This book is written for the thinking person who is struggling to believe. It does this by presenting Christianity as a matter of relationships. Good behavior and correct belief do not build relationships, but grow from them. The Bible tells the unfolding story of a relationship given, lost, and reoffered again and again. This is more clear when we begin here, below, where we are, accentuating God's immanence over his transcendence. In such an approach, optional understandings of church teachings become evident, options that are biblically and theologically sound but are seldom offered. There is more than one way to skin a dogma. These alternatives to many teachings provide hope to those outside the church who wish for something more than competition for material possessions, and for those inside the church and struggling to stay. We are socialized into a scientific world view in which there is little room for spirituality. This tension between science and religion is addressed by the presentation of Christianity that is not anti-intellectual, rigid, or defensive. This book shows that we do not need to choose between our worldview and our faith.
This book is written for the thinking person who is struggling to believe. It does this by presenting Christianity as a matter of relationships. Good behavior and correct belief do not build relationships, but grow from them. The Bible tells the unfolding story of a relationship given, lost, and reoffered again and again. This is more clear when we begin here, below, where we are, accentuating God's immanence over his transcendence. In such an approach, optional understandings of church teachings become evident, options that are biblically and theologically sound but are seldom offered. There is more than one way to skin a dogma. These alternatives to many teachings provide hope to those outside the church who wish for something more than competition for material possessions, and for those inside the church and struggling to stay. We are socialized into a scientific world view in which there is little room for spirituality. This tension between science and religion is addressed by the presentation of Christianity that is not anti-intellectual, rigid, or defensive. This book shows that we do not need to choose between our worldview and our faith.
