Tag: evangelical

“Evangelical,” at its root, is a religious identifier, not a political one, and evangelical Christians in America span the full political spectrum.

Before I converted to evangelical Christianity, I was pro-choice. After I converted, I decided abortion was flat-out wrong.

The resurrection of Christ is central to orthodox Christianity. It is therefore unfortunate for me that I sort of don’t believe it happened, me being a Christian and all.

So I became a defender of biblical inerrancy, the belief that the Bible is completely true. By true, I mean accurate, a word carrying connotations of history, science, factual and physical observation, and impartiality. In my mind back then, there might’ve been a little room for poetic language, but I saw myth, fairy tale and realistic fiction labels as excuses not to take the Bible seriously and, therefore, out of the question.

I began to see Heaven and Hell as ways to live instead of ways of to die. Heaven was connecting with others and myself in empathy; Hell was disconnecting from my own needs and consequently from others’ needs.

The end of the story is that I escaped my mental jail cell without losing my faith. But it wasn’t immediate or simple. It was a complicated process that involved trauma, unconventional theology classes, and listening to the unexpected, still, small voice of the Holy Spirit.

The first time the Ten Commandments are given is in Exodus 20 When God speaks audibly from Mount Sinai to the whole people.