Recovery From Dogma

I've edited and almost posted this entry at least ten times over the last 10 months.  Just when I think I've got it right, something else changes and it no longer seems relevant.  So, I'm going to have to just take a snapshot in time and get on with things. This is a work in progress.  There are still many people who don't know of my departure from conservative to progressive Christianity, let alone my movement toward Secular Humanism.  There will be some tough conversations yet to come. This is the most important and sensitive topic I've encountered on this expedition.  I place a high value on relationships.  Although I have many friends, few are in the inner circle of trust;  But those who are in my closest circle have earned my respect and my love, all in ways as unique as the relationships themselves.  I'd like to say I can grant all of that unconditionally, but I'd be lying; I don't know anyone who can live up to that ideal.  Suffice it...

Stupidity   is a lack of  intelligence ,  understanding ,  reason ,  wit , or  sense . Ignorance   (or  witlessness ) is a state of being uninformed (lack of  knowledge ). If you spend any time at all following secular humanists, atheists, and agnostics (I'll refer to them all as free thinkers ), you'll find that some of us claim that all believers  must be stupid, just as some believer assert that all non-believers (and people of other faiths) must be stupid not to see the truth , according to them. This is, of course, complete nonsense on both sides.  If one makes such a claim, regardless of which point of view held, they either suffer from a sample size problem or simply deny reality.  I have spent over 40 years of my life with Christians - conservative, moderate, progressive, liberal, evangelical, apathetic, "others" - and found many to be very intelligent (some brilliant), caring, loving, serving, people (the list could go...

Someone very close to me asked "Why are you doing this?  Why are you writing a blog and sharing all of this publicly?"  A simple question that I thought was self-evident from my " Coming Out " post.  Upon further reflection, the answer is far from self-evident.  In fact, it's the best question of all; Why?  I tried to answer her immediately, but the more I spoke, the more I realized that I needed to think more about the question and honestly deal with the answer.  The answer should shape how I go about things from here forward. Why do any of us blog, write books, or tell stories?  If it's just therapy, then we can journal in private and accomplish that objective. But private expression feels incomplete to some; they feel they need to say it aloud and get feedback.  A close friend once told me "That's just who you are; you need to express yourself."  I suppose that is true.  But the next question is " Why do I need to express myself?"...