For more than ten years I had a blog titled “The Christian Monist.” The site was decaded to those who have become disillusioned with Christianity and felt there was no place for them. This was the way I felt when I left evangelicalism in 1990. Today I’ve changed the title of this blog to one that I think will be better understood than the philosophical term “Christian Monist.”

Post Christian Culture

We are now living in a post Christian culture. Droves of people have and are leaving the church for a variety of reasons. As I’ve looked at the polls, one theme that stands out is the disillusionment is often based on a lack of interest in factual truth inside the Christian culture.

In response to this hemorrhaging of people, the conservative brands of Christianity have the following strategy: 1) Blame those who are leaving as morally inferior, 2) Build thicker walls to separate the “faithful” from the “lost” through social markers, 3) Partner with politicians, even the most unscrupulous ones, for the sake of power so that they can legislate Christian ideas upon the society as a whole, as a way to make Christianity relevant once more. Within this strategy is a wholesale loss of truth, where political conspiracy theories dominate the conversations with the paramount purpose of obtaining political power.

The progressive churches have reacted to this loss of signficance by adopting a postmodernist approach, 1) All opinions are the same, 2) There are no over-arching truths, 3) Blend religions, even religions that have opposite tenets (e.g. Buddhism vs Christianity), 4)Love and personal peace are the goals (which are just an illusion without a concept of truth, 5) Maintain an image of Christian culture via the typical church traditions, while no longer expecting a belief in even the very basics of Christian thought (such as Jesus existed or that he was the messiah). Again, this results in a loss of the aspiration of factual truth.

Simple Christianity

I want to offer a third rail or path. This is a very simple path, understanding that it is the culture that is being rejected, not the historical Jesus. The Christian culture, including all the things we associate with the organized religion of Christianity must be considered extraneous or expendable. Jesus’ requirement was simply to follow him. I want to offer this path as an option of rejecting the Christian cutlure while maintaining a faith in Christ.

Return to Classical Truth

One aspect of this path that I will also offer, is a return to classical truth. This is not a religious or personal truth, but simply that which is consistent with reality. The approaches of the conservative and progressive church both involve the abandonment of classical truth.

Throughout the history of the Christian chruch’s history, there have been periods (such as the Dark Ages) when human reason was attenuated. The postmodern age is yet a new movement away from reason and truth, which always ends in diaster. With this new simple path, human reason is celebrated as a gift from God, the only mechanism that humans have for discovering truth, by collecting evidence and then logically processing that evidence to find conclusions. Religion has the primary goal of conformity. They start with a conclusion (dogmas) and try to force the evidence to support their dogmas or they attack the opposing viewpoint by inventing baseless conspiracy theories.

Leaving Those Who Love The Present Culture Alone

My goal has never been to criticize those who adore the present Christian culture. I am not here to argue or fight with anyone, but to give comfort to those for which the present system no longer makes sense. The point of this blog is not evangelistic, trying to convert those who have different ideas to my own. I respect those of all faiths, including those who love the chruch as it is, conservatives and progressives. I dedicate this page to those who are not happy with the way things are and need help making sense of it all.