Marc, 30, Unclassified Christian

God nabbed me 10 years ago and I’ve been bothering folk with troubling questions and crazy answers ever since. I tried my faith by debating on alt.atheism for a time and learned that Christianity is pretty solid and that real atheism is practically non-existent. I’d still follow Jesus even if he were an embellished legend. My views are orthodox when I’m talking to unorthodox folk and vice versa. Doctrine must be practical and coherent!

Elizabeth K, 39, Refuse to be labeled!

Oh how I feel that I’ve come a long way from where I started, which is a good thing, right? There have been so many surprises and u-turns, adventure after adventure… I started out desiring to be an elementary school teacher, a missionary and then a mama with lots of kids. While pursuing all of those routes, I realized that those dreams were something completely different than what I had originally thought – specifically, that teaching, helping and parenting are a natural part of every fulfilled life, whether we have kids or not!

Although I had not realized that my life goal was to figure out what is deep in my heart of hearts, I am discovering more of my personal passion every day. This is ultimately what I believe it means to follow God, for that is how every human is created – to follow our hearts. For what does anything mean apart from love? I believe, nothing.

Yes, God is all in all for me, but I do not believe God is defined by Christianity. In fact, I think that most church-going Christians would not recognize his messenger if he were to walk the earth once again. God is much deeper than Bible theology or church teaching doctrine. Although talking about the Bible is nice and helpful, the truth of God is love and it must be lived in order to be understood. In one sense, we must fail in it, in order to succeed in it.

I also believe that God cannot be limited, neither within Christianity nor outside of it. He is omnipresent and He sustains all of life. Everything beautiful is God’s expression of His vast love for the human race. Even human suffering is part of this expression, as love must require freedom and an anti-thesis. The glory and beauty that comes from pain and tears is the evidence that the UNCONDITIONAL love of God will one day finally conquer all.

Do we believe in Love? This seems to be the main theme of my life, at least as far as I currently understand God. Like I said, I am daring to discover and follow my heart, which is an on-going journey.

I would love for this blog to be a place for anyone to share their deepest thoughts along their life’s mountains, meadows, deserts and valleys as well, and hopefully this will become a safe place to learn and grow by exploring opposing viewpoints and differing perspectives. This can be a tricky balance to maintain. Some will appreciate it and yet it will not appeal to others. Some will come and go. That is fine. While we need each other to grow, sometimes we need loneliness and space as well.

Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to read our thoughts!