Faith Crisis.

May 11th, 2006, 09:08 AM

Hi all. Just stopping by. Lot's goin' on in my life. Actually considering that maybe not everything in the Bible is to be taken so literally, maybe it has a deeper meaning. Yet some view such a way of thinking like blasphemy!

I need advice, 'cause right now I'm in deep.

I've started exploring Islam and the Bahai Faith a little more. Still not sure, but it's driving the wife paranoid. For the sake of stability, I promissed I wouldn't associate with any Muslims or bahais. Yet I refused to sensor myself from their books. I can't help it. As for the kids, well, we married Christian, and so I agreed to raise them Christian as promissed. I now realise that our faith community is actually dominionist. Those of you who'd read my previous posts know where I'm comming from.

So what to do? I think I'm being reasonable. No association with other religious communities, raising the kids Christian. But I still need to reserve the right to explore for myself. I just fear divorce if it ever comes to that. But I couldn't live a lie and pretend my Faith either. I'll go to church every Sunday, but i won't say I profess the Christian Faith if I don't. I could try to profess it, but it seems beyond my choice right now. I'm trying hard to believe in this old dominionist thing I was brought up in, but I can't. Any advice for my sanity here? i just want the freedom to explore my own spirituality without devorce hanging over my head.

Any ideas whatsoever?

May 11th, 2006, 10:07 AM

Like the gold the allusion references faith is of more value when tested.

May 11th, 2006, 10:42 AM

Ah Crusader, boy do I ever know that one. Normally I wouldn't presume to offer anyone advice about how to deal with a personal crisis of faith, but you did ask...

First, I can assure you that you needn't lose your faith in this exploration, and second, that what's happening to you is a good thing, though it may be hard to see it that way at the moment. I may be reading more into your post than what's there, but I've read all your posts at least once and I suspect what you're really coming up against is the fundamentalist tendency to take all the metaphors and allegories in Scripture literally.

One of the most deeply religious men I know is an Anglican minister, and one of my best friends, with whom I've had many deep and significant conversations on these matters. You need to find a guy like him to talk to, a religious person who brings a scholarly and deeply compassionate understanding to his faith. He asked me in a recent exchange what my view is of what he was doing in his calling, because he knows I don't share his views. I answered him this way: "You probe, you test, you challenge, you question, you analyze, you find out what works, you modify your views based on that, and you never close the door on reassessment, " which is actually a pretty good description of how science proceeds too. It's a style of what's called hermeneutical reasoning, which is about interpretation and theories of interpretation of texts. So I guess the first qualification in the person you're looking for is that it be someone who knows what hermeneutical means.

Edited to add this:

If you're at all of a scholarly bent yourself, i.e. able to study things from books, and I presume you are or you wouldn't be exploring Muslim and Bahai texts, I cannot recommend too highly the works of Tom Harpur and Bishop John Shelby Spong. The Religion section of any good bookstore will have a selection of their works. They're very thoughtful and serious men of faith, who write well.

And let me leave you with this, one of my favourite bits of Scripture:

1 Thessalonians 5:21: Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

May 11th, 2006, 12:17 PM

Hi Crusader,

I love Dexter's response to you.... and I agree with him. I would like to add however, that it is entirely possible to raise your children and exisit in a marriage of different faith than yourself.
My kids go to a Catholic School. If you knew how anti-organized religion I am, you would find this quite a contradiciton. I won't get into how this situation came about - suffice it to say that it was a compromise with my ex. Anyway, the manner in which I deal with my children's religious education is pretty much what Dexter wrote. I encourage them to continually question, challenge and probe. I often present them with alternnative ways to view things. The upshot is that my kids are presently immersed in a school system that provides an opportunity to at least be aware (at a basic level) of their spirituality, and it is up to me to use this as a springboard to explore other avenues of thought. So far, I think we're pretty well on track - both my kids do seem quite comfortable challenging what they are asked to believe, and opening their minds to the bigger picture out there...
Hope that provides you with a small measure of comfort at least to know that it is possible to keep young minds open....

Best of luck in this Crusader - I commend you for not taking the easy way out - it's too important to be comfortable in your beliefs to accept what is foisted upon you. Much better to have a faith that envelopes you in hope and spirit.

May 11th, 2006, 03:40 PM


Oh Doll I REALLY hear you! My Sister and Brother in law (and me) have been raised Roman Catholic. My Bro and I have found our own paths. Sis is a CCD teacher lol and they agreed to raise the boy Catholic (he's an alter boy) . I see it as a mixed marrage lol with its ups and downs. Bro is into Toahism (dont shoot the speller) (Im soooooo proud of him!) But they have a great agreement going on, Bro goes to Ti quan do and on high masses its mandatory he attends. Sis is given a small dosage of "new age" reading by MOI and at some point it will meet in the middle Its tough I really know but compromise it truely important in this situation. My Bro tells me constantly "My teaching keep me sain while I wait for her to take the next step" (Now imagine that with a Providence RI Projects accent.....YO! ) LOL

May 12th, 2006, 11:08 AM

Crusader, check your Private Messages. I talked to my Minister friend about your situation, and with his permission I've sent you his email address. He's very approachable, and if anyone can help you with this, he can.

May 14th, 2006, 01:45 AM

Crusader? Crusader? Where are you man, there are people here trying to help you. You haven't come back in here and you haven't picked up your PMs.