I hear you, and I enjoyed your writing. Because the comments are on, I assume you are okay reading people’s reactions to your ideas.
I’m 42 now, ex-evangelical to reconstructing to kinda churchy again now, but in really different mindset … and I can totally tell you that God even loves lukewarm believers. I’m confident. Yes. We are in the in-between, already, not yet… my evangelical upbringing was an all or nothing mindset, but that is not a true belief, it’s coercion and “because I said so”. It’s not true faith. Beautiful thinks happen in the middle, like you said. The time between night and morning with the colors and the hope of a new day’s possibilities. I think my 30s were a big part of the transition to accepting grey areas. God is in the grey areas. But I wouldn’t compare God to a burr, because although burrs are seeds being dispersed away from the parent plant, they are annoying and sometimes thorny. I think it’s humans who are more like the seeds, being scattered by the passage of time, and we are the ones who grow in different places and reflect the image of the main plant. Like, I’m sure you are familiar with all the Vine and Branches metaphors that Jesus used and the church-speak on this kind of topic.
But anyway. God does not hate you (or me), and realizing that God isn’t mad at me helped me to shift mindset to deconstruction of my evangelical upbringing.
Also, there’s a great poetic thinker Christian thinker named Hannah Anderson and her book Humble Roots was what came to mind when I was reading your essay.
Really enjoyed this read! ❤️ I am ex-Mormon and don’t subscribe to any specific religion, except to that all-encompassing word, Love.
Fear cannot live inside love and humans have a way of making us think otherwise. God doesn’t love with conditions. I have a better, more authentic connection to God/Source/Universe, whatever you want to call them, now than I ever did before because I listened to my own inner knowing to guide me. Each and every person has the their own ability to access love and “God”. Any person or religion that tells you otherwise (and not trust your own intuition) is doing so under their own misguided beliefs or agenda.
I love that you can still appreciate the true essence of God in the small doses you’ve found. Let go of the guilt and shame we humans attach to so much. You do you! Fear, guilt, shame, etc. can’t exist within Love, in whatever form love takes. Anyway, thank you for sharing your thoughts! Much love! 💞
My biggest three-tier trophy was for winning the Religion Bee, the first trophy awarded to a sixth-grader, in over 50 years. I don’t consider myself an ex-catholic. Just a post Catholic. I didn’t have to reject it. I just had to look deeper into it and beyond it.
Despite all the technology. Despite science. Despite all we know about what we don’t know. We can still appreciate, with awe, wonder, joy, and love, our presence here and how the human mind, around the globe, and throughout history, has confabulated or otherwise formulated, guesses about what this all is.
It’s wonderful, isn’t it? Even on a bad day.
Even on the very worst day, it’s beautiful. Sacred, really.
This read 😩 “this is the official call to redeem the lukewarm”. I needed these words today. And so beautifully, poetically written. Happy belated birthday from a fellow January girlie :’)
I hear you, and I enjoyed your writing. Because the comments are on, I assume you are okay reading people’s reactions to your ideas.
I’m 42 now, ex-evangelical to reconstructing to kinda churchy again now, but in really different mindset … and I can totally tell you that God even loves lukewarm believers. I’m confident. Yes. We are in the in-between, already, not yet… my evangelical upbringing was an all or nothing mindset, but that is not a true belief, it’s coercion and “because I said so”. It’s not true faith. Beautiful thinks happen in the middle, like you said. The time between night and morning with the colors and the hope of a new day’s possibilities. I think my 30s were a big part of the transition to accepting grey areas. God is in the grey areas. But I wouldn’t compare God to a burr, because although burrs are seeds being dispersed away from the parent plant, they are annoying and sometimes thorny. I think it’s humans who are more like the seeds, being scattered by the passage of time, and we are the ones who grow in different places and reflect the image of the main plant. Like, I’m sure you are familiar with all the Vine and Branches metaphors that Jesus used and the church-speak on this kind of topic.
But anyway. God does not hate you (or me), and realizing that God isn’t mad at me helped me to shift mindset to deconstruction of my evangelical upbringing.
Also, there’s a great poetic thinker Christian thinker named Hannah Anderson and her book Humble Roots was what came to mind when I was reading your essay.
holy. holy. holy. your words are breath-taking.
Thank you friend! Really appreciate you reading xx
So lovely to read, thank you for sharing
Thank you Micala <3
Really enjoyed this read! ❤️ I am ex-Mormon and don’t subscribe to any specific religion, except to that all-encompassing word, Love.
Fear cannot live inside love and humans have a way of making us think otherwise. God doesn’t love with conditions. I have a better, more authentic connection to God/Source/Universe, whatever you want to call them, now than I ever did before because I listened to my own inner knowing to guide me. Each and every person has the their own ability to access love and “God”. Any person or religion that tells you otherwise (and not trust your own intuition) is doing so under their own misguided beliefs or agenda.
I love that you can still appreciate the true essence of God in the small doses you’ve found. Let go of the guilt and shame we humans attach to so much. You do you! Fear, guilt, shame, etc. can’t exist within Love, in whatever form love takes. Anyway, thank you for sharing your thoughts! Much love! 💞
My biggest three-tier trophy was for winning the Religion Bee, the first trophy awarded to a sixth-grader, in over 50 years. I don’t consider myself an ex-catholic. Just a post Catholic. I didn’t have to reject it. I just had to look deeper into it and beyond it.
Despite all the technology. Despite science. Despite all we know about what we don’t know. We can still appreciate, with awe, wonder, joy, and love, our presence here and how the human mind, around the globe, and throughout history, has confabulated or otherwise formulated, guesses about what this all is.
It’s wonderful, isn’t it? Even on a bad day.
Even on the very worst day, it’s beautiful. Sacred, really.
Love the idea of loving god in small doses, I think I align on that 💚✨ beautiful read!
This read 😩 “this is the official call to redeem the lukewarm”. I needed these words today. And so beautifully, poetically written. Happy belated birthday from a fellow January girlie :’)