I Once Believed: Re-Framing a Traditional Christian Past Part 2 Many of us who, either long ago or more recently, have found our way to SSUC have come from very different spiritual experiences. Some have come from other traditions entirely, some from a more evangelical upbringing, many from what you might call a liberal Untied Church tradition or similar, and some weren’t raised in the Christian tradition, but have come with ideas and notions from pop culture of what the Christian church is. For some, this might be a positive memory and experience; For others, a more negative or traumatizing past. Either way, it’s important to always be evaluating what we learned early on, what we’ve unlearned, what we now understand in light of where we are now on our journey…regardless of where that is. For as much good as the writings of any text might inspire, promote social justice and positive change, dogmatic belief statements have more frequently been used or misused to exclude, to uphold evil, unjust, harmful and violent programs and empires. Many in our community have been harmed by the exclusion, the rigidness, the hatred, that’s born of that kind of dogma. And if not us directly, then we’ve witnessed it and needed to act as a result. Social issues, areas of justice, acceptance of people just as they are – decisions to shame or exclude: these are painful and lasting wounds. We know that the more fruitful direction is in having conversations around what informs my behaviour? What am I giving my time and energy to in order that I make of my life a positive influence in the world? What standards do I use everyday to ponder my relationships, my financial decisions, my standing up for another? What motivates me to work for justice or peace in whatever small or big ways I’m able? None of us can ever inherit some belief, some idea, some set of values that we “ought to believe”. It just doesn’t work. We can’t inherit it from the previous generation, but neither, and maybe even more importantly, can we inherit it from our past selves. We can’t presume that something true will always be true. There are things that are true for us as children, as teens, as young adults that we then outgrow. There are coping mechanisms that are helpful when there are no other answers, but when others are found, these first ones are no longer needed. www.ssucedmonton.com
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