Religious Curiosity

[Firiel]

K_Pepper--
While I respect your interest in using the source material rather than an intermediary interpretation, I am curious how you resolve potential contradictions. That's the main thing I find church authorities useful for, besides providing a social network of people who share my beliefs... "Hey, this is confusing. How would you explain?"

[K_Pepper]

Oh, I still go to church, though not so much lately, but I went to a few of different denominations. Really, though, a lot of the "contradictions" I sorta sorted out for myself, eventually. Mostly 'cause as you get older you tend to start understanding things better, haha.

[Firiel]

Alrighty.

I haven't been to a "few" different denominations, but I have been to a couple, and also come to recognize that even within denominational views, there is variation. So I guess it really boils down to who I'm most comfortable with/who makes the most sense to me, rather than it actually being a matter of my relying on somebody's authority.

I wish stuff made more sense with age! Not that I'm that old/mature--but it does seem like the world is bigger, more interesting, and more confusing now than it was when I was a teen.

How wide a spectrum have you been through with your denominational explorations?

[K_Pepper]

Not particularly wide, I'll admit. I grew up Baptist, I go to a Westlyen church now, and often visit a Methodist church. I guess I just decided that the name on the church didn't mean so much to me as what they taught and believed in, and it spilled over onto my Christianity. I felt that the "name" of my Christianity didn't matter so much as that I am a Christian.

[Firiel]

The name doesn't matter... Hm. That's kind of a cool idea. Although, names can sometimes be shorthand for "I believe these views over here," which I think is kind of what they were for in the first place.

I've been "Reformed" (Calvinist-influenced) Baptist, Arminian (free-will) Baptist, Assemblies of God (Pentacostal-lite), and briefly looked into Foursquare. What that came out as in the end was "God is Father, he's really powerful and I'm not sure how much he chooses us or how much we choose him, and I'd like to believe that miracles still sometimes happen in modern times."

...Weren't the Methodists founded by a Wesley? John of the name? So, would Methodists/Westlyans be kind of theological cousins?

[K_Pepper]

I think you may be right about that, but I'm not entirely sure.