Truth be told, as Christians, what we consider “biblical” often has more to do with our preferences than we’d like to admit. We constantly pick and choose the kind of God we want and can resonate with. Some want a harsh God because they feel a deep-seated need for justice or even vengeance; some want a rigid God because they find security in the certainty of rules; others want a God who would never send anyone to hell because they struggle to reconcile love with eternal torment. We as Christians are constantly casting our own Golden Calves. This isn’t to say there’s no absolute Truth, but I highly question our human ability to comprehend the complete Truth of an infinite being. If you hold strong beliefs, present them with sound arguments and reasoning. Don’t just label something as biblical or unbiblical, expecting others to take your word for it. I’ve made this mistake myself, and I hope to do better moving forward. Also, just because you strongly believe something and other
There are many churches near the seminary I attended, some of which are made up mostly of professors and students from the Christian university that the seminary is a part of. Once, I visited one of these churches with a friend. We sat through the entire service and stayed for lunch. During lunch, we noticed people engaged in deep theological discussions, and their passion for the Bible and theology was clear. However, to our surprise, throughout our time there, no one — absolutely no one — greeted us, the first-time visitors. After we left, my friend and I both agreed that the church felt rather cold. This is a church very different from my impression of what a church should be. My earliest impression of what a church looks like came from the "home church" of my paternal grandparents. Due to their declining health, my grandparents were no longer able to attend Sunday services at their church, even from as early as I can remember. Yet, every Sunday evening, brothers and si