Comments on: Navel Gazing http://ftlog.meanderwithme.com/2006/05/navel-gazing/ Deities. Dogma. Dating. Diapers. Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:57:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: It is what it is. » A few answers. http://ftlog.meanderwithme.com/2006/05/navel-gazing/#comment-12120 Tue, 02 Jan 2007 20:52:17 +0000 http://ftlog.meanderwithme.com/2006/05/navel-gazing/#comment-12120 [...] Then came a question from a fellow blogger. I realized that in allowing myself to self-identify as a Christian, I felt that I was lying. Authenticity has become one of the biggest goals/values in my life — so how could I lie (both to myself and others) about something so very important as religion? I finally admitted — out loud — that I questioned Christianity. Just the same, I quickly retracted that (frightening) thought in my very next blog post. But, the damage was done. I’d asked the question, and now I had to think — honestly consider — about an answer. [...] […] Then came a question from a fellow blogger. I realized that in allowing myself to self-identify as a Christian, I felt that I was lying. Authenticity has become one of the biggest goals/values in my life — so how could I lie (both to myself and others) about something so very important as religion? I finally admitted — out loud — that I questioned Christianity. Just the same, I quickly retracted that (frightening) thought in my very next blog post. But, the damage was done. I’d asked the question, and now I had to think — honestly consider — about an answer. […]

]]> by: Why this blog will change at Oh, for the love of God… http://ftlog.meanderwithme.com/2006/05/navel-gazing/#comment-5033 Thu, 07 Dec 2006 20:13:31 +0000 http://ftlog.meanderwithme.com/2006/05/navel-gazing/#comment-5033 [...] I read. And I thought. And the whole time, I buried my head in the sand about what was happening inside of my head and heart. I was becoming — if not atheist — most definitely agnostic. Then came a question from Arwen, one that woke me up. As I wrote an answer, I started to ask myself, Am I Christian at All? After that initial moment of questioning, I quickly resumed convincing myself that I was still a Believer. Whew! Dodged that bullet, didn’t I? [...] […] I read. And I thought. And the whole time, I buried my head in the sand about what was happening inside of my head and heart. I was becoming — if not atheist — most definitely agnostic. Then came a question from Arwen, one that woke me up. As I wrote an answer, I started to ask myself, Am I Christian at All? After that initial moment of questioning, I quickly resumed convincing myself that I was still a Believer. Whew! Dodged that bullet, didn’t I? […]

]]> by: Alli http://ftlog.meanderwithme.com/2006/05/navel-gazing/#comment-1181 Thu, 25 May 2006 21:18:14 +0000 http://ftlog.meanderwithme.com/2006/05/navel-gazing/#comment-1181 <blockquote cite="Arwen">I have another sticky question, though: would your Christian upbringing make you question your experience of the divine (or however you’d call it), if Christ was not part of the experience?</blockquote> I actually think I'm more comfortable with my experience of the divine when it *doesn't* involve Christ. This is part of what I was trying to address above -- that had your questions involved only asking about "God" (instead of "Christ"), they wouldn't have stirred up so many issues. I think that my own personal experiences of "the divine" (nice way to put it, btw) are the very reason that I still believe in God. There's simply more out there than we can see -- at least from my experience.

I have another sticky question, though: would your Christian upbringing make you question your experience of the divine (or however you’d call it), if Christ was not part of the experience?

I actually think I’m more comfortable with my experience of the divine when it *doesn’t* involve Christ. This is part of what I was trying to address above — that had your questions involved only asking about “God” (instead of “Christ”), they wouldn’t have stirred up so many issues.

I think that my own personal experiences of “the divine” (nice way to put it, btw) are the very reason that I still believe in God. There’s simply more out there than we can see — at least from my experience.

]]> by: Arwen http://ftlog.meanderwithme.com/2006/05/navel-gazing/#comment-1180 Thu, 25 May 2006 01:40:51 +0000 http://ftlog.meanderwithme.com/2006/05/navel-gazing/#comment-1180 Thank you for responding so clearly. I'm sorry I didn't get time to respond before (although I came and read...) I have had a house guest. If it helps at all, my mom's questioning of theology lead her to disbelieve in hell for a simple reason: She had heard "God the Father" her whole life, and on becoming a parent, she realized that she punished to instruct and HELP HER KIDS BE HAPPY, not because of revenge. I think the vengeful god idea comes more out of judaism which is so utterly differently structured than christianity: Yahweh is originally a god in a panopoly of gods, not a mono-theist. Yahweh is the god of the Jewish people: you spend exactly six seconds with even Orthodox Jews and you realize their construction of eternal punishment is so utterly foreign to christian thinking as to be unrecognizable. I tend to think that "hell" is the state of being away from whatever it is we were talking about. So Rachel: not in hell, regardless of her experience as being an atheist. Hell is when you are unable to connect: when you live for all the things that Christianity suggests are erroneous pleasures, and hurt other people on the way to get more for yourself. I have no problem with lust or greed or sloth or what have you being hellish if you're doing it at the expense of others and ignoring that there is something that connects us all; all the religions suggest that, I think, in a myriad of ways. Anyway, I find it interesting that you're questioning your Christian roots. I have another sticky question, though: would your Christian upbringing make you question your experience of the divine (or however you'd call it), if Christ was not part of the experience? Thank you for responding so clearly. I’m sorry I didn’t get time to respond before (although I came and read…) I have had a house guest.
If it helps at all, my mom’s questioning of theology lead her to disbelieve in hell for a simple reason: She had heard “God the Father” her whole life, and on becoming a parent, she realized that she punished to instruct and HELP HER KIDS BE HAPPY, not because of revenge. I think the vengeful god idea comes more out of judaism which is so utterly differently structured than christianity: Yahweh is originally a god in a panopoly of gods, not a mono-theist. Yahweh is the god of the Jewish people: you spend exactly six seconds with even Orthodox Jews and you realize their construction of eternal punishment is so utterly foreign to christian thinking as to be unrecognizable.

I tend to think that “hell” is the state of being away from whatever it is we were talking about. So Rachel: not in hell, regardless of her experience as being an atheist. Hell is when you are unable to connect: when you live for all the things that Christianity suggests are erroneous pleasures, and hurt other people on the way to get more for yourself. I have no problem with lust or greed or sloth or what have you being hellish if you’re doing it at the expense of others and ignoring that there is something that connects us all; all the religions suggest that, I think, in a myriad of ways.

Anyway, I find it interesting that you’re questioning your Christian roots. I have another sticky question, though: would your Christian upbringing make you question your experience of the divine (or however you’d call it), if Christ was not part of the experience?

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