In my thread "Pastor gives 'F You' sermon", user "Ethan Thane Athen" posted:
That gave me a chuckle. I quoted it to My Better Half, who said:
"Oh. really? Well, I certainly hope he's right, but I'm not holding my breath!"
Am I becoming a Christian?
Well, for the past two years and three months or so, I have been attending church with Susan.
(for those unfamiliar with why I started attending church with My Better Half, read this post
Every week since then (other than when we were at TAM, or when one or both of us was ill), I have:
Many times (though not every week) I have also
And, apart from the church, Susan and I spent 90 days reading the Bible aloud, cover to cover, in our home.
...and probably even more things which aren't occuring to me at the moment.
While I am definitely more comfortable in a church setting than I was two years ago, I am still firmly Agnostic and - as far as I can tell, anyway - do not feel even an inch closer to believing in God (or in the "divinity of Christ", etcetera).
Much to my surprise, I have come to think of this church as "our church", and the community of believers there as my "church family".
That I am a non-believer is pretty widely known there (I have discussed it with the Pastors, the choir leaders and the Pathfinders group. Susan has discussed it with her Women's Bible Study group, and it figured prominently in a piece she wrote for the church's email newsletter), yet I continue to feel that I am a welcomed and valued member of the community.
So, will I become a Christian, or, at least, a believer in God?
I doubt it, but I am open to the possibility that I may one day find compelling evidence which will lead me to either of those conclusions. After all, that is how skepticism works, right? Going wherever the evidence takes you, even if where it takes you is not where you expected to be taken?
And this is FAR FROM THE FIRST TIME I have participated within a community of people who believe differently than I do (although this is definitely the longest time I have spent in such a community). For example, when I hosted my radio show Resident Skeptic on the "All-Paranormal" Para-X radio station/site, and spent hours every day in the site's chat room, chatting with believers and "psychics", going so far as to refer to "psychic" Mama Lisa in a post here as my "dear friend", there were some here who worried that I would start believing in "psychic powers". But that never happened. Not even close.
I hope that in my 12+ years here I have shown that I can be trusted to examine the evidence and come to solid, fact-based conclusions.
And be assured: If I ever come to a conclusion in this which is counter to my current position, I will definitely announce that on the JREF forum, for a "peer review", if you will, of the logic I used to arrive at that conclusion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ethan Thane Athen (Post 9443262) another thread that illustrates RSL's slow, but seemingly inevitable, descent into christianity... |
That gave me a chuckle. I quoted it to My Better Half, who said:
"Oh. really? Well, I certainly hope he's right, but I'm not holding my breath!"
Am I becoming a Christian?
Well, for the past two years and three months or so, I have been attending church with Susan.
(for those unfamiliar with why I started attending church with My Better Half, read this post
Every week since then (other than when we were at TAM, or when one or both of us was ill), I have:
- Attended Sunday morning service
- Attended the Pathfinders "Community Group" (Adult Sunday School class)
- Dined at the church's weekly "community dinner"
- Sung in (and rehearsed with) the church choir.
Many times (though not every week) I have also
- Volunteered in the church library
- Attended a MEN's Bible Study group
- Attended a "sing" in the home of one of the other Pathfinder couples (a "sing" is where people get together and sing hymns and other inspirational songs)
- Gone out to lunch or dinner with other Pathfinder couples
And, apart from the church, Susan and I spent 90 days reading the Bible aloud, cover to cover, in our home.
...and probably even more things which aren't occuring to me at the moment.
While I am definitely more comfortable in a church setting than I was two years ago, I am still firmly Agnostic and - as far as I can tell, anyway - do not feel even an inch closer to believing in God (or in the "divinity of Christ", etcetera).
Much to my surprise, I have come to think of this church as "our church", and the community of believers there as my "church family".
That I am a non-believer is pretty widely known there (I have discussed it with the Pastors, the choir leaders and the Pathfinders group. Susan has discussed it with her Women's Bible Study group, and it figured prominently in a piece she wrote for the church's email newsletter), yet I continue to feel that I am a welcomed and valued member of the community.
So, will I become a Christian, or, at least, a believer in God?
I doubt it, but I am open to the possibility that I may one day find compelling evidence which will lead me to either of those conclusions. After all, that is how skepticism works, right? Going wherever the evidence takes you, even if where it takes you is not where you expected to be taken?
And this is FAR FROM THE FIRST TIME I have participated within a community of people who believe differently than I do (although this is definitely the longest time I have spent in such a community). For example, when I hosted my radio show Resident Skeptic on the "All-Paranormal" Para-X radio station/site, and spent hours every day in the site's chat room, chatting with believers and "psychics", going so far as to refer to "psychic" Mama Lisa in a post here as my "dear friend", there were some here who worried that I would start believing in "psychic powers". But that never happened. Not even close.
I hope that in my 12+ years here I have shown that I can be trusted to examine the evidence and come to solid, fact-based conclusions.
And be assured: If I ever come to a conclusion in this which is counter to my current position, I will definitely announce that on the JREF forum, for a "peer review", if you will, of the logic I used to arrive at that conclusion.
via JREF Forum http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=264123&goto=newpost
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