Please Read This First

Hi! I’m Brother Scott and before you read any of my posts, I ask that you read this first. It’s meant to enlighten you into my mindset, so that if I’m fortunate enough to find readers, there may be some understanding into the workings of my noggin.


I’m 61, with no formal education (Too many drugs in my youth) and I question everything, to the delight of some and the consternation of others. To use a popular buzzword in the modern-day Christian vernacular, I de-constructed. For those who are not familiar with that term, here is a short definition. “A critical re-appraisal of one's faith tradition” in my case Western Evangelicalism, which sprung out of The Great Awakening that happened between the 1720s and 1740s in colonial America. Readers should know that I am eternally grateful for this movement. I believe it's because of Western Evangelicalism that the missionary push to spread the gospel came to its zenith. However, that being said, after examining many of the beliefs that I had embraced since and comparing them to other forms of Christian orthodoxy...I have questions. Questions that should be asked, whether or not there are answers, is another thing entirely.


Unlike many who deconstruct then de-converted from the Christian faith, I didn’t. It actually solidified my beliefs, allowed me to put things in a proper perspective and take an unfettered look at church dogma through the lens of the early church. This is when I investigated other more ancient forms of Christianity and though I did find a lot of commonality, I also found many deviations in thought and doctrines


Cognitive dissonance is quite common when confronted with some unpleasant truths about one’s beliefs. It's something that I've experienced and I can tell you it's a bit unnerving. To give it a brief definition would be the following “Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes”. In other words, some of my writings may vex you, they may go against what you have been taught, and you may not like it. I understand but I won't apologize. Sometimes uncomfortable truths are necessary for the overall spiritual health of the believer. I want to see you healthy.


But please don't think that my musings will only be about doctrinal issues There are plenty of other issues I'm concerned with, and I'll elaborate on them more fully in a future time.


So in closing, I'm in no way "liberal" theologically. I fully believe in the Deity, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. He is both Fully God and Fully man. I can’t explain in detail how that’s possible, but after all he is God. So I'll just leave it at that.



Happy Reading!


Bro. Scott

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Biblical Inerrancy vs Moral Infallibility Part 2

Taking a Nuanced Approach to Inerrantcy Part 4

Words Matter, Definitions Matter