personal journey

It’s been quite a while since I posted anything here, and I’m afraid that the reasons are a bit complex. There are a number of pieces I find myself wanting to put together, some of which even fit with the mission I scribbled down for the site when I started it. (A review of Franky Schaeffer’s book, ‘Crazy for God,’ and an article exploring Francis Schaeffer’s role in the birth and growth of the Christian Right are both on the table. For now I’ve just got a link to the MeFi thread I started on the topic…)

Most of the things that are occupying my thoughts, however, are a bit more vague and not entirely pleasant. For quite some time I’ve seen myself as fundamentally Christian — someone who accepts the essential exclusive-truth-claims of Scripture. I hammer away at many aspects of Christian culture that I perceive as damaging and destructive, but I always explained this as trying to protect the essential core of Christianity.

More and more, though, I’ve come to the conclusion that this essential core I have been defending is not, in fact, Christianity. It’s not the chewy nougat center of orthodox doctrine: it’s basic human decency, a bedrock of moral and ethical care for others that I believe any decent human being needs to hold onto. One of the fundamental difficulties faced by Christians is that Scripture, when read on its own terms, contradicts many of these basic, fundamental principles. Continue reading...