To make it fun: try posting something in 111 words or less. The Apostles Creed contains exactly 111 words. It is the essential statement of the Christian belief that goes back to the origins of Christianity.
Invite your friends, believing or non-believing. Let's have fun and learn from listening to each other, whether you attach your name to your post or do it anonymously.
From Amazon.com: Have you ever doubted your faith? Have you ever, deep down in your heart, doubted that God was really present in your life? Or wondered whether everything you believed in as a Christian was false? / Call it existential doubt. Call it “the dark night of the soul,” as one Christian saint famously did. Whatever you call it, it’s real. It is personal, it is painful, it is distressing, and it can last for years — maybe even a lifetime. / You are not alone. Such crises of the soul have come upon saints throughout Christian history — from John of the Cross in the sixteenth century to Mother Teresa in our own time. In fact, there may be something of this God-doubting in all of us. At some point in our Christian walk, most of us have traveled — or will travel — this dark path. / In Faith at the Edge Robert Wennberg draws from his own experience with doubt to address such troubling issues. But he also calls upon the wisdom and insight of such figures as Blaise Pascal, G. K. Chesterton, Simone Weil, C. S. Lewis, and Martin Marty. Laying out a theologically insightful account of what happens during doubt, Wennberg helps us understand how we can cope with these dark episodes and even profit from them spiritually.
I had my first chat with someone today in the vein of my upcoming series on "Core Doubts." Here's a list of issues I jotted down from just one 1/2 hour with the person I was reconnecting with:
How can the Bible be considered "true" and "authoritatively accurate" if it was passed on for so many centuries? Isn't it like the telephone analogy where the message ends up totally different than when it started? How can it be trusted?
Isn't the Bible full of contradictions? Why aren't Christians protesting the eating of shellfish?
Two words: "Prop Eight"
Doesn't the version of God most Christians have portray him as a selfish brat? "Do all this for ME otherwise you'll be damned forever?" Aren't most parents more loving & accepting of their kids than that?
Is it really helpful to live out a "sinful from birth" theology? Isn't this damaging to self-esteem? If great things happen in our life, it's got to be more than just "glory to God"....isn't it more of a joint effort?
Isn't there great hypocrisy in a lot of Christian stances? Like the protester who believes that if he dies he goes right to heaven, but he's holding up a sign that promotes letting someone live in a miserable vegetative state rather than letting them "be with God" by pulling the plug?
Well, now that's a wealth of issues! This couldn't be off to a better start!
For those of you just joining the blog, I'm preaching a series in January on Core Doubts, which will be directly related to all the issues that I hear people talking about between now and then. comment on the blog if you have your own stuff to chime in on. My rule of thumb on this stuff is to be in "listening-mode"on all these issues until January comes. So, sorry to any of you who are wishing I'd respond to all of them. More reason to set aside Sunday mornings in January & February!
I really like this article. John Ross is a guy I've met, but I really don't know him well. He has a unique comic approach with his stand-up that I think is incredibly funny. What I like about this article is that Becca Costello lets John's distancing himself from Christianity to be mainly told through John's own words--and his words allow for the ambiguity of his journey. I could be reading it wrong, and I'm sensitive to how articles rarely quote people accurately, but that's my take.
Also, and perhaps more of a discussion starter, is that the things John Ross seems to be distancing himself from in terms of the Christian religion are not the kinds of things I've ever found prominent in the Christian communities I've been a part of. He references constant guilt, a culture of sweeping problems under the rug with the idea that "I'm healed," and also, importantly, not being able to poke fun of your own religion. Those definitely seem to me to be more in the category of sub-cultural baggage of the American religious version of Christianity. I hope I'm not reading too far into things...all I have to go on is what the article says. Regardless, I find it an intriguing thing to ponder & discuss. What do you think?
I love the closing quote:
“My prayer is, ‘Hey, God. Hey, universe. If you want to say something to me, say it in a way that I understand it. I’m open to it, but I’m kind of done figuring out what language you speak.’”
Ross stretched out his arms and raised his eyes to the ceiling. “What?” he asked the heavens. “What?”
We hope to successfully record them all for our 8-week series on the Bible entitled "The Book that Understands You." Also, if interested, short-term groups are forming if you want to have some people to walk along with during this particular series. Let me know.
