In Reply to: Re: To PCB re: GenX comments to Pastor Don posted by CB on December 07, 2009 at 19:43:20:
I don't mean to offend anyone by what I'm about to say, but my path has been different, and it has worked really well for me.
I left decades ago and found it suits me better to be away from other Christians. It's not that I avoid them, but more that they tend to reject people who can think for themselves, discuss/debate scripture fluently and disagree with them, and every denomination has its pet interpretations about everything. Open dissension is not acceptable, just like in TF.
I have held on to my personal faith steadfastly without needing to hold anybody's hand to do it. I do not believe I am spiritually weakened, but rather strengthened; not spiritually incomplete, but much more wholesome. I have grown in ways I would never have, had I been around other Christians constantly telling me how to think, what to think and judging me for thinking differently. And it is just human nature that people do that, and perhaps Christians don't do it much more than any other religionists. My convictions about what I believe are strong and clear, because I know they are coming from deep within me, and between me and God, and not due to any peer pressure, or borne of the need for constant reinforcement. I get so much out of hearing from God alone in the woods, in the mountains, than I could with all the noise and clutter of religion. My children have grown up with faith, and spiritual convictions too.
I'm headstrong, I know, but that's my experience.