Shuck and Jive


Tuesday, March 17, 2015

My Guest Post in The Friendly Atheist

Hemant Mehta of The Friendly Atheist contacted me and asked me to make a guest post on his blog.  Someone pointed him to my Eight Points and he thought his readers might be interested.  Some may stop at the title alone and make judgments.  I trust that some will choose to struggle with these questions along with me.
“How can you call yourself a Christian, let alone a minister?!” 
I get asked that question frequently and the questioner is hostile more often than not. Still, I like to answer it if I believe the questioner is sincere. 
Though I self-identify as a Christian and I am an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), I raised eyebrows a few years ago when I posted an article on my website about how my personal beliefs don’t align with those of most Presbyterians.
For example, I believe that: 
  • religion is a human construct 
  • the symbols of faith are products of human cultural evolution 
  • Jesus may have been an historical figure, but most of what we know about him is in the form of legend 
  • God is a symbol of myth-making and not credible as a supernatural being or force 
  • The Bible is a human product as opposed to special revelation from a divine being 
  • Human consciousness is the result of natural selection, so there’s no afterlife
In short, I regard the symbols of Christianity from a non-supernatural point of view….


2 comments:

  1. Saw the post over at Hemant's sight but also wanted to say that I am glad to see you more active on the blog again. Hope the west coast is treating you well.

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  2. Thanks, Erp! Yes it is good to be back, a little slower, but getting back into life again. Miss East Tennessee and the wonderful people there and now enjoying a new adventure in Portland with new wonderful people! Hope you are well, too!

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