Intellectual Or Emotional?

[chosendarkness]

The main reason for me was shame in how I treated people who didn't believe like me. I developed a conscience and didn't want to be anything like I was before. I also knew people who suffered in different ways from fundamentalist beliefs. Then I started to understand how religion was holding me back from being happy and accomplishing my dreams.

[LuxAeterna]

I was 23 and it was completely intellectual.

 

Went something like this:

 

- Overtime I became dismayed with my denomination's doctrine. It first started with the doctrine of First Fruits. I questioned their stance and studied the scriptures and researched other doctrinal positions. When I find the doctrine of First Fruits lacking, I started down the list of others, like women's dress and other doctrines based out of the Holiness Code or Old Covenant Law. This led to researching into other doctrines, like soteriology -- Arminianism vs. Calvinism and various positions within eschatology, what was then one of my favorite areas of study. Shortly after tackling these theological/doctrinal issues I turned to science and the theory of evolution. This led me to theistic evolution and my rejection of young earth creationism. Later I tackled the issue of same-sex marriage (term I don't like, btw) following a debate with a friend. For so long I would shoot down anything and everything that wasn't in harmony with my beliefs. After a short while I decided to give the information she presented a look.

 

- Started getting into text types and manuscripts and that led me to ditch fundamentalism for non-legalistic doctrine. Left KVJO and escaped the clinches of Jack Hyles theology, but still clung to Baptist ecclesiology/roots. I found mainstream theology more palatable.

 

- Became interested in Biblical hermeneutics and developed an even stronger passion for theology and was set on formally studying theology/divinity.

 

- Delved into textual criticism, ancient history, ANE religions, works of early Christian philosophers/writers, Church history, philosophy, and comparative religion/mythology.

 

I didn't read any books on skepticism until I had been a skeptic for several months. I didn't get on the Dawkins or Hitchens train. The problem of evil/theodicy was never a factor for me. I dove straight into the deep theological stuff and then tackled the basis/roots of the Abrahamic mytholgies--religions of the Ancient Near East/ancient Israelite religion and comparative mythology/religion.

 

Flavor of Christianity:

 

Progressive-moderate evangelical [or cultural] Christian --> Hyper-fundamentalist (Independent Baptist, inerrantist, literalist, Textus Receptus devotee) --> Mainstream evangelical/conservative Christian --> Moderate Christian (less dogmatic views and adherence to literalism) --> Liberal Christian/mystic/pluralist (think Gnosticism or early Christian mysticism)

 

Most of my background and presuppositions were shaped by conservative evangelical/fundamentalist dogma. Everything that came after "moderate Christian" were more like pit stops.