Quote Originally Posted by jon1959 View Post
I am an atheist, but I grew up in a family and culture of non-conformist Christianity and I think the distinction made by Gofer is very interesting. Most of my family who continue to think of themselves as Christian (although they are dying out) just follow the customs and conventions put in front of them - and like the comfort of familiar rituals and settings. They just happened to be born in a time and place where that was accepted (often unquestioned) as the norm.

But my dad, now dead, was a free thinker and described himself as a secular Christian, and he and the like-minded group he was part of as 'the heretics'. He had no time for religion but chose to believe in the values and morals that he took from the life of Jesus as described in the Bible. I don't think he believed in heaven or hell, or God or the devil. He did see the bible as a series of fables and metaphors - some of which (New Testament) offered a guide to living a 'good life'. He definitely saw religions (all religions) as human constructs that evolved over time and had little to do with faith or moral codes. He saw them as organisations (and cultures) that operate like corporations for controlling people with The Pope or the Archbishop Of Canterbury as CEOs of Christianity plc.

We had endless arguments about this stuff and never agreed - except maybe about the historical role of organised religion.
Jon, I like the way your dad described himself! I would probably call myself a 'Christian who doesn't care much for Christianity'.

I think that Christianity has become polarised, sadly.

If you think back to some of the great Christian minds of 100 years ago or so... Tolkien and CS Lewis etc... they used to sit, debate, argue and consider the world, universe, God etc over a pipe and a pint. They never fell out but disagreed a lot - this is a trait much missing from today. They would then use their 'art' to explore these issues - their doubts, concerns, weaknesses and ultimately joy. C S Lewis wrote about the death of his wife is brutally honest terms. Tolkien explored questioning the existence of God and good and evil, in light of the first world war through Lord of the Rings... how can God exist when so many bad things happen to innocent people.

Really meaty stuff.

We have lost that, sadly.