Conversations with church-going people

First, I have set a goal to become regular about posting...we will see if that happens.

Second, let's talk about the topic at hand, "conversations with church-going people". Why is it that many "church-going people" tend to never want to talk about doctrine that may disagree with theirs.  Why is it that many Baptists, especially in my area of West Tennessee, will scream and yell at me when I ask them about things such as the doctrines of grace (Calvinism...not hyper-Calvinism), what the Bible says concerning some church traditions, and many others?  Oh, and if you really want to take a tongue lashing and be called everything from blasphemous to the Devil himself, just mention the possibility that pre-millennial theology and the rapture might not be an accurate interpretation of Scripture and you will get it!  Why is that?

Before I go on to my theories as to why the almost hatred comes out, let me say that I grew up in and was taught all the things mentioned above.  I was told (by one youth "minister") that John Calvin was a heretic.  I was told by the same person what I now know were either downright lies or perhaps things that he had been taught and honestly believed...but were lies.  I learned all about pre-millenial dispensationalism (Scofield Reference Bible, etc.), the rapture, etc.  So I knew all the "correct" stuff.

However, I was also taught (by accident I think) by a wonderful Southern Baptist preacher to always read the Bible myself; to search the Scriptures and see if what was being taught by some man was in line with the Scriptures.  Because of that one sermon that I remember so vividly, I did that.  And boy when I began to question certain things I was told everything from, "you should not question God's messengers", to "you are just to young to understand", to "you need to read this book by this man", and on and on.  But, nobody would, or could, explain those passages I was questioning.  The older I got, the more I read (from the Bible and concerning Calvin...I read his stuff myself to see...that's when I found out I had been told outright lies about what he had said!), the more I began to ask more questions and seek more answers...and the more I was almost yelled at for questioning "experts".

Now my theories...
First theory is probably the most accurate...people just don't know Scripture or doctrine and don't want to take the time to learn so they will just argue.

Second theory is that people have told to never discuss these things by their preachers.

Well, there are two theories.  Probably some combination is most accurate.  I will explore these more later.

Time to get started...again...I hope...

For some time I have desired to regularly post on a blog and comment on things I see happening in various arenas of my life.  Hopefully, this will be the first of several posts doing just that!

The question arises, "what will be written about on here?"  The short answer to that question is just about anything I feel like writing about.  However, to be a little more specific here is a list of broad topics that I intend to put in my 2 cents:

• My gardening  success and (many) failures.  I love to "play" in my garden.  Starting seeds in the late winter and early spring to have a great harvest of food in the summer is just plain fun to me.  Lots of work, but lots of fun as well.
• Teaching.  My main job is teaching high school chemistry and physics...at least for now.  So expect posts around this theme.  Also, expect my very candid thoughts concerning the current state of education and how politics and money are destroying our education system.  Yes I am very opinionated about this subject and will give my opinions about things such as the current standardized testing madness going on, common core standards, etc.
• Christianity vs. "Churchianity":  I once heard the term "churchianity" used to describe some of the things that go on in churches that span the range from non-Biblical (but not destructive) to downright blasphemous.  I actually will be expanding the term "churchianity" to show not only traditions, but also that in many circles "church" has become the end all religion.  Yes, this topic is sure to draw to the fire of many people.  I just ask for civility in the comments thrown at me (and others).
• Other areas as I feel like it...hey it is my blog.

I would ask anyone who happens to come across this blog to approach what is written with an open mind.  We all come to everything we read, see, hear, etc. with many preconceived ideas.  I will be the first to admit that on many of the things I write about (or speak about in church, etc.) my ideas/beliefs have changed...in some cases drastically changed as I have learned more, read more, etc.  This is especially true in terms of Christianity.  In fact, some of the ideas/beliefs that I had held previously I have come to realize are just downright non-biblical!  Oftentimes the people that taught some of those non-biblical ideas were not trying to mislead or purposefully harm anyone.  Rather, they were simply uninformed.  One of my pet peeves of Christianity here in the United States (and specifically in the so called "Bible Belt") is the downright laziness of most church going people.  Instead of desiring to know the Scriptures, to know our Lord Jesus Christ, and to know doctrine, most simply would prefer to just show up on Sunday and listen for (no more than) 20-40 min. of one man talking.  Many times that one man doesn't even talk about or use the Scriptures, but that is ok as long as he tells me "I am saved and don't let anyone tell you differently". (Really?  Since when did we humans, the created beings, get to tell who is and who is not headed to heaven?)

Since this is turning into a considerable amount of discussion on Christianity, perhaps a few things concerning where I am coming from would be in order.  To use some common terms, I am a Reformed Baptist.  Reformed meaning that I hold to the Doctrines of Grace or Reformed Theology or what some would call Calvinism.  To be clear, I do not hold to hyper-Calvinism, which when people hear the term "Calvinism" they often equate it with "hyper-Calvinism" (more on this in later posts).  I hold very strongly to the Sovereingty of God in all things.  "Baptist" in terms of my belief in believer's baptism, with immersion being the preferred mode of application.  I believe the great creeds and confessions of the church are important for teaching doctrine and summarizing the message of Christianity.  Those creeds and confessions to include (but not limited to) The Apostles' Creed, The Nicene Creed, The Anthanasian Creed, The Westminster Confession, The First and Second London Baptist Confessions, and others.

Well, this has gotten to be a much longer post than I planned.  Yes, I do tend to ramble a bit.  Oh well.  I will try to keep my posts limited to a specific topic each time, and limited to what could reasonably be read in 3-5 min.  But no promises.