Links: Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 I'm reaching a part of this story that's very difficult to write about. In my last post, I mentioned that my doubts about my faith had reached a point that I knew I needed to talk to my parents and my wife's parents… Continue reading How It Happened: My Deconversion Part 5
Category: Faith
How It Happened: My Deconversion Part 4
Links: Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 In early 2010, my questions took a different track that I hadn't expected, and it happened quite by accident. I was writing material for the adult and high school Bible classes. We were about to begin a study of Christian Evidences, and I was writing a… Continue reading How It Happened: My Deconversion Part 4
How It Happened: My Deconversion Part 3
Links: Part 1 // Part 2 For most of 2009, I remained unsure of some of my beliefs. Doctrinally, I had a firm foundation -- I knew what I believed and why. But when it came to the subject of who would be saved and who wouldn't, I felt like I was at a loss.… Continue reading How It Happened: My Deconversion Part 3
How It Happened: My Deconversion Part 2
Part 1 can be found here. In studying the doctrine of Hell, I found some interesting things. First, Hell is not talked about in the Old Testament. The King James Version mentions "Hell" a number of times, but that's just a translation issue. The actual word used in the Old Testament is Sheol. Now, we… Continue reading How It Happened: My Deconversion Part 2
How It Happened: My Deconversion Part 1
Lately I've been reading The Bittersweet End, and I've been quite engrossed in the way his story is unfolding. He began the blog as a place to gather his thoughts about a few doubts he was dealing with. Over the last year, he has moved further and further away from belief, until he now pretty… Continue reading How It Happened: My Deconversion Part 1
Missing the Point
I got a facebook message that's been on my mind today. It was from someone very close to me who is still part of the church of Christ -- the sect of Christianity of which I was a member. As I've said before, my immediate family no longer associates with me or my wife because… Continue reading Missing the Point
Buffet-style Religion
I read a post over at Thomas Verenna's blog tonight that I found very interesting. He had been discussing the historicity of the gospels with a friend recently, and at one point he posed these two questions: (a) It *may* be true that portrayals of ancient figures have some historical kernels, but not always. How… Continue reading Buffet-style Religion
Tecumseh the Prophet
I just finished reading The Frontiersmen by Allan Eckert, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't realize how little I knew about this period of American history, until I read this book. Eckert's book is not historical fiction, it's an actual history covering the settlement of the areas around Kentucky and Ohio. It centers mostly… Continue reading Tecumseh the Prophet
KISS
Keep it simple, stupid. One of my college professors reminded us of that acronym constantly whenever we were discussing programming or system design. It tends to be good advice. I was reminded of it earlier today when I heard some people discussing the Sabbath Day. The Ten Commandments tell us that the Sabbath Day is… Continue reading KISS
Can a True Christian Ever Lose Her Faith?
Many Christians believe in the doctrine of eternal security, which teaches that once someone is saved, they can never lose that salvation. It's a very comforting thought, but it's not without controversy. First of all, not all Christians believe in this doctrine, because the Bible gives very mixed signals about it. Secondly, most people who… Continue reading Can a True Christian Ever Lose Her Faith?