Skip to main content

losing my religion





Recently, two prominent people have announced their “defection” from Christianity and, for me, it’s particularly heartbreaking to read the harsh opinions about it. The truth though is that they are not alone. There is a seemingly large desertion, myself included, of the traditional ideas of church and religion. 

That begs to have the question answered, why?

Whether it be temporary or permanent, I’m finding that most of those that I talk with are looking for one thing. More. 
More love, less condemnation.
More inclusiveness, less division.
More openness, less judgment.
More world, less these 4 walls.
I believe that Jesus was all about a life of more. More than a book. More than a church service. More than a religion.  He was about going past what the people of that time knew. He was about finding the more, and that took shaking things up, asking hard questions, changing old thoughts, patterns, beliefs. 

 More always comes at the cost of loss.

 Those of us searching understand that. We have lost faith in our religion, our churches, our Christian community. We certainly didn't set out to lose so much. Or at least I didn't. But, in the process of searching for more, losing became our punishment as we discovered that our Christian lives had been built on the foundation of shared belief. One that didn't allow for questions, for searching, for more. 

I think that when those that had questions came to Jesus, He answered them. Not in a “do what I say or perish” way, but more like a “what a beautiful observation, let's dive into that” kind of way. I don’t believe that He condemned honest questioning, or shunned the ones asking, or even labeled them as rebellious. He welcomed them in even closer. He walked with them in their investigation of a truth that they could hold fast to.

I believe that even now He meets me just where I am, questions and all, and He brings the more that I am seeking.   

And, I’m willing to bet if The Church sat down to question these questioners instead of the swift and hurtful rebuke that I'm seeing, they’d find a lot more too.











Every whisper
Of every waking hour
I'm choosing my confessions
Trying to keep an eye on you
Like a hurt, lost and blinded fool
Oh no, I've said too much
 
That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no, I've said too much
I haven't said enough
 
Losing My Religion
R.E.M.


































Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

and the honor goes to...part 1

This will be a series of posts in which I honor people who have made an impact in my life, both in my past and in my present. I am blessed to still have some of these people in my life; others have left this life for their next one; others are no longer a part of my close circle, yet still made a difference to me. I want to share them with you. I want to honor them. I want them to know how much I love and respect them. The first one is dedicated to my childhood babysitter, Pat B. Growing up, both of my parents worked. This meant that my sister and I went to a babysitter when we were younger. We had a few, but the one that we spent the most time with, and that I remember the most, lived right up the road from us. We were actually neighbors, but being in the country, that meant a cornfield separated us. I recall being there when I was in kindergarten until I was old enough to stay by myself, probably around 12 or 13. I love to reminisce about my time there. It was my home away from ...
5 comments
Read more

the deconstruction of my life and other not-so-fun moments : reckless love

    About ten years ago, I caught on to this revolutionary (to me) idea of radical love. I wanted more than anything to be   Love, the mouthpiece, the hands, the feet of Jesus, the very embodiment of all that love is. I spoke about love and forgiveness, acceptance and grace. I was the voice. I helped feed the hungry and clothe the poor. I was the hands. I went about my life, in my own town, in another country, spreading this newfound love. I was the feet. The more I swam in the deep of this reckless sea of unadulterated love, the freer I was. It was liberating like no other point of my christian walk had been. I knew authenticity and openness and joy in limitless ways. This love was overflowing and I gave it away freely. but The church is not in the free business. It became quite clear that I was being too   free with my approach. Yes, god gives grace, BUT... Yes, god forgives, BUT... Yes, god accepts all, BUT... Of course god loves all, BUT... So, I tempered my love...
Post a Comment
Read more

shopping and drinking and eating, oh my

The first time that I remember a shopping "high", I was only a teen. I had had a disagreement with a friend and I was in my feelings - hurt, betrayed, excluded, passed over. I grabbed my newly acquired credit card and headed to the mall where I shopped til I dropped, from one end to the other, feeling better with each passing purchase. I maxed that card out. in one day. in one shopping excursion. but, I felt so good . Like, all the hurt could be hidden behind that new outfit, all the betrayal could be trampled under those new boots, all the exclusion was lost in that sweet new fragrance, and all the feelings of being passed over could be buried in the deep pockets of that new handbag. I was already involved in the drug life. I knew what it felt like to be high from that. and this felt the same. Nothing else mattered in the moment. ~~ I was never a casual drinker when I first started, six years below the legal age. I went straight for the hard liquor, very little chaser....
Post a Comment
Read more