williamlobdell.com

4 responses so far ↓

• 1 figuringitout // Mar 4, 2009 at 9:08 am

  Dear Mr. Lobdell,

  I enjoyed reading your book very much. You point out many of my doubts and fears about organized religion. I attend a Lutheran church, but was raised Catholic, bounced from that to Evangelical Free and finally feel more at home here in the Lutheran Church. I did not lose my faith by reading your book. I still believe in God. I still believe that His Son, Jesus died on a cross as atonement for my sins. Beyond that, I’m not sure what else I do believe.

  The fall of my faith in organized religion began when I moved from the EFCA church to the Lutheran church. I asked the Pastor a question and even challenged him a bit on a point of scripture and he told me that if I didn’t agree with him, I didn’t agree with God. That’s when I realized I was putting my faith in people instead of God. I continue to attend because, in spite of his defensive attitude, his sermons are very good and I enjoy the worship services and participating in the outreach.

  I worry that the human mind is so easily manipulated that we can, in essence, believe in anything given the right circumstances. One religion doesn’t work for you, no problem, try this one or that one. Don’t have a story of your own; adopt the story of this religion.

  I also worry about the bad things happening to good people. But I question how would we treat one another if there were no bad things happening? This thought brings me full circle back to if there were no bad things happening, our self-preserving, self-centered hearts would create bad things in how we treat each other. That circle gives me a headache. Could we show compassion or love if it weren’t a need? Perhaps this is a training ground so that when the need is removed (heaven), we know how to feel and offer those ideals to others lovingly.

  I also think of the bible as a place within which to learn good as opposed to evil. My personal relationship with God and the things that I do take from the bible have helped me learn those things. My parents were not the role models I needed to learn how to be a good wife or how to be in a relationship with my husband. I learned that from the things which I read in the bible. Common-sensical as they may be, where else could I learn those things? Can I trust other human beings to teach them to me? I can’t trust other human beings, especially in the religious community as you have pointed out in your book. I also tried the secular community for a short while attending counseling sessions. I cannot repeat the questions my counselor asked me about our sex life and how they related my marriage (believe me those were not the issue of our marital problems at the time). Humans are humans…some good, some bad…you don’t know until you get burned. But God, I can access from the privacy of my own bedroom. I can pray and meditate and receive answers. I can ask Him to point me to the scripture He wants me to read and receive inspiration, comfort, knowledge and wisdom. When there is no answer, I put the request on the back burner or try to be patient. But, like a ten year old, it’s hard for me to wait.

  I have moved past the “two year old” level of my faith and stopped asking why. Perhaps that is the reason why I can still maintain my faith. Sometimes there is no why, even when you take God out of the picture. I find that with God there is less why then with people. People who do evil things usually don’t have an explainable why. How do I combat their evil without God? Where do I turn for solace, peace and comfort, another a human with their own agenda to fulfill? Where do I go to explain to my child why we need to treat each other with dignity, compassion, love? Because, I said so?; because you don’t want them to treat you poorly? Guess what? Sometimes they treat you poorly anyway. Do you then respond with poor behavior because of someone else’s or do you respond with grace because you have a faith grounded in morality learned through your belief in God. Without that grounding, I cannot find a place of beginning in which to teach my child the good and moral way in life or maintain it for myself; (being a human as well… ?)

  Having Jesus in my heart and maintaining a relationship with Him helps me to be a better person, mother, wife, co-worker, etc. He reminds me that I can be better than others manipulations, I can be better than that stupid comment my co-worker said to me or my husband’s blood sugar or my mother’s incessant need for attention. I can feel comfort and strength knowing that He is filling me. As a human, I will fall, I will make mistakes, I will fail and do things I wish I hadn’t. Remembering that I am human and I will fall, make mistakes and do things I wish I hadn’t are part of the human condition and first and foremost, I need to know I’m forgiven because most times I cannot forgive myself. I need to learn from it because He gives me wisdom to recognize my pattern of behavior and nip it maybe earlier next time. And although these are common sense ideals, in my human condition, without Christ, I focus so much on my shortcomings I fail to forgive myself or learn from my mistakes. This, for me is a great benefit to being in Christ.

  I am mostly disappointed in myself when I try to live up to other people’s expectations. Especially Christians. I find them to be the most judgmental, (including myself) and make me feel even more lowly and undeserving than many non-Christians. In the past, I have found myself doing the same thing….watching everything other Christians do and judging them…..comparing them to myself…..am I a better Christian than they are or are they the better Christian? I have found recently that watching everything they “do” does not accurately depict their hearts, but getting to know them more closely does. And I have come to the conclusion that we are all broken. I do not compare myself to them anymore and focus on my own “walk with Christ.” I wonder if this point is what Christ was talking about when he said to “leave” your mother and father, sister and brother. We do “leave” them in a sense when we stop trying to keep up with them, when we are comfortable in our own lives despite having the same things they have (secular) or how many bible studies we attend or outreach programs we participate in (religious). I have stopped feeling guilty when I do not live up to their expectations because it is not them I am trying to please, but God. Let them judge me….I no longer care, but this, I do not feel is a reflection on my faith. Like any family, there are some we “get along” with better than others.

  I have to agree with your friend. I do not believe that you have really lost your faith in God and that at some point you will regain your belief in Him. You have been badly burned by filling yourself with the lowest of low and in essence you have tasted a bit of hell. You have seen, first hand, the wolves in sheep’s clothing. And you have been prepared, I believe by God, to have GREAT discernment for the ultimate wolf who has yet to be revealed. This will serve you one day, it will save you and it will increase your faith. Remember, you were in Christ when this idea came to you. Out of the blue? I think not. Your story is not yet complete.

  This letter is much longer than I expected and I’m not sure what message I am trying to get across to you, but I thank you for reading and pray you have a good life full of love and peace.

  Sincerely,

  “Figuring it out”
  New York

• 2 Betty P // Mar 6, 2009 at 3:52 am

  I read the article today in the Raleigh News and Observer. I certainly agree with your comments about religion and the value of therapy. There are other approaches you may want to consider. Lynne McTaggart’s book The Field (updated) The Intention Experiments and information from the Monroe Institute may set you off on the next part of your quest for meaning. You have my e-mail address on file if you would like additional information about this comment.

• 3 rationality // Mar 7, 2009 at 3:56 pm

  EXCUSE ME ! The word “KNOW” to me means that there is some empirical data to support that certitude. There is NO such thing to determine whether or not there is a “GOD”. So, I am an agnostic and if everyone else wants to be intellectually honest, well, that’s the only conclusion one can arrive at, so to speak.

• 4 donald // Mar 10, 2009 at 3:20 pm

  Bill:
  I am a Christian. Your book is tremendous. It tells the truth in a very unbiased way. My Faith has been strengthened by your story. Because it proves that when a false doctrine is taught (as was evident in the things that misguided religionists tried to teach you) it eventually leads to despair.

  The only conclusion an honest person can come to is the one you came to when you were taught that God is responsible for evil in the world. Most Christians believe that way and if they were honest they would have to give up on God also. But, the Bible reveals that God has nothing to do with the evil that we humans chose from the very beginning. When God created humanity, He, out of His love decided to give us freewill. Imagine if He had created us and then controlled us and the world like puppets? Would that make us happy? No. That suffering and the demonic behaviour of clergy happens is because God gave us the power to choose and we humans persist in making very evil choices and we all suffer the consequences. God cannot intervene because to do so would be to violate His very nature of love that was demonstrated when He gave us free will. Would any of us want to have been created without freewill?… to be like the common animals?

  But one thing is certain, and that is that we are assured that God is with all His children (believing and unbelieving) when they suffer, to comfort and minister to them in their time of need. You knew that Presence even though you were believing wrongly about His character. The peace you have now is His gift to you.

  The only ones who can understand this concept are believers who will not attribute to God what we humans have chosen to do to harm ourselves and one another. God is love and He has a Way that leads to eternal life where there will not be the evil that we created for ourselves as humans when our ancestors and we fell into sin.

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