kind. When he suffered outside… [Read more…] about Outside the Gate

No Condemnation!

by Christy Wood in Christian Issues

I remember the exact moment when I realized that Jesus not only loved me, but He also liked me unconditionally. Somehow in my mind I had confused the two. Love seemed like something He had to do because He was God, but I was pretty sure He only liked me when I was performing correctly.

It makes sense, sort of… Parents and teachers like us better when we follow the rules, and we feel their dislike when we are making poor choices. It’s hard to imagine God being different.

We put God in such a tiny box, a box made out of our own human reasoning and logic. We create a god we can understand, in our own image. Silly us! He is only more, always more than we could ever imagine!

I was in my early 20s, about four years out of my “cult,” looking pretty normal to the untrained eye, wearing jeans, having cut my waist length hair, dating my boyfriend (now husband), and going to college. In the past I’d always been the rule follower, the people pleaser, the “good” girl; I did the right things to make people and Jesus happy with me. I had standards and expectations for myself.

I might have perfected the art of looking good, but on the inside I was a wreck. I was losing control. Worry and stress were consuming me. I was fighting with anger and resentment. I started having panic attacks and because I didn’t know what they were, I thought I might be dying (but wouldn’t tell anyone). To top it all off, I felt guilty for being so “out of control.” I knew that there was no way God could… [Read more…] about No Condemnation!

What Delilah Deserves

by Sara Roberts Jones in Christian Issues

That devious jade Delilah.

Ever since her tragic Old Testament romance with Samson, Delilah’s name has been synonymous with a scheming, treacherous woman.

I think she deserves better.

Full disclosure: I’m reacting to more than just Delilah’s age-old reputation here. As a teenage girl, I sat under people who taught us that we women are dangerous to men. Not because we’re smart or competitive or even manipulative, but because we have female-shaped bodies. Men are weak to female-shaped bodies; trying to talk to, reason with, or relate to a man while existing in our female bodies made us dangerous.

And they backed it up with The Bible, as follows:

Adam, created perfect in God’s image, fell because of a woman.
Samson, the strongest man in history, fell because of a woman.
David, the man after God’s own heart, fell because of a woman.
Solomon, the wisest man in the world, fell because of lots of women.

Adam ate the fruit that Eve, deceived by Satan, offered him. Samson told Delilah the secret of his strength. David saw Bathsheba and had her brought to his bed. Solomon had thousands of wives for political advantage, and eventually worshiped their gods. These men made conscious decisions against their own moral compass or common sense. They were often influenced by women.

See? Women! You see who’s at fault here.

You see why I am reacting here.

Still, if you know the story of Samson and Delilah, you’re going to point out that Delilah wasn’t exactly a shrinking… [Read more…] about What Delilah Deserves

A Better Way To Evangelize

by Chuck Queen in Christian Issues

As many of you know, my first two degrees were from conservative, evangelical institutions. In those days I was immersed in evangelical theology and very much committed to evangelizing. The two approaches I was trained to use were called “The Roman Road” and “The Four Spiritual Laws.”

The Roman Road is a way of explaining the evangelical version of salvation using verses from Paul’s letter to the Romans. The first verse referenced is Romans 3:23: “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” The second verse says: “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). So the presentation begins with sin and death.

The Four Spiritual Laws does a little better. The first law says: “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” That is good news, but it is followed by the terrible theology of the second law: “Humanity is tainted by sin and is therefore separated from God. As a result, we cannot know God’s wonderful plan for our lives.” God’s love, then, is a carrot on a stick that in our flawed, sinful state we cannot experience, unless of course we meet the proper conditions: believe the right things, say the right things, do the right things.

While I agree that we are all tainted by sin, that all humanity and reality is flawed, it is not true that our sin separates us from God. If that were the case we could never experience God’s love, because we never get rid of our sin.

Evangelical… [Read more…] about A Better Way To Evangelize

When I found myself on the side of Religious Freedom Law supporters

by Franziska Garner in LGBT

God doesn’t talk to me. I don’t pray about things, I think about them. For me, the Holy Spirit is an abstract idea, someone who is mainly present in worship situations. I never raise my hands and I never pray together with others, standing in circles, out loud. On the contrary, I believe that I don’t have to pray about things because God will provide what is good for me and lead me on the best path anyway. It all worked for me – back home in Germany.

And then I came to the United States where everything is different.

God talks to my wife. Sometimes, she says she can feel a “quickening” in her heart and she becomes very still and listens. She and all of her Christian friends pray about things before they make a decision. On Sundays they are so moved by the Holy Spirit, they often raise their hands in worship. They call each other brothers and sisters and stand in circles to pray together … out loud.

Am I less religious than my wife?

I don’t think so. I feel a deep love for God and I trust God’s love for me. I trust that God sees me as someone beautiful and wonderful. Someone with a purpose in this world. Just like my wife does. Yet when I came to the United States, our expressions of faith were so completely different that I experienced a true culture shock. All that noise in the church that was so hard for me to bear, was for her just an expression of worship, of love. Praying over someone for healing was for me just magical thinking, while for her it was an expression… [Read more…] about When I found myself on the side of Religious Freedom Law supporters

An Open Letter to the Girl Who Failed

by Leanne J in Christian Spirituality

Dear friend,

I know who you are.

You’re the girl with the teacher who said you would never amount to anything.
The girl who looks in the mirror and sees a face full of imperfections.
The girl who trys so hard to overcome, only to succumb to the same thing over and over again.
The girl who looks to her friends with jealousy and envy.
The girl who feels like she’ll never be good enough.
The girl who feels as if she’s failed her parents.
The girl who knows no boy would ever want her.

The girl who tried her best and still failed.

And I just have one thing to say to you.

You’ve failed.

You’ve failed to see your worth and your value. You’ve failed to see that there is a God that loves, cares and knows your name. You’ve failed to see that our God is a loving God who turns broken things into something so beautiful. Sure, things may be spiraling down an unknown path but know that even if you think things are falling apart, things are falling into place.

Life can be unforgiving. Sometimes one mess up is all you need to think your life is ruined. But so the saying goes, when one door closes another one opens. I’ve had my fair share of fails that have cost me my friends, education and my relationship with God. But, if I’ve learned anything from all of this, it’s that it is possible to bounce back. I have faith in you, you can do it. Feeling discouraged is just the devil’s way of feeling better about himself. And we can’t… [Read more…] about An Open Letter to the Girl Who Failed

11 Bible Verses That Turn Christians Into Atheists

by Jeremy Myers in Christian Issues

I was recently having a discussion with an atheist who had grown up in a Christian family and had gone to church for the first twenty years of her life. But she became an atheist in her 20s.

When I asked her why she became an atheist, she said, “I started reading the Bible.”

We Christians often tell people that if they would only read the Bible, they would come to see that God is real and that He loves them. We hear testimony after testimony about how drug addicts and hookers were considering suicide but somehow got a Bible and started reading it and ended up giving their life to Christ.

I am not in any way denying such accounts or stories.

But I think it is also time to admit that while many people decided to follow Jesus as a result of reading the Bible, there are many others who turned away from God after reading the Bible.

Part of this, I am convinced, is because we Christians have said that the entire Bible is the Word of God, but then we ignore, gloss over, conveniently forget, or are simply dishonest about some of the more troubling portions of Scripture.

And there are many troubling portions of Scripture! (If you don’t believe me, read this book: Drunk with Blood).

I call these troubling texts “Atheist Maker Verses.” They are verses that do not point people to God, but instead lead people away from Him. Here are a few of the more blatant Atheist Maker Verses:
Genesis 19:8
“See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring… [Read more…] about 11 Bible Verses That Turn Christians Into Atheists

Why biblical inerrancy simply makes no sense

by Chuck Queen in Christian Issues

The reason biblical inerrancy simply makes no sense is this: It’s simply not true to human and universal reality.

Conservative Christians generally believe in a literal creation and fall, and because of the fall we are all sinners. Progressive Christians generally believe in some form of theistic evolution — that human beings and all forms of life have evolved, but God has been and continues to be engaged in the process in some way. Both camps offer myriads of variations and explanations to go with these two basic positions, but no one denies that human beings are flawed. We do not, of course, agree on how we became flawed, but we all readily admit that all life is flawed.

Conservatives emphasize original sin; progressives emphasize original blessing (which, by the way, is reason enough to compel anyone to be a progressive). But either way human beings are imperfect and flawed. The earthly creation is flawed. The universe is flawed. Jesus himself never claimed to be flawless. According to Mark’s Gospel Jesus was asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone?” (Mark 10:17-18). (It was later in the development of Christian doctrine that the institutional church attributed to Jesus sinlessness.) I suppose one could even argue that God, in light of universal flawed reality, is (I would say possibly, but not probably) flawed. (Process theologians believe God is evolving along with… [Read more…] about Why biblical inerrancy simply makes no sense

The Holy Spirit is not a Male, Conservative Evangelical

by Matthew Distefano in Christian Issues

I must begin this post with an admission that, if I’m being honest, I am not too proud of. You see, I sometimes troll. (But don’t lie, you do too!) This time, I happened to stumble upon the website of my former conservative evangelical church, and I even listened to the senior pastor’s most recent sermon about the Holy Spirit.

I’m not really sure what compelled me to do this, but perhaps it was because of the one sentence review a friend gave the sermon. With tongue firmly planted in cheek, she told me: “It was hilarious!” Call me a sinner, but after I heard that, I just couldn’t help myself — I had to give it a listen. And you know what? My friend was correct, if by “hilarious” she meant that it was a typical, less-than-compelling, watered-down approach to the divine (which can indeed be nearly laughable at times).

Often, great inaccuracies are created by a collection of small errors, so instead of getting into all the problematic points the pastor made during his sermon, I’m going to critique a few of the more subtly inaccurate things he said about who the Holy Spirit is.

To begin, the pastor insisted that the Holy Spirit is a “person.” Describing the Holy Spirit in this way isn’t necessarily wrong, but it’s also not the best descriptor. In the West (particularly in the United States), we think of a person as an autonomous individual. That is the lens through which most American Christians view each “person” of the Trinity, where each “person” has his… [Read more…] about The Holy Spirit is not a Male, Conservative Evangelical

Not Homeless Enough

by Margaret Somerville in Christian Issues

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Last month an article popped up on my newsfeed declaring that homelessness is on the decline! Waking up to my coffee in my warm suburban home, I felt the waves of relief washing over me. “Ah, another thing I don’t have to worry about today,” my guilt alleviated as I adjusted my thermostat on that unseasonably cold March day. But in a society in which we consume news 140 characters at a time and scroll rapidly past the latest sensational headlines, pronouncements such as this should be worrisome.

On March 22, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported a drop in the number of homeless residents of New Jersey, citing numbers that ranged from a statewide 3% decline in those using emergency housing, to 27% in Camden County, with two-thirds of the state’s counties reporting declines along this spectrum. This was just the most recent article among many in the past few years that have caused our consciences to leap at the good news proclaimed by the headlines. Homelessness is on the decline!

In 2013, The Atlantic announced, “The Astonishing Decline of Homelessness in America,” and a year later The Christian Science Monitor proclaimed “Homelessness declines as new thinking fuels ‘giant untold success.'” Even in the midst of a failing economy with record unemployment and unprecedented mortgage foreclosures, it was reported that there had been a 17% decrease in homelessness over the preceding decade.

At last, we had heard the call… [Read more…] about Not Homeless Enough