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| The Rescue by Nathan Greene |
These archived posts chronologically lead up to my salvation story:
BORN INTO IT: Nature VS Nurture, Part I
MY ORIGINAL SIN: Nature Vs Nurture, Part II
SPEAKING WORDS OF WISDOM: Something about Mother Mary
I’ve waited to write this because… hmmm… testimonies were something I was programmed to not share in mixed company. Yes – I attended churches that encouraged witnessing, some much more than others, but
within my family one’s born-again experience was not something to bat around the church or secular stage for shits & giggles. Testimonies were to be shared after much soul-searching, preferably with hearts that were ready to receive the Gospel of Love, Sacrifice and Forgiveness.
Right there I’ve lost the respect of some Christians who believe that nothing, but nothing, should discourage one from spreading the Good News. kthxbai.
My family and I witnessed most through music and through lifestyle choices that set us apart from the world. Telling total strangers how Jesus saved us from eternal damnation fell into the “pearls before swine” philosophy some Christians have about sharing their testimony with just anyone in just any situation. And it was just plain rude.
Growing up Minnesotan, raised by Minnesotans, play-nice rules about not talking too much about politics or religion rubbed off on us from our Lutheran surroundings.
I’m still Minnesotan – but no longer playing nice.
Search terms for you religious nerds to Google or Bing or Britannica : Calvinism, Arminianism, Apostasy, Deism, Lutheranism...
A number of things will occur when I tell my story of salvation. Everyone, but EVERYONE, including you, including me, will go away feeling smug.
1. Some Christians will point to details I deliberately or unintentionally leave out and say, “She was never born-again in the first place.” This will free them up to ignore what I have to say henceforth and forthwith. You can’t leave behind salvation you never had. They will feel better about their own salvation and less threatened by my leaving if they can dismiss me. This ability to claim my lack of salvation may stem from their sect’s doctrine, their personal interpretation of scripture or the Spirit of God might move them to doubt the validity of my salvation. I can claim to have been a Christian until I sweat blood but after the blasphemous stunts I pull around here it will be obvious that I was never saved in the first place. Easier to ignore that way.
2. Some Christians will say, “Only God can judge the heart” and let me say my peace. They may even acknowledge the “kernels of Truth” alongside the claims they question. My falling away is merely evidence of the End Times and a Hardened Heart. There will come a time, in hell, when I will regret this. Sad, but True. Even so, come Lord Jesus.
3. Some Christians will say, “Sure sounds saved to me! Once saved, always saved!” and dismiss the threat of my deconversion by believing that as a once-true Christ-follower I will eventually find my way back to Jesus or that his Grace will cover even this sacrilegious phase. In their head, they get to keep their faith and I get to keep mine. It’s all good.
4. Some Christians will see this as a continual soul-searching Journey. They will accept my skeptical phase and give me brownie points for doubt. They might thumb-up me for going beyond mainstream Christianity to find the true Christ in Everything – the Christ that all other religions point to. They’ll applaud my embrace of the historical Jesus. If really liberal they may even say, “Heck – as long as she believes in or talks about a Higher Power she’s in good shape.” (I don’t believe in a Higher Power, fyi – though some will interpret the effort I put into deprogramming as evidence of that belief.)
5. Lots of Christians will say, “She was too young to make this decision.” But I'm an old soul. I have a memory and awareness reaching back to the cradle. The salvation story that spans my 5th to 11th years is as legit as it gets. I knew what I was getting into. I knew what was at stake. The twenty some years that followed demonstrates how seriously I took the growth and maturing of my faith. However, I will acknowledge the wisdom of the Amish rumspringa and their inability to become a member and be baptized until the age of 16.
6. Everyone else. Former believers. Never believers. How will they/we feel smug? Well – that’s the beauty of echo chambers.
Hello...
Hello
hello?
Would it be easier if I made a flow chart?
She doesn’t know this yet, but that is exactly what I want to commission ExFundamentalist to draw for me… for free.
All that said and one more caveat via one of those too-cool-for-school #outlawpreachers on Twitter, Khad Young: Salvation is not the point of Christianity any more than the wedding is the point of a marriage. #outlawpreachers
No – but the point from which all special privileges and expectations begin…
As you wait for My Salvation Story part 2, did I miss any Disclaimers I’ll regret in the morning? Is there a place online where you've written about your own Salvation Story?
*This post is verbose - and just one of those over-analytical things I write when I feel like I have to explain everything - and as I recover from a verbose semester. I know I don't have to explain everything. That's what heaven is for.
6 comments:
Telling total strangers how Jesus saved us from eternal damnation fell into the “pearls before swine” philosophy some Christians have about sharing their testimony with just anyone in just any situation. And it was just plain rude.
Well, thank goodness for small favors. I wish some of the ranting nutters I've run into over the years had been taught that philosophy at some point. Obviously different sects have different views.
It's probably pointless to try to anticipate and cover every possible reaction. There are too many different reactions. One-fifth of the Earth's population would be unshakably convinced that your earlier claim to salvation was worth little because it did not include a belief that Muhammad was God's messenger.
Everyone else. Former believers. Never believers. How will they/we feel smug?
Well, I'm a never-believer and I certainly don't feel smug. I know that breaking free of religion can be hugely difficult and emotionally wrenching. I've seen too many examples to ever believe otherwise. However tortuous the path, it's much more admirable than staying somnolent down in the comforting illusions.
We didn't have the interbuttz yet when I deconverted back in college (undergrad). I don't think I've ever really testified about my journey. It's too bad we can't just *facepalm* when we find out that religion isn't what it claims to be and move-on.
The purpose of testimonies tends to be in the place of evidence. As we say in the skeptic community all the time of attempts to evaluate truth claims from personal stories: "anecdotal evidence with such a small sample size is statistically insignificant."
Maybe statistics don't need to play a role but studies have been done which indicate that immediate emotional responses are, in fact, the worst way to evaluate truth claims.
So there you have it, when someone testifies to you of the truth of this or that, they are utilizing the LEAST effective intellectual tools available to them.
As Mark Twain so eloquently put it over a century ago: "faith is believing in something you know ain't true."
I guess you could call that my anti-testimony.
I hear ya, girl, on all this! I was one of those tacky Baptists, however, who were cajoled into telling everyone you possibly could about how you were saved. It was like a competition, seriously--in church, the pastor would ask, "How many have you led to the Lord? How have you shared your testimony today?" And 'lil ol' shy Riverwolf never did rack up many points in that game. In fact, I thought it was tacky to go ranting off to everyone about what was best for them. But at the time, I sort of accepted the idea that the Devil and his minions were causing my hestitation. Jesus people are bold!
I didn't have much to say anyway. I remember as a very small child "accepting" Christ into my life, and that was that. No drugs, prison, hell-raisin'. Just plain and simple faith. But, ironically, that wasn't good enough.
So, if by some strange chance I fall into your category #3 and DO come back around to Jesus one day--when, praise the Lord, now THAT will be a testimony worth sharing! Can I get an amen?
Hey was' up Skepticcat.
"C" one of the more frustrating thingies (out of the many many thingies) is you were never saved or you were never a true xtian. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! It is one of those stock answers that requires no investigation of their part. they do not know our level of commitment before conversion, how hard it was to convert and all the studying and reflection it takes to convert. As we all know, the average atheist knows more about religion than the average believer. When we hear statements like that, i think it is correct to automatically assume that they have not soul searched as deeply, that they have not questioned like us and that they (probably) do not know as much science, philosophy, theology as the converted members of Team-Correct, that is, Team-A. "C", awesomeness, stay warm and where's part II already (jk).
Kriss
Riverwolf: so true - I remember those sermons, especially among the Southern Baptist, AG years. I also took it to heart. If anything my parents had to talk me down from wanting to talk about Jesus to everyone - but it did create a queasy feeling in my stomach... like you say - you learn to be bold. & yes, you can get an Amen Brother Riverwolf!
SkepticCat: I admire that you went through your deconversion without the help of the interwebs. I'm more than willing to be a critic of the online world, but certain things like this - knowing you're not alone - goes a long ways.
"The purpose of testimonies tends to be in the place of evidence."
Well said - all of it.
Infidel: yes - I sometimes forget that a whole new world awaits for me to explore within Islam. Maybe I should try it on for size and see if I feel different as a Mohammad follower than I did as a Jesus follower. Something tells me this website wouldn't fly with the name change and pics. Thanks for your ability to see the hard work that is necessary for deprogramming.
KS - it will be posted later today!!! will respond more later.
I really liked this post. Very well thought out. I need to go back and read those other posts. I most often heard the "They were never saved" or "No saved person would ever do that" argument.
There is nothing like going out door-to-door soul winning. I really miss it...
--Oh wait, I hardened my heart, scratch that last part.
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