B3: Drifting, Grifting, or Shifting

B3: Drifting, Grifting, or Shifting

It’s a strange thing to hear about people talking about your convictions—not just challenging them, but labeling them. Lately, I’ve found myself placed into a couple boxes by some have been critical of things I’ve shared: Let’s call them drifting and grifting. Then there’s a label I would use of my process, which is shifting.

B2: You Might Be a Fundamentalist If . . .

One of the most common discussions points I’ve had about the podcast is about what I mean when I use the term fundamentalism. I unpack what I mean by fundamentalism – and why I’m trying not to be one – in episode two. But it seems a bit more clarification might be helpful. In a recent conversation about the podcast with a Southern Baptist leader, I used a metaphor from C.S. Lewis that seemed useful. Lewis once compared Christianity to a great house. The central hallway is the shared core of the faith—belief in Christ, the creeds, the big essentials. In this podcast, I oultine a few ways we drift into fundamentalism using Lewis' house metaphor.

B1: Welcome to the Flipside

Welcome to the Flip Side. If you rode along for Why I'm Not — my experiment in verbal processing and theological reflection on my journey in, and through Christian fundamentalism — then buckle up, because like any good vinyl record, there's always a Side B. Side B is filled with some reflections on the journey.

Why I'm Not Getting Over Jesus

Rumors of my deconversion are greatly exaggerated. I’ve had some folks I’ve worked with in the past speculate I’m walking away from faith. I heard it through the grapevine. Trust me, it’s not true. As if. Some of y’all need to take a chill pill. They’ve said that’s me in the corner, that’s me in the spotlight, losing my religion. I’m not. I’m losing their fundamentalist version of it. And I’m glad to see it go. So today, I want to say this plainly, calmly, and without apology. I may be over fundamentalism. But I’m not getting over Jesus. 1. What Will Happen in Churches When All the Baby Boomers Are Gone? [https://churchanswers.com/podcasts/rainer-on-leadership/what-will-happen-in-churches-when-all-the-baby-boomers-are-gone/] (Church Answers) 2. The Coming Silver Tsunami: A Volunteer Crisis in Aging Congregations [https://churchanswers.com/blog/the-coming-silver-tsunami-a-volunteer-crisis-in-aging-congregations/] 3. The 2022 Data on the Southern Baptist Convention is Out [https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/the-2022-data-on-the-southern-baptist] (Ryan Burge) 4. Why Is the SBC Membership Declining? [https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/sbc-membership-declining/] (Ryan Burge)

Why I'm Not Sold on the Traditional View of Hell

1. Dr. John Stott on annihilationism: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1232&context=pd [https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1232&context=pd] 2. Three Christion Views of Hell (Dr. Preston Sprinkle): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-DfzRSLFP8 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-DfzRSLFP8] 3. Conditional Immortality (Dr. Preston Sprinkle): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nemKBJoCoKI [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nemKBJoCoKI] 4. Debate between Dr. Albert Mohler and Chris Date on annihilationism. Link: https://www.premier.plus/unbelievable/podcasts/episodes/should-christians-rethink-hell-dr-al-mohler-amp-chris-date-debate-the-traditional-amp-conditionalist-concept-of-hell-replay [https://www.premier.plus/unbelievable/podcasts/episodes/should-christians-rethink-hell-dr-al-mohler-amp-chris-date-debate-the-traditional-amp-conditionalist-concept-of-hell-replay] * You might need to set up a free account to listen. I had to. * You can judge for yourself, but this debate was a bit of tipping point for me in taking a serious look at annihilationism as the arguments for it are far better than what are given against it, which mostly consists of doubling down on the fact the ECT is the traditional view wihtout much substantive arguments. I would encourage you to look for places where instead of dealing with the arguments for annihilationism, they are simply dismissed as not being "the normal reading of the text." 5. Kirk Cameron video on hell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RflbA8Vt_Y [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RflbA8Vt_Y] 6. Ray Comfort's response to Kirk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1BAU7cdh8Y [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1BAU7cdh8Y] 7. Kirk Cameron's response to all the pushback: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NrwM3Qy-5w [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NrwM3Qy-5w] 8. Kirk Cameron and a panel of experts talking through this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds3UbUsIaQs [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds3UbUsIaQs] 9. This website is a repository of articles, videos, and publications on the topic: https://rethinkinghell.com [https://rethinkinghell.com]