Support Group for Recovering Fundamentalists

"Hi, my name is ________ and I was damaged by early attempts at religious instruction."

This is not a direct quote, but at points during our discussion on Friday afternoon I might have thought I was at a "Support Group for Students who have Rejected Religion." The comments were in response to this question:
"What is one opinion about God or Religion you had formed by age 12?"

"My first question about God was raised by mention of him in a comic book. After I asked my Mom about him I remember my response: 'So there's this man up in the sky who loves me but if I don't obey him he will send me to a dimension of eternal punishment?'" (At this point he is NOT a Christian - but likes to hang out with us.)

"I remember going to church and hearing stuff about God only on Sunday. It didn't mean anything or make any difference to us when we got home. I just figured it was something we did out of social obligation or tradition." (He IS a believer now but doesn't want anything to do with church. I am discipling him and he has a hunger for the Word.)

"It bothered me that there was supposed to be this loving God out there, but there were a lot of bad things happening. I wondered, 'Why isn't He doing anything?'" (A Religious Studies major visiting our group as part of a research project.)

"My father became a Christian when I was five years old. He came home excited and began reading the Bible to us. We went to church and I remember being told that Jesus was my Saviour, but I was missing the 'Man's Response' part of the Gospel Message. So it wasn't until college that I chose Christ and began to have a personal relationship with Him." (A new Christian who is growing in the Lord and wants to develop her skills interacting with the variety of views expressed at "The CAVE.")

One idea that I thought of as I listened was this: "Religious Instruction fails to connect with 'felt needs' by either giving answers to questions people are not asking, or by suppressing their REAL questions."

I shared my own early struggles with Grace and Obedience: "Why should I bother to obey (which involves suffering) when Heaven is guaranteed anyway?" One way I described the resolution was in terms of experiencing God's Love and coming under His authority (Lordship). These are not at odds, rather, His authority is the Way we experience His love through the protection, provision, and separation from sin that we find as we submit.

Each of these people deserves individual, personal and thoughtful responses to their struggles.

p.s. There was a silent participant "lurking in the shadows" at the Cave: the Barista appeared very interested in last Friday's topic!