Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

belinda croft

The Rapture, Hell and Salvation: How Our Doctrines Can Breed Fear, Suspicion and Judgment

by Belinda Croft in Christian Issues

The Clean Out
Apprehension overwhelmed me this morning as I entered into a personal clothes clean-out flurry. What if, all of a sudden, I want to wear the top or jeans I had just ejected from my cupboard? Had I made an immense fashion mistake getting rid of them?

I managed to productively remove two bags of clothing from my life. However, it’s a little scary now as I analyze what I have left.

The clothes in my wardrobe bring a mysterious segue …

Lately I have been considering the practicality of fervently holding to doctrines and beliefs.

Locked up within many of our doctrines are misinformation and misunderstandings that have been passed on through generations of religion and denominations, and in some cases mistranslation of the original text.
What Doctrines Do You Adhere To?
Our beliefs regarding “Hell” can affect how we deal with people and how we view God. For example: “I’m right, and they are going to Hell” or  “I’m going to Hell, so who cares how I live” or “You need to confess otherwise you are going to Hell” or even “A God who condemns people to Hell–what kind of God is that?”

Beliefs about the “End Times” and “The Rapture” can dictate steps that Christians must take to prepare themselves for those events.

Strong procedural beliefs about baptism can create judgements and impose requirements on the journeys of others.

Our understanding of “sin” plays out in our observation and treatment of non-Christians and Christians (including… [Read more…] about The Rapture, Hell and Salvation: How Our Doctrines Can Breed Fear, Suspicion and Judgment

Confessions of a Party Girl

by Belinda Croft in Christian Spirituality

As I stood at the entrance to our favorite night club, I looked across the road at man standing on a wooden box yelling at the crowds of party-goers walking by: “Repent now! Your sins will send you to hell!” I shook my head and looked down as a mixture of feelings washed over me. I was angry at God for not being as loving as my heart so desperately needed. I was angry at this man for yelling at people. I was mad at the conditions placed on my behavior.

After leaving home at 19, I spent many years trying to be a “normal person” and finding out who I was. I risked my life and safety many times. I wanted community and desired to live life closely with my friends. It didn’t come boxed clean like my crisp Christian life had done in the years before, but I had community. We talked about the depths and rawness of life. We spoke unbridled and without judgment of our thoughts and ideas on spirituality and “god.” We cried together while binging on junk food and mid-range bourbon. We shared pain and joy and I wouldn’t take back those years for anything.

My experiences and the people I met have given me compassion and understanding for those from all different walks of life.

The crisp Christian life

Deep down I always knew God existed, but my perspective was that He was disappointed with me, due to my constant inability to please Him. And while I was out galavanting around the countryside, He had no choice but to remove Himself and His love from me because I was disgusting in that… [Read more…] about Confessions of a Party Girl

The Judging Epidemic: Please Drop Your Rocks

by Belinda Croft in Christian Issues

In a still moment, on the second floor of this building, I look out the window to the world around me. Life is happening. I feel a very tangible presence of God. It’s a gloriously tipsy feeling that hugs my body and my heart. It makes me smile. I am reminded of God’s desire and love for me. Always for me. Always kind. Always loving. It is the love that my heart has been longing for.

I am totally smitten with the creator of the universe. Not because I can bring much to the relationship, but because He loves me so perfectly. I can put the world on hold and it feels like it is only me and Him.

The weight of the rock

But amid this beauty I sense a heaviness within me–it is the weight of judgement rocks. The rocks we throw every day at others. Our perception. Our opinion. Our judgement. Watching the responses to the Orlando massacre, to the debate on transgender bathroom use, to the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, and to the shootings of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge–my heart sinks as I process the pain our judgment often causes.

Maybe you’ve expressed your opinions in the form of little (or big), private (or very public) comments that you feel rising up within you. Maybe you’ve felt that you are in the best position to make a judgement call, to have a moment of “truth,” to speak out without knowing all the facts.

You collect a rock off the ground …

“There was a woman raped on the street. She was probably wearing a short skirt… [Read more…] about The Judging Epidemic: Please Drop Your Rocks