Here's a question for my readers. What are your faith systems of 1) your childhood, and 2) today? How has your faith changed over your life? I want your answers to be as specific as possible, i.e. "I was raised without religion and now I'm a Baptist" or "I was born into a nominal Catholic family and now I'm an atheist." Feel free to add some steps if there are more, such as "I was Mormon, then Jehovah's Witness, then Reformed Baptist, then Lutheran, then I lived in a commune in Berkeley, and now I'm an Anglican priest."
For me, I was raised in a typical non-religious suburban American family that never went to church. I became a Christian at 30, and after brief stops at Harold Camping's church and a Reformed Baptist church, am in a non-denominational Christian church that generally considers itself evangelical, Protestant and Reformed.
How about you?
Hi Steve et al,
ReplyDeleteI was born and raised in an evangelical christian family and church situation. During college I started to leave some of the more arminian theology I had while younger. After a nice stop at a reformed bible church, I have recently left the traditional church all together. I do like the house church idea, but think that it often can just be a traditional church in a house! Right now, not meeting regularly with any group, just trying to stay in contact with various believers scattered around my city...
I grew up in a benevolent, Gestopo Church of Christ (they were nice but very, very legalistic). Over the years I have been to less and less legalistic Churches of Christ and am now attending a Charismatic-ish, non-denominational church. I also have a home church that meets in my home and I am hoping to transistion totally to that.
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat question! My family was Christian Reformed, but since we lived in a remote location, we attended various churches over the years without becoming members: very conservative Baptist, Pentecostal, United (because they happened to have a good pastor for a year or two), and Evangelical Baptist. I married a Christian Reformed guy and we have attended CRC churches whenever we've lived near enough, but also non-denom and e-free. We are currently struggling with the discovery of very post-modern feelings in ourselves, and I'm personally hoping to become Catholic, though we really have no idea where we're headed at this point.
ReplyDeleteI was raised in the United Methodist Church, but my church attendance was sketchy at times, and decreased as I hit my teens. In my late teens I had a pretty radical life change and attended non-denominational Charismatic churches for several years. Then there were several years where I did not attend church. When I started back to church again around 2003, it was generally "community" churches, loosely affiliated with Southern Baptist, I think. About two years ago, my wife and I stopped attending Sunday morning church, and our primary assembly has been as part of a home church, which continues today.
ReplyDeleteI was born into a preacher's family being the fifth generation of our denomination. Of course, my original faith was really my parent's. It was while in college that I started to get serious about my relationship with God. Every day (almost) I read/hear something that causes a reevaluation of my faith. I don't fear being forced into a paradigm shift. I've made many over the years.
ReplyDeleteI grew up among pagans. When I was 17 years old the Lord saved me (1970). I was a Jesus Freak. I lived in Christian communes and was a member of an American Baptist Church. After being a Christian for about five years I came into the Reformed faith (Calvinism). I joined the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Next I went to Bible College in Michigan where we were members of an independent Dutch Reformed Church. When we went South to seminary we joined the Presbyterian Church in America. When we moved North we joined with a group starting an independent Dutch Reformed Church. After being in this 10 years church we left due to doctrinal differences. My wife joined a local Presbyterian Church in American and I stopped going to church about four years ago. I still consider myself conservative, evangelical, and Reformed-but am more concerned about being a Christian and not a Calvinist. (I reject the Reformed view of the Torah, sacraments, and covenant theology)
ReplyDeleteI was raised in a nominally Anglican family, attended Sunday school at a smells and bells (High) Anglican church, mostly without my parents, was confirmed at 12 and drifted away from religion (I don't think I ever had much of a personal faith). I married an agnostic and 20 years later began searching. I did an Alpha course, became a committed believer, joined an evangelical Anglican church (was even on staff as church secretary), and 6 years later after much Bible Study was baptised and joined a Church of Christ here in Australia.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a Plymouth Brethren Assembly, my parents having professed faith in Jesus Christ around the time I was born.
ReplyDeleteWhen I came back from the Navy in my early twenties, my Mom had changed churches, mainly for reasons surrounding my parents divorce (even though my Mother was the innocent party...), to an Evangelical Covenant church - I joined in.
After a number of enjoyable, but theologically unsatisfying, years I started realizing that I couldn't go along with some of the teaching as the church started down a slippery slope of liberal teaching.
I came across an independent Bible school nearby and after taking some classes I heard from one of the teachers that the church he was pastoring (about 30 minutes away), was planning on planting a church in my vicinity in the relatively near future. After a couple of years the church I now was planted. I joined in immediately when some local Bible Studies were started to see about the possibility of planting in that area. After growing too big to meet any longer in one house, if I recall correctly we went to two houses and then to a facility rented at a former high school. Not too long after that the church that owned the campus of the Bible School that I attended asked if we would consider joining them and having our pastor take over there since their pastor's wife had a stroke and apparently (as far as I understand) he couldn't take care of her and pastor effectively at the same time.
It is an independent non-denominational church that generally seems to consider itself Reformed (although an Orthodox Presbyterian or Dutch Reformed would most likely object lol), at any rate it is evangelical or as I would rather call it - Christian.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGrew up attending a Church of Christ (baptisimal regeneration). Saved when in college via Campus Crusade for Christ, evangelical Baptist church, went through a brief "fundamentalist" phase, wandered in the wilderness of Refored Baptist for 25 plus years, back to conservative evangelical Baptist church.
ReplyDeleteSteve, Have you read "Stages of Faith" by James Fowler?
Steve, Have you read "Stages of Faith" by James Fowler?
ReplyDeleteBilly Goat: No I haven't.
I was born to and raised by an existentialist atheist and an presbyterian agnostic.
ReplyDeleteI would consider myself an existentialist christian now (ala Kierkegaard, but not exclusively Kierkegaardian).
I certainly have way more faith than most of my friends or family, but it is from personal experience and thus I tell everyone, believe what makes sense to you.