Perhaps like you, I am dismantling (what evangelical Christian circles refer to as deconstructing) the belief system I’ve lived with since I was a child and lived by since I was about 14. While I will give you all a privileged view into this process as I undergo it, I have no idea where my journey of deconstruction and refashioning will take me.
What I am committing to is not a belief system (or lack thereof); that’s dogma, which by its nature dulls the intellect and freezes thoughts in place. I am committing rather to a tenacious quest to identify my unexamined beliefs, challenge them, and rework them as my intellectual honesty and conscience require. I expect I’ll find still more beliefs lurking underneath them, and I mean to challenge those too when I get to them. I may well end up an atheist or—just as readily—a polytheist, pantheist, Buddhist, or possibly right back where I started—an evangelical Christian. Even if I succeed in doing nothing but running in a very large philosophical and religious circle, I anticipate the process of running it to be very transformative. The circular outcome, though, appears from my current perspective to be a most unlikely one; I mostly expect to traverse previously unfamiliar terrain.
I suppose I may have given the impression that I’m out primarily to settle on religious truths, but that isn’t the case. I seek to have a life with clarity of purpose, full of meaning, defined and informed ultimately not by what others believe to be true, but rather by what I believe to be true. Meaning that is truly one’s own is a powerful force of nature, generating a sense of purpose that cannot be easily deterred. I expect to transform my identity many times over in this pursuit, and I welcome this impending transformation as the prerequisite for doing what is currently impossible.
If you’re interested in transforming yourself through the process of exploring your unexamined beliefs, and you’d like some friendly and respectful companions who are doing the same, then click [here] (link forthcoming on a future edit) to join the conversation. We’ll help each other overcome mental snags, see blind spots and blocks, and to transform not based on what we’re told we ought to be; rather, we’ll each become the sort of people we want to be—with each other’s help of course.
This journey will be grueling, and as it is a journey into the unknown, it will take much courage. Let’s be generous in lending each other courage throughout the journey and kind when the courage of others fails. While there is no belief that is too sacred for a challenge, we will accomplish much more when those challenges are made gently among friends than combatively among adversaries. I trust that the sorts of people with the courage to undertake this journey will also have the kindness and empathy to understand their friends’ beliefs even as they gently challenge them.
As I share my experiences and thoughts, please don’t feel the need to stay on topic; rather, let the posts and comments from myself and the rest of the community (once I get them enabled!) help you identify new excavation sites to dig into your beliefs, assumptions, and identity.
That’s it—I’m out for now. Thanks for contributing to this effort and joining us for the journey!
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