Welcome to my updated blog.
I have been on an unusual journey through Christendom (see sidebar for a controversial definition) that started in a thriving Anglican Church in London over 60 years ago when I was 22 .
Six years later I was treasurer of the local Parish Church despite having rejected what I had been taught in a Baptist Sunday School about the trinity when I was 13.
I have never had any formal theological training and these ‘doubts’ about the trinity have always been a part of my journey.
It was Richard Holloway (the former leader of the Episcopal Church in Scotland) who suggested that the symbol ‘God’ is one of the most ambiguous of human inventions.
I was already retired when I started using the internet in 1997 and created my first web site in 2000. With hindsight that was the start of an on-going Work-In-Progress that has now lasted over 19 years.
I was drawn away from a traditional Christian Church some 48 years ago and in the last 12 years in particular I’ve been able to share something of the stories of some 2,000 people including several leaders who have been drawn away from the churches that they may have attended for many years.
Do you recognise any of these descriptions? – see here.
I had already started drafting “What do people understand by the word ‘God’?” when in April this year I listened to an interview with Barbara Brown Taylor about her new book, “Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others” where Barbara had been asked for her thoughts about “What do you think when you use the word God?”. You can see what she said 13 years ago and her recent response here.
This was another one of those watershed moments as a result of which I have completely changed the introduction to my blog.
It was in August 2018 that I had listened to a podcast entitled, “The Invisible Church” discussing the experiences of churchless Christians. I could relate to almost everything that was said.
I’ve made my own summary that can be found here.
In “Stepping Stones” I have tried to summarise just a little of the journey that has led me to this point in time.
I do appreciate that this introduction has only scratched the surface of the journey I have been on for so long.
I just sense that what Barbara has said now would have been very helpful for at least some of those people going through a time of ‘deconstruction’ or as we used to say a ‘wilderness journey’.
So “What do people understand by the word ‘God’?” see here.
Would you like to share some of your thoughts?
