There is no label for my spiritual state. Post-Christian
Monotheist might take us part of the way, but any journey involves a certain
amount of baggage and it doesn’t all fit into one little pigeonhole. It’s
probably easiest to tell people that I’m “no longer a Christian”, but that
isn’t the end of the story. How can I decide for sure until I’ve fully explored
the options?
So the task for 2013 is to explore them … as many places of
worship as I can squeeze into a year, a different church every Sunday and
possibly a few wildcards along the way. I’m going to be an anthropologist, but
this is as much about myself as it will be about any religious group I visit, looking
in from the outside and trying to work out why I don’t fit and if I’m really
okay with that.
Hello.
ReplyDeleteI've just read many of your entries. Fascinating, cynical but kindly, incisive and humorous. I love it! As a visitor to many churches myself there's a lot of stuff that is - not to put too fine a point on it - simply embarrassing and at times hideous. Lenny Henry had a good line about "Every week people are leaving church and finding God!"
Anyway, I'm an evangelical (how I dislike the term) because I found God disturbing my scepticism while studying Maths at university (a long time ago now). I am active in a church and am a little fearful of what your blog might be like after visiting the one I go to :)
I will read your future entries with great interest and await your conclusion about whether you are happy about not fitting.
Kindest regards
David
Thanks, David. You're right about the embarrassing nature of some church antics; I've cringed a lot in the past six months.
ReplyDeleteAre you willing to tell me which church you go to, or are you just going to wait and see if I happen to go there before the search is over?
Liberton Kirk. If you come, say hello and we can have the customary cup of coffee after. (Could be tricky though. I don't know what you look like.)
ReplyDeleteI can recommend a few other churches in the city too. From the large and contemporary (Destiny) to the small and alternative (Mosaic) and all points in between. There's also a great little network of churches in our area, South East Edinburgh, that all pull together. I can't guarantee any of these will be immune from some things you may not like, but you may find some things that you do.
But in your search perhaps you should move the goal posts a little: are you looking for reasons why you don't 'fit' in church or for authentic faith in those who attend (or yourself)?
Kind regards.
Okay, so Liberton Kirk goes on the list. Thanks for the other suggestions too. As it happens, I was about to write something about the parameters of "the mission", which I think still stand. Here's my six-month review:
ReplyDeletehttp://soulsearch2013.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/the-story-so-far.html
did you find a church full of the jeezus & keep praying for your sinful existance on earth or decide to live as you were born; freethinking?
ReplyDelete