Christianity is a very historical religion - it makes specific claims that are open to testing.
One of the embarrassing problems for the early nineteenth-century champions of the Christian faith was that not one of the first six Presidents of the United States was an orthodox Christian.
I think of the Bible as an unauthorized biography.
And why are we supposed to be serious about God? Did God show up and crack the whip? “You there, Annie in Ohio, I see you laughing a lot and frankly it really pisses Me off . . . “ (50)
Did God create man, or did man create God? Either way, the decision needs to be reviewed.
The Bible is the ultimate authority and infallible, not the pastor and not the elders. And it doesn't mean that you believe everything he says without examining it.
If one's careful study of the facts shows that the Catholic Church is correct about Jesus-his life, teachings, death, and Resurrection-then why not give the Church the benefit of the doubt and carefully study her reasons for rejecting contraception, homosexual acts, and women's ordination?
I think religion is a funny thing because, when you see somebody who can really break it down, sometimes it feels foolish what you believe.
You see, some non-Catholic friends of mine have questioned the depth of my faith because of the fact that I have a good education.
I do recognize and I feel very comfortable with people taking a good look at how I've lived my life, and obviously my faith is a big part of that.
Take from the church the miraculous, the supernatural, the incomprehensible, the unreasonable, the impossible, the unknowable, the absurd, and nothing but a vacuum remains.
I think the issue of clergy sexual abuse sparked people to look at their faith in a different way.
