I Believe and Don’t Believe

I Believe and Don’t Believe September 11, 2021
Things I totally don’t believe and I think are harmful and corruptions of the Christian faith:
1. Total depravity, the idea that we’re all just awful and that’s why we need God to save us.
2. That we are all constantly at risk of going to hell because of some thing we do or believe or doubt.
3. You get saved by accepting Jesus as your personal savior.
4. There is an “order of creation” ordained by God that establishes gender roles, family structure, etc.
5. The Bible is inerrant.
6. You should shun people who begin to believe differently than those in your community.
7. All religions actually lead us on the same path to God.
8. Religions are mutually exclusive.
9. Priests should be men because Jesus was a dude.
10. America was founded as a Christian nation.
A few things I believe that might surprise you:
1. The “Old Testament” really isn’t that violent.
2. Paul was incredible, and didn’t steal the gospel from Jesus. Paul made the gospel possible.
3. Christianity didn’t turn the kin-dom of God message into a message about Jesus the Christ. Those were always the same thing.
4. I don’t take many parts of the Bible literally, and other parts I think simply don’t match the historical record, and there are internal inconsistencies, but I still think the whole thing is the Word of God.
5. A lot of the legal code isn’t legalistic, it’s actually a model for social justice.
6. I don’t know what I mean or others mean when they say they believe in God. I do believe God believes in us.
7. I love my family but I think the message of Jesus was basically anti-family and definitely anti-ties by blood.
8. What you give financially to the church isn’t benevolence. It’s your dues, similar to joining the Elks club. And you get a LOT for what you contribute.
9. I’m a literalist on “let your yes be yes and your no be no” and “don’t make pledges or swear oaths at all.”
10. We don’t go to heaven when we die.

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