Some Background on the Journey

I didn’t know what Christianity was for all of my childhood. In fact, as far as I can remember, we didn’t really start going to church on a habitual basis until I was about 9 or 10. (To the best of my recolection, anyway. I am sure that my mom would remember for sure.) I do remember that when we did start going, it was a Methodist church near Ellicot City. My mom, who enjoyed singing quite a bit, was involved with the choir and was involved in an Easter Cantata. The message that she helped to portay moved her to accept Jesus as her savior. I do not remember the events that led to it, but we eventually switched churches to one that was more evangelical. I believe that it was a Pentecostal church.Without getting into the dynamics of the relationship that I had with my mom at the time, suffice it to say that I went along for the ride. I professed to have also become “born again.” At the time, I really did not grasp all of what was being thrown at me. It wasn’t until about 15 or 16 that I started to truly question things that I had been told by the pastor and fellow believers. At this age, I wasn’t really thinking logically about much. I just knew that I had various questions that, at the time, were easily answered.

For example, I realized that some of the gospel accounts did not mesh with one another. (This was far before I started to dig into the history of the Bible and how it was formed.) I remember asking about this and getting the “4 Blind Men” response. It goes something like this: 4 blind men are brought before an elephant. The elephant has been tranquilized for the purpose of getting a routine physical examination. One of the blind men is allowed to handle the tail of the elephant and comes to the conclusion that it is a large piece of rope. The 2nd blind man begins to feel along the side of the sleeping elephant and draws the conclusion that he has encountered a wall of some sort. The next handles the trunk and fancies it as a fire hose. The final blind gentleman examines the ear and thinks that perhaps it is a think canvas of some sort, perhaps a sail. While they had all examined the same elephant, they each had their own perceptions of what it is that they were examining. I wish that I had that moment back. Perhaps I would have gotten more answers than I did. Instead, I took that answer and dropped the subject. Why didn’t I state the obvious? The fact of the matter is that the blind men were wrong on each account! It was an elephant, not a rope, hose, sail or wall. Beyond that, those that wrote the gospels were always taught to be eye-witnesses to the events (more on that later). 4 sighted people that are observing these events as they unfold should never have such contradictory information in their accounts. Instead, I let the matter drop.

It has always been these types of questions that have held me at a distance from embracing any religion. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your view, I am just not wired for faith. I need logical, concise answers to these various questions. I do not think that the answers will ever come. It was the question and the ability to question that sent me on the path that I am now on. Quite honestly, it has been a fun journey so far.