Looking for a community for encouragement and discussion

gafpromise

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Hi, newbie here and overwhelmed by the multitudes of topics! Sometimes I don't feel like a real Christian and I have trouble finding a place where I fit in. Let me know if any of this sounds familiar to you and if you know of any profitable discussion groups and resources for encouragement, articles, and in-depth discussion of the Christian walk.

  1. About me: I'm in the USA and was raised Evangelical but interested in moving away from that.
  2. I believe in taking the Bible seriously without necessarily taking it literally, and in fact in some contexts, taking the text literally is precisely NOT how it was meant to be interpreted. But I give the Bible the benefit of the doubt and I believe it is divinely inspired.
  3. I am a traditionalist regarding sexuality; but also I believe strongly that it is not my place to be militant or judge the way someone is living their life. There are many people who both claim to be Christian, and have non-traditional views of gender, so who am I to say that their faith is not sincere or that they need to be convicted? Only the Lord knows their heart.
  4. I am deeply uncomfortable with the entanglement of politics with church, on both sides of the political spectrum. You should not have to subscribe to a particular political viewpoint to feel welcome at church. The church should preach the Bible from the pulpit as a general rule, not become a vehicle for the pastor's pet topics.
  5. I am deeply uncomfortable with an emotional approach to living in faith, for a couple of reasons. Evangelical pop worship music is full of professing our love for the Lord, and I don't really know what that means. I honor the Lord and believe He is worthy to be glorified, but love? I'm generally uncomfortable with emotion and am very reserved in most areas of life. There is this general feeling of trying to manufacture an emotional experience in worship, and to say you "felt" the Lord's presence, and if that didn't happen then it wasn't fruitful worship?
  6. Related to 4, I don't think I've had a personal transcendent encounter with the Lord - something that couldn't be explained, or divine intervention, or a miracle of some kind. I've never experienced anything like this. On the contrary I have prayed and asked the Lord to show up and He hasn't.
  7. I want to discuss the Bible and the Christian walk in a more rational way based on reason, versus based on emotional experience. I'm not looking for people to quote Bible verses and platitudes at me, but to actually engage in a thoughtful way about theology and praxis. I want to have a discussion or read an article and come away uplifted and have increased my knowledge. Max Lucado can take a hike.
 

Halbhh

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Hi, newbie here and overwhelmed by the multitudes of topics! Sometimes I don't feel like a real Christian and I have trouble finding a place where I fit in. Let me know if any of this sounds familiar to you and if you know of any profitable discussion groups and resources for encouragement, articles, and in-depth discussion of the Christian walk.

  1. About me: I'm in the USA and was raised Evangelical but interested in moving away from that.
  2. I believe in taking the Bible seriously without necessarily taking it literally, and in fact in some contexts, taking the text literally is precisely NOT how it was meant to be interpreted. But I give the Bible the benefit of the doubt and I believe it is divinely inspired.
  3. I am a traditionalist regarding sexuality; but also I believe strongly that it is not my place to be militant or judge the way someone is living their life. There are many people who both claim to be Christian, and have non-traditional views of gender, so who am I to say that their faith is not sincere or that they need to be convicted? Only the Lord knows their heart.
  4. I am deeply uncomfortable with the entanglement of politics with church, on both sides of the political spectrum. You should not have to subscribe to a particular political viewpoint to feel welcome at church. The church should preach the Bible from the pulpit as a general rule, not become a vehicle for the pastor's pet topics.
  5. I am deeply uncomfortable with an emotional approach to living in faith, for a couple of reasons. Evangelical pop worship music is full of professing our love for the Lord, and I don't really know what that means. I honor the Lord and believe He is worthy to be glorified, but love? I'm generally uncomfortable with emotion and am very reserved in most areas of life. There is this general feeling of trying to manufacture an emotional experience in worship, and to say you "felt" the Lord's presence, and if that didn't happen then it wasn't fruitful worship?
  6. Related to 4, I don't think I've had a personal transcendent encounter with the Lord - something that couldn't be explained, or divine intervention, or a miracle of some kind. I've never experienced anything like this. On the contrary I have prayed and asked the Lord to show up and He hasn't.
  7. I want to discuss the Bible and the Christian walk in a more rational way based on reason, versus based on emotional experience. I'm not looking for people to quote Bible verses and platitudes at me, but to actually engage in a thoughtful way about theology and praxis. I want to have a discussion or read an article and come away uplifted and have increased my knowledge. Max Lucado can take a hike.
Welcome to CF. Perhaps you'd like talking with me. There is such a wide range of things there you have mentioned. One (not the only important one!) I'd like to mention right now is our range of natural temperaments. God has made us each unique, and just one of many aspects is how temperament ranges in many dimensions, including on the emotional vs analytic thinking oriented spectrum. It's good that we are not all alike of course, and over time I've slowly learned (I'm over 50) to appreciate even the most opposite temperaments to my own. To use a simple example, it's totally ok with me at this point in life if someone sways as they sing, or is totally motionless. :) So, when seeing very diverse styles of singing and such, I've slowly gotten over time to where I really do enjoy the very unalike different styles, so that some of my favorite Christian songs include both people that are totally motionless, even sitting, and on the other end people that are practically dancing or jumping around as they sing. (It's ok to have a preference for one style or another, but we also over time become broadened.) This is of course less important than some other topics you raised, but does have one important side, that as we continue to "walk in the spirit" we are over time going to grow (of course!) to love in new ways, to hear in new ways. So, if someone is very intellectual and cool tempered, or another is very emotional, both are ok with me. Welcome, and hope to see you around.
 
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Phronema

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Hello, and welcome to CF.

I recall a time that I also would attend services where people would have "experiences" of the type you're referring to, and I didn't feel as if I fit in well as I wasn't having the same types of experiences while they were. So, I began to wonder if there was something "wrong" with me, or if I was a bad Christian. I was much younger at that time, and thought maybe Christianity wasn't for me though I was very incorrect that it wasn't for me. Christ is for everyone. So, I've been in a similar situation.

If you're looking for a more traditional type of Christianity that takes into account both a cerebral, and mystical approach then Orthodox Christianity may well be worth looking into. On the other hand for some people it's a bit too traditional, but I enjoy the meditative, and introspective approach to the Divine Liturgy as a layman.

Nonetheless here is a section of the forum for Orthodox Christians, but of course others are welcome to post in fellowship, and I believe you'd find it edifying though it's not Protestant.

The Ancient Way - Eastern Orthodox

I hope you find a suitable group of people to fellowship with on your journey.
 
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1watchman

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Hi, newbie here and overwhelmed by the multitudes of topics! Sometimes I don't feel like a real Christian and I have trouble finding a place where I fit in. Let me know if any of this sounds familiar to you and if you know of any profitable discussion groups and resources for encouragement, articles, and in-depth discussion of the Christian walk.

  1. About me: I'm in the USA and was raised Evangelical but interested in moving away from that.
  2. I believe in taking the Bible seriously without necessarily taking it literally, and in fact in some contexts, taking the text literally is precisely NOT how it was meant to be interpreted. But I give the Bible the benefit of the doubt and I believe it is divinely inspired.
  3. I am a traditionalist regarding sexuality; but also I believe strongly that it is not my place to be militant or judge the way someone is living their life. There are many people who both claim to be Christian, and have non-traditional views of gender, so who am I to say that their faith is not sincere or that they need to be convicted? Only the Lord knows their heart.
  4. I am deeply uncomfortable with the entanglement of politics with church, on both sides of the political spectrum. You should not have to subscribe to a particular political viewpoint to feel welcome at church. The church should preach the Bible from the pulpit as a general rule, not become a vehicle for the pastor's pet topics.
  5. I am deeply uncomfortable with an emotional approach to living in faith, for a couple of reasons. Evangelical pop worship music is full of professing our love for the Lord, and I don't really know what that means. I honor the Lord and believe He is worthy to be glorified, but love? I'm generally uncomfortable with emotion and am very reserved in most areas of life. There is this general feeling of trying to manufacture an emotional experience in worship, and to say you "felt" the Lord's presence, and if that didn't happen then it wasn't fruitful worship?
  6. Related to 4, I don't think I've had a personal transcendent encounter with the Lord - something that couldn't be explained, or divine intervention, or a miracle of some kind. I've never experienced anything like this. On the contrary I have prayed and asked the Lord to show up and He hasn't.
  7. I want to discuss the Bible and the Christian walk in a more rational way based on reason, versus based on emotional experience. I'm not looking for people to quote Bible verses and platitudes at me, but to actually engage in a thoughtful way about theology and praxis. I want to have a discussion or read an article and come away uplifted and have increased my knowledge. Max Lucado can take a hike.

It is always good to be open to the Word of God, rather than religious ideas people have. We all should value Bible-only! Often people do not take "all the counsel of God" as He calls us to, so end up with a sectarian approach to our Holy Bible. You can write me privately herein if strictly Bible is what you value; and we can discuss these thoughts you have without controversy. I don't know everything, but after many years of study with scholars, walking with the Lord, I have been settled with what God has given for us, rather than what man likes to innovate. Keep praying for God's leading, friend; and be "rightly dividing the Word of Truth" as enjoined by our Creator-God.
 
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