Critical thinking

Do I think critically? I think I do. I've looked at several different web resources this morning that talk about critical thinking, and several of them stated that nobody thinks critically 100% of the time.  The last one that I looked at that was useful was this one. And when I looked at this one, it seemed like I met most of the criteria.

How does that relate to Christianity though? I didn't question it. I mean I did, but there were some things that I didn't question until now. Well, that was part of the culture. I mean, there were times when my mind butted up against those boundaries, but I always shied away from them again, because that was just wrong. So, it was made into a moral issue. It was wrong, or a sin, to question certain things. Or it showed a lack of faith. Or it would lead to destruction, death, and hell.

Introverts and speaking

Came across this article. Not even sure how that happened. I apparently clicked on a bunch of links yesterday and am reviewing them this morning. I don't remember the context and don't feel like backtracking. But I think it explains a lot and I want to come back, read it again, and share it with others. But not right now.

Pagan Christianity

A couple of years ago, my father was experiencing some disillusionment with the local church. I was living in Maryland at the time, while he was in his native Port Arthur, TX. We had tried virtual studies before, with varying degrees of success. I wasn't sure what to do. I decided to look for books about why church is the way it is, and alternative models. The two books I ended up with were Simply Church by Tony and Felicity Dale, and Pagan Christianity, by Frank Viola and George Barna. The latter book was pretty provocative. It talked of how Christianity was altered by the its "legitimatization" from the Roman Empire to become something completely different, and not necessarily better.

At the time I was really pro small group, and had been feeling particularly critical of the fact that the generic modern church model is so different from what Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 14. I was thinking home church was the way to go. I don't know if my father mentioned it at the time, but one of the problems with the model is the potential lack of accountability and training, which can lead to serious abuse. My friend Leticia has told me that she has heard so many horror stories during her time as a counselor about small churches that twist the scriptures to impose their will on well-meaning but gullible parishioners. Home churches would probably be worse.  How do you find that happy medium between large institutions and small bodies of believers?

Open Letter to those who knew me at Radiant Church

I imagine that at least a few people are wondering why I am leaving. The decision may seem sudden, and in a way it was. But part of me never wanted to settle at Radiant anyway. We had narrowed our search down to three churches: Covenant Life, Radiant, and Relevant. I liked Covenant Life, but my wife voted for Radiant. I'm not sure that she liked Radiant herself, but she felt our daughters liked it. Our younger two daughters are not saved, and my wife felt that any place they liked would be that much better because there was more of a chance they would be saved through that ministry. I didn't agree. I felt we would play a greater role in their salvation than a church, and so we needed to go where we, the parents, would be growing the most. When I started doing production, the girls stopped coming. But that's not the real reason.

I was looking for fellowship. I was looking to connect. We've been moving around for the past 19 years, and the worst part of moving is having to find a church each time. And we've had the worst time here in Tampa. After being here for 9 months, there is not a single person in Tampa that I would call a friend. I can't blame Radiant for that, but Radiant really didn't help either. I joined the production team because I figured that would help. It did, but not as much as I was hoping.

But there's another reason beyond that. I've been a Christian my whole life. I was raised by strong Christian parents, steeped in the Campus Crusade for Christ movement. I feel like there's never been a time when I didn't know the Four Spiritual Laws. I was baptized when I was 7; I am 45 now. I am more than halfway through a Masters in Biblical Interpretation. But lately I have begun questioning the bible, my faith, and the church in a way that I never have before. And the answers that I'm coming up with aren't in keeping with the way I was raised, which was Baptist, followed by Pentecostalism as an adult. Some of the answers line up more with Progressive Christianity. Some of them don't line up anywhere. But my spiritual journey is leading me off the beaten path, and I'm not sure where I'll end up, but I doubt it will be Radiant Church.

Spanish words of the day

Today's words are:
asustar - to frighten
pesadilla - nightmare

Spanish word of the day

Cese del fuego - Cease fire. Also alto el fuego.

Spanish word of the day

Oler - to smell. It is irregular in the present tense: yo huela, tú huelas, usted huela, nosotros olamos, ustedes huelan.