I Am a Believer in Exile
Ξ February 2nd, 2009 | → 11 Comments | ∇ Life |
I am a believer in exile. Claiming to be a believer in exile brings up certain questions. What do you mean by exile? What compelled me into exile? Is this a transitional state on my way to God?
1. Exile is not a voluntary state. It is forced upon me by things or circumstances beyond my control. A person just does not leave a denomination (faith) where he spent 59 years of his life voluntarily. He must be forced by circumstances.
2. This exile is a forced dislocation from which he will never be able to return.
3. If this exile was not voluntary, what was it that forced me there? It was a rather sudden revelation that my beliefs, my faith simply wasn’t working for me. They had lost their meaning, their power in my life. This forced me to look for answers as to why this had happened. My journey had begun.
I will always be a believer. I believe there is a God. I believe there was a man called Jesus. I think that is about all that I believe that conforms to traditional Christianity. To me, God is not the theistic, anthropomorphic, monarchial, personal deity beyond the sky, who keeps an account book on each and every one of us, so that at a later date he can judge us as to whether we belong in Heaven or Hell. It goes much deeper than that, but that’s a start. To me, Jesus was a man whose life so completely revealed the transcendent reality that I call God, that people often referred to him as "God’s son or God’s only son". I believe that Jesus was a God-presence, a powerful experience of the presence of the Ground of Being undergirding all of us at the very depths of life. The presence of God was so real in him that when I look at his life I can say that I see God in Jesus. This is only a taste, however, of the whole picture..
At present, as should be obvious, there is no place for this exile in traditional Christianity. I have defined myself theologically as a believer who lives in exile. I will continue to be an exile until traditional Christianity either does one of two things: dies a slow death as more and more followers become exiles, or makes the changes, drops the things that don’t work anymore and moves into the Post-Christian Period where followers can find real meaning to the God and the Jesus story once again, meaning that makes sense in this 21st century world in which we live.
Stumble it!
on February 12th, 2009 at 6:43 AM
I can see myself all over that, although not completely, but if I had to be put under a specific label of christian, it would be this one for sure. thanks for sharing this Don!
on February 23rd, 2009 at 3:28 PM
Glad it resonated with you.
on March 26th, 2009 at 8:53 PM
Don, I think you are simply a “truth seeker” like me. Who needs labels beyond that? We label and name when we try and an identity of ourselves for the world outside of us. We give ourselves names, titles, etc, but who we really are is not a body or a label. The “real me” is not visible, being eternal spirit… :C)
on March 26th, 2009 at 8:54 PM
Oops…that should have read “when we try and establish an identity…”
on March 5th, 2010 at 8:27 AM
Don, while I understand some of what you said I strongly disagree with the statment “my faith simply wasn’t working for me.” Obviously you just don’t get it. I’m glad you are digging deeper, but your faith isn’t supposed to “work for you.” Just by saying that you are looking at faith from a world view. This world is all about “what have you done for me lately” and God simply isn’t like that. I hope and pray that you don’t give up. 59 years is a long time to devote to God only to give up on God when you will likely need Him the most. Sahlom, Denni
on March 5th, 2010 at 12:00 PM
I believe what Don was trying to get across, and Don can correct me if I’m wrong, is that his former beliefs (which encapsulated his faith in a particular expression) were not connecting him with the Divine. The connection, relationship, and experience with the Divine as Don puts it, “lost their meaning, their power.” This is not a failure on God’s part nor on Don’s (since it is easy to blame the believer for “losing their faith”), but a disruption of the connection through the beliefs, symbols, and language which brought God and Don together. To sum up, a change of beliefs does not necessarily mean a change in faith. Faith and belief, although commonly used interchangeably, are different: belief is the content/form of expression in which faith (radical trust) is expressed. Coming from a fellow Believer in Exile, the faith (trust) is still there only the shape and form of that faith has changed.
on March 5th, 2010 at 4:04 PM
Denni- You misunderstood me. I haven’t given up on God, our Source, just the religion that constantly claims to speak for (him). That I don’t “get it” doesn’t accurately picture my abandonment of religion as I see it.
Erusso, you stated it better than I. Thank you, brother.
on April 28th, 2010 at 9:10 AM
Ah yes, this is what I’ve wondered, too. I’ve always phrased it like this, for myself, “What would God look like, stripped of all labels…AND organized religion?” I’m not sure, because that’s all we’re taught, really, in the church (or at least in my experience). It’s exciting to know that there are others questioning, too.
on April 28th, 2010 at 10:40 AM
The ineffable, for man, is IMO indefinable. However, I enjoy the journey and the many attempts humankind has made. It took me quite a while to arrive at the initial statement I’ve made here. Welcome to my site.I’ve added you to the Blogroll. Please feel free to comment on any subject. Come back! Blessings! Namaste!
on May 26th, 2010 at 11:13 PM
Don, I wouldn’t worry about being a believer in exile: I was raised in a so-called Christian church and didn’t really get much out of it …so I walked away from it. Later on, it was revealed to me at a point in my life that there was an emptiness that nothing else could satisfy. I was familiar with the Bible, so I began to read it for myself. The books of John and Romans really gripped me. Wow, someone (I understand now that it was the Holy Spirit) began speaking to me…i didn’t understand it but it was as real as i am alive. I realized that the emptiness inside of me was a result of my sinful human nature. It was at that point that I gave up, turned away from my sins and believed on Jesus just as it teaches in those books. (Yes this all sounds ridiculous!) I can tell you that my life has had so much meaning since that point. So…remain in exile! If you’ve truly done the same thing I did I can promise you that it doesn’t matter what church you are a part of as long as it is a church that believes and teaches the Bible for what it is, and doesn’t try to twist the Bible into something that it is not. Don’t get me wrong – Jesus gave his life for the church, but i’m afraid all churches aren’t what they are supposed to be; just like all of us humans. What doctrine/denomination were you a part of previously (just curious since it may have been the same as mine)
on May 28th, 2010 at 10:10 AM
I love your phrase “A Believer in Exile”. The faith in diety isn’t gone, only the faith in methods,rules, procedures and traditions has melted.
I know so well what it feels like to be somewhat involuntarily exiled from religion. Glad I have found your blog.