Five Things

Had these five things been a part of my religious experiences, I would have been more likely to remain a Christian as an adult. I won't say that these issues were the sole reasons behind my de-conversion, but they did nudge me in that direction as I grew less and less able to reconcile what was often a legalistic culture of Christianity with what I was taught was a loving and accepting deity.

1) A relaxation of rigid, binary gender roles. The church rules and traditions that stemmed from this way of looking at gender were often deeply sexist. Especially when these rules were said to have been created by God himself, that anyone who disobeyed or disagreed with them was really saying that God made a mistake.

2) An embrace of the idea that we cannot put God in a box, that we do not have all of the answers (or even all of the questions.)

3) An honest acceptance of questions. Too often, the mainstream definition of a Christian was/is an individual who never questions who never wonders if they're doing or believing the right thing.

4) A more realistic view of human sexuality. Not everyone is heterosexual. Not everyone will marry, or be a virgin on their wedding night if they do marry. I would love to see more of the church engage Christians on what it means to have a healthy sexuality if they are GLBT, or if they have pre-marital sex (in the context of a loving, long-term relationship), or if they never marry. Abstinence can be one option, but it isn't the only one.

5) The end of the notion that being exposed to secular art or other works of creative expression is inherently evil. A vivid imagination at any age should be something to celebrate. Science-fiction, fantasy and other genres of books, tv shows and movies are a source of entertainment, not a shortcut to demonic possession. ;)