I would like to ask my friends in this small ECF group for their opinions and their prayers for some Divinely inspired direction. I recently moved to my new home and feel compelled to find a church home here. I didn't before now, because I knew that I was going to be moving soon. I can't use that excuse anymore.
I have been a Christian for about five years now. I believe in a literal interpretation of the bible, I am traditionalist, a pre-melinialist, not a Calvinist or Charismatic, and very conservative. My favorite teachers on the subject of faith are C.S. Lewis (of course,) Jesse DuPlantis, Perry Stone, and Jack Van Impe (I am fascinated with eschatology.) One of my favorite books ever is An Excellent Wife by Margaret Peace, which is about a woman's role in a traditional patriarchal marriage. The closest match to my beliefs, denomination-wise, is Independent Baptist - at least as far as my research has produced.
But I understand that not everyone believes the same as I do. I refuse to condemn anyone for being on a different place in their personal spiritual path and doing what they believe God wants them to do. Among fundamentalist Christians, I see a lot of intolerance and an attitude of "My religion is the only right one and you are evil and wrong if you do not believe what I believe." My faith is the most correct one I have been able to find, based on what God has told me. But I have no right to condemn anyone else for their faith. I can only tell people what I have learned, and be a good example.
For the thirty plus years prior to a "road to Damascus" experience, I was eclectic pagan, for lack of a better description. I studied Wicca and its variants, Theosophy, Hinduism, Catholicism, Gnosticism, just to name a few. I was a member of a Unitarian Universalist church in Ohio and was very active in the C.U.U.P.s branch, occasionally officiating rituals myself. I liked that UUs accept that faith comes in different forms to different people. I enjoyed the social and family orientation of the group.
But I did not like the focus on liberal politics and "social justice" that UU churches have. I cannot be comfortable in that political environment because of my personal views - conservatives are not well received. UUs also refuse to take a position on anything. It brings to mind the old saying "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything." If there is no right or wrong answer to anything, how can they assist me in finding the right way on my path?
So that is my quandary. I am strongly convicted that both have part of what is right, and both have parts that are wrong. I am pretty sure spending every other week at one, and every other week at the other is not the answer. And finding a church that is somewhere between the two sounds too much like Revelations 3:15&16 "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarmneither hot nor coldI am about to spit you out of my mouth."
What do you think? I am putting this in God's hands and He will point me in the right direction. He is telling me to use the logical brain that He gave me. I think that He may speak to me through my friends. Just typing this all out is helpful too.
Thank you for reading this and I welcome any replies.
Be well,
~A
I have been a Christian for about five years now. I believe in a literal interpretation of the bible, I am traditionalist, a pre-melinialist, not a Calvinist or Charismatic, and very conservative. My favorite teachers on the subject of faith are C.S. Lewis (of course,) Jesse DuPlantis, Perry Stone, and Jack Van Impe (I am fascinated with eschatology.) One of my favorite books ever is An Excellent Wife by Margaret Peace, which is about a woman's role in a traditional patriarchal marriage. The closest match to my beliefs, denomination-wise, is Independent Baptist - at least as far as my research has produced.
But I understand that not everyone believes the same as I do. I refuse to condemn anyone for being on a different place in their personal spiritual path and doing what they believe God wants them to do. Among fundamentalist Christians, I see a lot of intolerance and an attitude of "My religion is the only right one and you are evil and wrong if you do not believe what I believe." My faith is the most correct one I have been able to find, based on what God has told me. But I have no right to condemn anyone else for their faith. I can only tell people what I have learned, and be a good example.
For the thirty plus years prior to a "road to Damascus" experience, I was eclectic pagan, for lack of a better description. I studied Wicca and its variants, Theosophy, Hinduism, Catholicism, Gnosticism, just to name a few. I was a member of a Unitarian Universalist church in Ohio and was very active in the C.U.U.P.s branch, occasionally officiating rituals myself. I liked that UUs accept that faith comes in different forms to different people. I enjoyed the social and family orientation of the group.
But I did not like the focus on liberal politics and "social justice" that UU churches have. I cannot be comfortable in that political environment because of my personal views - conservatives are not well received. UUs also refuse to take a position on anything. It brings to mind the old saying "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything." If there is no right or wrong answer to anything, how can they assist me in finding the right way on my path?
So that is my quandary. I am strongly convicted that both have part of what is right, and both have parts that are wrong. I am pretty sure spending every other week at one, and every other week at the other is not the answer. And finding a church that is somewhere between the two sounds too much like Revelations 3:15&16 "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarmneither hot nor coldI am about to spit you out of my mouth."
What do you think? I am putting this in God's hands and He will point me in the right direction. He is telling me to use the logical brain that He gave me. I think that He may speak to me through my friends. Just typing this all out is helpful too.
Thank you for reading this and I welcome any replies.
Be well,
~A