YoungishChristiansToday

Disillusioned and unhappy.

or

fundamentalist and stupid

?

WhatIsaFundamentalist?

Am I youngish? (27) (Yes you are - 27 1/2 year old M)

When it comes to Christianity, I'm not disillusioned and unhappy as a rule - I'm unhappy about a few things at church, but mainly very glad to be part of that community. I'm very happy to be a Christian, though sometimes scared to admit it to those who aren't.

Fundamentalist is a tricky word - it means too little and too much. I do believe that the Bible is fully from God as well as from humans, and that it's entirely reliable. However, I'm not a literalist - I realise that some of it is written as poetry or metaphor; I try to take it as it wants to be taken. Am I stupid? By most people's standards, no; by my standards, or God's, yes.

Are most youngish Christians disillusioned/unhappy? About some things; some are unhappy about most things. Are most youngish Christians fundamentalist/stupid? There are plenty who believe the Bible, which I'm pleased about; there are many who use it very poorly; I don't know many who I'd actually call stupid :)

DavidB

Well, I'd say I'm more disillusioned and unhappy than fundamentalist and stupid, but I don't really think I'm either. Like DavidB I'm happy to be a Christian, although I'm unhappy about certain things that some Christians believe. I don't take the whole Bible literally, and I'm not even sure nowadays that it is 'infallible'. There are certainly many interpretations of the Bible with which I disagree and believe are unChristian. I do think a lot about things before I believe them - I don't just believe something because it is the minister who has said it etc. In a way I'm disillusioned - maybe, I'm not sure -but I think I will always have faith in God, even when my faith in Christianity is sometimes shaken, if you see what I mean! On the whole, though, I'm happy and optimistic.

Alice

I used to say I was disillusioned and unhappy, but now I'm so much part of the establishment I can't say that any more ;-)

But really - what I'm trying to find is a "third way" - a new way of being a Christian that is neither stupid nor defeated. Thanks for helping me look.

Andy

That's a really great way of describing the quest, Andy :) DavidB

I don't know what fundamentalist is exactly. But I don't think I am it from what I've heard other people say who say they are it.

Disillusioned yes, but with people. Makes me very sad and frustrated the way people distort things and make Christianity about things that aren't really the important stuff. Like what colour we should paint the church or what design should be on the parish magazine, that kind of thing. (Not that those things are pointless, just that I think you shouldn't concentrate on stuff like that without attending to the bigger stuff.)

M.