Why Are You Doing This?

I was raised in the Christian Church. I used to be so immersed in things Christian that it dominated the whole of my being - the entirety of my lifestyle from my early adolescence to my early 20's. It was in my early 20's that I came to a set of beliefs that have little to do with comtemporary Christianity -- grounded more in humanisdm and agnosticism. But I cannot seem to escape the pull of Christianity; I still love spiritual issues. I still listen to Christian music. I still feel the value of religious teaching. And I still really dig the Christian Bible and still find it useful for investigating spiritual matters.

"Well, dumbass," you may say, "why not get involved with the Unitarian Universalist church? That seems right up your alley!"

Well, I have tried the Unitarian Church and, y'know, they don't really go far enough. Much of my experience with the Unitarians has been reactionary (if you will) to Christianity. many Unitarians are not so much Unitarian as they are not Christian. There MUST be a religious or spiritual way for people to come together that is focused on the postive spiritual aspects of being WITHOUT sacrificing one's personal intellectual growth in the process. We don't need a poltically liberal version of the current church model. We need a whole new way of thinking about nurturing an intelligent spiritual community.

These writings are not so much essays as journal entries for me to work through what the New Church in America will look like.

Who knows? It may all come to nothing after all. Maybe the whole pursuit is worthless; but I am so drawn to this kind of thing, I am at least going to have to chase this for awhile.

Considering the volitility of the subject matter, I am reluctant to open up with dialogue on the subject. But I am forced to contend that dialogue is ABSOLUTELY necessary for developing ANY kind of social structure. So that said, here are a few guidelines:

I don't mind dialogue with Christians on the subject, but I have done a lot of searching in my short life and am very firm in what I believe. Trying to convert me will get you nowhere.

I reserve the right not to answer you.

I also reserve the right to be wrong. I am basically just publishing my thoughts here.

Thank you!