Former Fundamentalist, Present Progressive

[MHLillie]

Hello! I am a former fundamentalist who—like so many others on this site, it seems—has been going through the long process of purging my life of spiritually abusive indoctrination. It's a crazy process isn't it? I never cease to be amazed by how a life of fear-based teachings has damaged so much of my worldview. Tearing those teachings apart is a painful process. Sifting through the rubble to find anything worth keeping is disheartening. But ultimately, finding those few surviving fragments of truth and beauty is deeply healing and validating, and those moments help me find healing when other triggers emerge.

 

Reading the courageous stories on this site has been such a valuable resource and support in my process. I have only recently felt healed enough to begin putting my experience into words, and I hope to do so here in case someone else is in as much need of such stories as I was when I first started reading the ex-timonies here. Ironically, this also comes at a time when I have started reclaiming the Christian label in my spiritual life, so I feel somewhat lost between worlds: I have known far too many Christians who would not call my spiritual path "Christian" at all, and yet I know some ex-Christians will not be comfortable with my re-engagement with this label. But I have also had to accept that this worry is just a variation of my fundamentalist black-and-white thinking. After all, leaving fundamentalism means finding the freedom to engage with all philosophies that are meaningful to me. If Jesus is part of that mix, someone else's idea of Christianity needn't take that from me.

 

Well, that's more than enough said for now. Thanks for taking the time to hear me out—I look forward to taking part in future discussions!

[Geezer]

It is not uncommon for some leaving Christianity to seek out another form of spirituality or look for the "good" things about Christianity. And there are some "good" things about Christianity but do they offset all the bad stuff?  Each person will have to decide that for themselves. In time I think most folks either return to some liberal form of Christianity or let go of all of it, but those decisions are way down the road. 

 

I hope you find help and encouragement on this site that makes your journey easier. Oh yeah, welcome aboard. 

 

 

[♦ Fuego ♦]

Welcome MHLillie! Like you, I've found value in some concepts from the faith, though honestly I think those concepts (for me) transcend faiths and are mostly a matter of kindness and generosity. I found so much poison mixed in with the religion that I couldn't stay with any labels tying my to a particular faith (such as "he who looks at a woman with lust has committed adultery" - not.)  But I find great value in pondering what makes life better for us, what makes me a better being, what kind of character traits that I want to embody (and not embody). Looking forward to meeting you more around the forums.

[disillusioned]

Welcome! Always nice to see another Canadian on here.

 

You'll find that we have all taken different paths to where we are now. There are plenty of spiritual people here, and some active Christians too. If I may ask, what is it about the Christian label that you are currently finding helpful? Please be assured that there is no hostility at all in the question, just honest curiosity.

[Guest]

Welcome fellow Canadian and ex-fundamentalist. I understand somewhat how you feel, I flirted with progressive Christianity in the short time it took for me to let go of the god complex and become comfortable with agnosticism/atheism. Now I am much more comfortable with kindness and empathy as my creed, I certainly couldn't find either in the Christian god when it came down to it. I wish you luck on this journey and welcome aboard! 

[Insightful]

Hi MHLillie!

 

Welcome!  It's been about 5 years for me since I stopped believing the tenets of fundamentalism.  I now identify as agnostic / humanist / liberal Christian.  I know that might sound confusing, but I actually hold to principles and values of all 3. =)  Like you, much too liberal to be called a Christian by most Christians.

 

All the best to you.

 

 

[◊ DestinyTurtle ◊]

Welcome! And you're right. No one can tell you what to believe or force you to believe in any one thing. I do believe there is a lot of wisdom in the bible and in Jesus's teaching (albeit buried in layers of mistranslation, (deliberate and non-deliberate) misinterpretations, and loss of historical context. Ironically, whoever Jesus exactly was (and I don't exactly claim to know) I feel I'm closer to his teachings now that I no longer identify as Xian (whatever that means). Anyways, it'll take a while to deprogram yourself but keep on Trucking and you'll end up much happier and wiser. Kudos to the courage of facing the unknown!