Re-Starts and Re-Acquaintances

Divergent Dad going forward

Hello dear subscribers (and potential subscribers) to my FREE Substack on my own faith journey (with research about Church theology and history thrown in). If you like what you read here, please consider subscribing and telling your friends.

I thought about titling this short blog ‘It’s been a minute’, but imagined it would be a bit of an over-obvious statement, so I stuck with the title above. If you have never read me before, welcome, and if you’re a subscriber thanks for staying during what, unintentionally, became a rather lengthy hiatus (9 months since my last full post).

In Divergent Dad, I write about faith. Mostly I write about ‘working out my own faith with fear and trembling’ in the vein of Philippians 2:12. I’m a contrarian, a historian by training, and I spent 20 years in the Army, so quite often that working out includes:

• what I see as ‘wrong’ with the modern Baptist church that I grew up in and what I think should be done about it

• my own research into history regarding ‘how the modern church got here’

• and a sprinkling of fucking expletives thrown in because that’s my favorite way to communicate

Many of the ideas you read here are truly me trying to work out what I believe, in light of my own life experiences, which have been quite eventful, I imagine like many of yours. I wonder if my beliefs be the same in a few years….stick around and let’s find out together. To summarize, those life experiences have included unexpected deaths, multiple work careers, going into business for myself, accidents that left family members disabled, neuro-atypical ness (in myself and my children), a lifetime of work, marriage, and so very much more. Nearly every minute of these life experiences have been affected by my faith, and most of them have included regular attendance at an evangelical church of some kind.

Though my experiences may, in some sense, be unusual, I am not so arrogant that I believe they are ‘harder’ or ‘more impactful’ or ‘insert any adjective you prefer here’ than your own. In fact, I’d imagine that you and I are pretty similar (minus my tendency to curse) and that life has impacted us both in many of the same ways. Like you, I’ve loved, lost, sought out answers, engaged with my fellow men and women, and worked in jobs both good and bad. At our core, there’s likely little that differentiates us. This similarity may make it so my thoughts may have relevance to you as you work out your own faith journey through your own lenses of experience.

The similarness of our experience, and a tendency to write from the perspective of a historian, is why I believe you should read this blog (intermittent as it sometimes can be). We have likely trod the same paths, have likely wondered the same wonderings, and have likely questioned our faith in similar ways. Our conclusions may be different, but our questions may be the same. I hope to give you some reasoned, often impassioned, things to think about and to do so with the training of a historian so you don’t just read what I think but can gain some understanding of the historical perspective that is informing that thinking. Regardless, at least you’ll hear a bit about church history and how (at least in my research) we may have ‘gotten here’.

I think that’s enough for a re-introduction today, and I’m not entirely sure what I may be writing on next, but the things that are REALLY baking my noodle right now that will likely come up soon include:

• Why _____ (pick your pet sin) really isn’t the point of Jesus and how his message is so much better than many modern churches (and church leaders) are presenting.

• How the modern church has lost the narrative on sex, and not in the way you think.

• The History of Universalism and where (and when) we got our ideas about heaven and hell

• Church as another form of ‘control’ and it’s role in doing so over human history

• The Jewish roots of the Christian faith and why (and when) we seemed to jettison those roots and, in many ways, continue this practice today

• How similar modern evangelicalism, with it’s labeling of those ‘in’ and ‘out’ is with the Catholic church’s history of ex-communication, that modern evangelicals have long bemoaned

• How Richard Rohr is a genius with his critique that the text (for Protestants) became the focus and the person (for Catholics) became the focus and how both are suppressing the importance of the role of the Holy Spirit.

• Why Rob Bell’s treatment by modern evangelicals (he’s one of many) is a symptom of how we are mis-interpreting the message of Jesus Christ and why no one wants to engage with churches anymore

• How those with mental health aren’t welcome in our churches and how ashamed Jesus may be of that very fact.

These are thoughts on my mind and heart right now, and while I don’t have fully informed ideas on all of them, I certainly have strong opinions. I imagine that you do too and I’d love to hear them. This is, after all, a collaborative space and perhaps my greatest critique of modern evangelicalism is how it hides behind doctrinal statements that may not be reflective of Christ’s actual teachings. I certainly have doctrinal beliefs, but I’m doing my best to question them and even deconstruct them, and I hope this blog helps you to conduct your own self-analysis, regardless of where it may lead.

Thanks, welcome or welcome back, and I’ll be writing you something (soon, I really really hope I keep this promise) from my heart and full of historical research in the upcoming weeks.