Through A Glass Darkly

     Whenever I was a child, I was taught that we should have faith. Our faith was to rest in Jesus Christ and in him alone and were to believe that everything was going to work out for the good. We were taught that we should keep the faith in good times and in bad, knowing that through it all Christ would see us safely through. The sentiment is beautiful that there is a creator, someone who loves us, someone who cares for us; who is there beside us in every situation and sorrow. I haven't deconstructed to the point of deconversion, I feel that I am a Christian and I feel that I should still pray and ask God for help. My prayers are less different now than they used to be, but they are still prayers. I find comfort in my faith. In a world where I have increasingly less safe spaces, my faith is still a place I can go and feel comfortable and secure. Across the world, there have been millions of people who have had a beautiful face in a beautiful relationship with those thi...

  It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong. Thomas Sowell     I was a member of an IFB church for years, and in that time I saw a few things that always gave me pause. First it is usually made abundantly clear that if you don't want to be there you should leave. You will only hold those that are there. Second, if you blindly accept everything that comes out of the mouth of leadership you become a member in good standing. Challenging anything is not really appreciated, even if your questions are honest. Third, it is very easy for the leadership team to take advantage of those that are under them. I don't have a problem with the setup, I mean let's be honest someone has to be in charge, it is a fact of life in any organization. You don't have Fortune 500 companies without leadership. What we have been taught in America however is that the leader rea...

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24     In my last entry I wrote that I would share a personal example as to how a pastor making spiritual calls can negatively influence a christian, and a church. This is one of the first steps of my deconstruction, and literally started a journey that I am still on today. It starts with something as simple as service. In any IFB (Independent Fundamental Baptist) church there is an emphasis on service, doing our best for the Master as it were. This service becomes not only your claim to faithfulness, but it is the basis for rewards in the afterlife, and status in the present. I cannot tell you how many times that I have looked at others in the church and justified myself  because I had done some action that they had not. We are encouraged to do this for various reasons, there are obvious ones ...