Sunday, April 8, 2007

Christianity and me

In writing my Easter sermon this year I realized that something has been gradually changing in my relationship to Christianity. I was raised in the Methodist church and left it after completing a confirmation class because I disagreed with the doctrines taught to me in the class. I didn't go to church at all for 15 years, and really thought I was done with organized religion, though not spirituality, until my boyfriend at the time took me to a Unitarian Universalist church.

After a few years at the Unitarian Unvieralist church I went to seminary, a Methodist seminary, interestingly, and there I was exposed to a mature, and liberal Christianity, that differed in significnat ways from the Christianity I had learned in Sunday School. I saw that Christianity could be much broader than I had thought, and although I disagreed with Christian doctrine about the nature and role of Jesus, I did deply sympathize with Jesus the man and his message.

That initial exposure began a journey back into Christianity, which is now a religion I have learned to appreciate and even love. I realized as I wrestled with my Easter sermon this week, that I could probably call myself a Christian and probably even be accepted as the minsiter of a Christian church, if it were significantly liberal.

I don't aspire to the job of Christian minister, or Christian identity. But it's nice to feel that the Christian religion, too, is available to me, along with all the other world religions that I already freely explore and mine for spiritual treasure. I have no interest in attaching any name brand religious label to my personal eclectic spirituality, but I feel a welcome throb of Christianity somewhere stirring and am happy to claim it as a spiritual resource.

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