See "About this blog" for an introduction.
Over two million people are leaving the 'traditional' churches of Europe and North America every year. Why?
Over two million people are leaving the 'traditional' churches of Europe and North America every year. Why?
Could it be that there is an enormous difference between the Christian RELIGION (Christendom) and the Christian FAITH?
This is one of a number of awkward questions that I would like to encourage others to consider.
It was several years ago that I found a controversial definition of ‘Christendom’ that gives plenty of food for thought. How can we look at some of the terrible ‘crimes’ that have been committed in the name of Christianity and relate that to a loving God?.
Are we seeing the beginning of the end of Christendom (the Christian religion – as opposed to the Christian faith)? Is this the reason why many committed Christians are being called away from the churches that they may have attended for many years?***
A few thoughts for starters:
- Mankind has created a religion called Christianity (sometimes referred to as Christendom) .
- As a result of Christendom some people are looking for God in the wrong places and attempting to appease a God who doesn't need to be appeased.
- Religion thrives on fear!
- I find it sad that much preaching suggests we are separated from God; that we don't measure up; that we are being condemned by an angry God; that we need to repent before God will change his mind!
Like many others who have been drawn away from churches they may have attended for many years, I'm convinced that some of the teachings of traditional Christianity are misguided! I would go so far as to suggest that some of the foundations are seriously misguided. But I'm only an uneducated believer!
It was in 2003 that I really became aware of the emerging / emergent / house church movements and what was then being referred to by some as “the out of church Christians”. It was in the same year that I found the book “So you don’t want to go to church anymore” on the web when the authors had only written the first three chapters. As a result of the traumatic experiences of 1995/6 and my ongoing experiences since then, I have developed a real feeling for some of those who are being challenged to reconsider their whole belief systems and even their roles in life - whether or not they have ever had a leadership position.
When I look back on my unusual journey, I realise that I had been questioning the meaning and significance of some aspects of the Christian FAITH from an early age. I had been forced to attend Sunday School until I was 14 despite the fact that my parents (who had left school at 13 and 14) had never owned a Bible and never attended church.
I don’t remember ever doubting the existence of God but I do have a clear recollection of my rejection when I was 13, of the nonsensical way in which the trinity was explained. This subsequently had a major influence on my understanding of some of the enormous differences I see between the Christian RELIGION and the Christian FAITH. I have written elsewhere about how, after reading “The Shack” for the second time in 2007, I found myself wondering, “Why has it taken 57 years for someone to give me a picture of the trinity that really begins to make sense?".
Over the years - especially since 2003 - I have been reconsidering many aspects of the Christian FAITH and in the posts that follow I have gathered together what seem to me to be some of the most significant questions that might be considered by those who are seeing something of this difference between the Christian FAITH and the Christian RELIGION.
I recognise that we are all on unique journeys and have been influenced by many different factors. Questions that have been important to some have not been important to others. Maybe like me, you have sometimes felt that you haven't been able to come to any meaningful conclusion on a particular topic, and just 'put it on the shelf' to be considered later.
