news…

It all depends how one measures ‘distance’, I suppose.

I was expecting you to correct me since you do have a NTPR with JC

Yes, I’m “almost an atheist” but at the same time I might have a personal relationship with Jesus.

And despite what some Christians may think, lack of certainty is not the unforgivable sin

And…we have fun because Jesus set us free from taking ourselves too seriously

I’m with Helen my “almost an atheist” colleague

I’m inclined to agree with Mike here. While there are some encouraging things happening here, the majority of the posts I’ve read seem designed to make Christians feel guilty about following Jesus. Nearly all the posts I’ve read from Christians bend over backwards to agree with every little thing an atheist posts while at the same time confessing a quasi-spiritual guilt about believing the claims of Christ. Paul said “I am not ashamed of the gospel” but most of the Christians here seem to have the opposite confession. Surely there is a balance somewhere but I have yet to see it.

We’re not ashamed of Jesus or following Jesus.

We are ashamed of the same things Paul was ashamed of. We’re ashamed of the times when our zeal for God resulted in us persecuting people instead of loving them, which meant we were persecuting Jesus too. Like Paul Jesus has turned us around and we’re thankful for that.

One other observation: I am a little uneasy regarding the token nature of the atheists that have been placed in leadership roles here. There is a sense of parading them in front of the church as if to say, “Look how spiritual we are! We have an atheist!” It reminds me of the early days of affirmative action when if you were a white middle class male you had to find a black friend so you could prove to everyone you weren’t a bigot. “This is my black friend!”

If you’re referring to me, I’m not an atheist, by the way. I’m a non-traditional Christian.

I suppose everyone who has a friend not like them could get accused of just trying to prove something. But some people genuinely like those who are not like them.

I am in whole-hearted agreement with much of what is going on here. I love the open dialog, I love the respect and dignity with which people are treating ech other. I love the idea of breaking out of old tired cliches and looking at things differently.

Thanks.

But not at the expense of Truth. The Truth sets us free and, no matter what else we do here, if that gets lost none of the rest of it matters a bit.

It’s precisely because the truth sets us free that we oppose any so-called ‘truth’ which in fact binds people with chains of shame and guilt.

We do this using the weapons which we believe God has called us to use.

We expect to be misunderstood because that’s what happens to people who follow Jesus and don’t let anyone turn them back.

And…we have fun because Jesus set us free from taking ourselves too seriously.

I agree that we need to stop taking our selves so seriously especially since often we can’t tell whether what we are defending or offended by is something Jesus invented or something we’ve inherited by traditions of the Christianity.

think about how often Jesus offended the Pharisees. It was like his recreation. And he used Non Cs to do all of it ( I know…)

Why should we not expect him to do that to us?

It is Jason’s point, being willing to engage in self criticism, that helps me to stay connected to my friends who are A.K.A. Lost in an authentic and genuine way.

Yes indeed. Thanks for your comments, Jim.

It is Jason’s point, being willing to engage in self criticism, that helps me to stay connected to my friends who are A.K.A. Lost in an authentic and genuine way. I am refreshed by self evaluation, (sometimes, and sometimes it bums me out) it helps me remain aware that this whole missional living thing is a much bigger deal than I am and that I need to be as real in my assesment of who I am and what I am doing as I can be. Sorry for the ramble, but I wanted to share how valuable Jason’s comments were to me.