I believe that I have mentioned previously that I grew up in the Southern Baptist denomination. (One thing to remember: Southern Baptists in California look and sound vastly different from those you will find in the actual South. And I'm not just talking about a southern drawl.)
As a matter of fact, it is true that I have been "going to church" since the first Sunday I landed on this planet. Growing up, we knew that if the church doors were open, we were to be there. For one thing, my mother was the church secretary for many years after my youngest sibling reached school age until she finally retired. For another thing, we lived in the "heartland" of the California Southern Baptist Convention, and it is no surprise that the majority of my church friends had parents who worked for or were ordained by the SBC. To say our world was "church-centric" would be spot on.
That I met my future husband at a Southern Baptist college should also come as no surprise, but much to everyone's shock and dismay, I did not immediately "walk down the aisle" to move my membership to my new husband's home church the first Sunday after we were married. When my new sister-on-law invited us to visit her church, my in-laws were not best pleased. Do not laugh when I tell you that I had a visit from their pastor within the few few months of our marriage, admonishing me that I was leading my husband astray...
Over the ensuing years, it has been a journey of discovery to note how many things I grew up taking for granted as "truth" were a result of tradition or the SBC heritage, rather than based on Scripture. But first, let me state that I am not one to throw out a tradition just because it does not appear in the Bible. That would be like throwing out Reese's Peanut Butter cups or mochas just because the apostles never had them. That would just be silly. Nor will I claim that I was indoctrinated by some cult and grew up with some wildly heretical point of view. I can honestly say that I believe Baptists got more things right than wrong, at least in my experience/opinion. And - like I said - this is California, not Mississippi or Texas. I can hardly speak for anyone else's experience.
I can find nothing wrong in teaching children Bible stories, helping them see how those faith lessons can be applied to their own lives, and encouraging young people to think of others first and ask themselves how their actions fit in with being a good Christian witness. These are what I have taken away from growing up in what is commonly known as a conservative denomination.
What I learned that I had to later unlearn were things like we were the only denomination who "got it right" when it came to how we understood and lived out our faith. The way we baptized (total immersion by water only!), the way we took communion (once a month, soda crackers and grape juice only!), the way we worshipped (don't you be raising your hands! This is not a Pentecostal church!) were just the start.
But even as I transitioned to attending a different (albeit mainstream) denomination, there were still things being taught that I have since had reason to reconsider and reject as extra-Biblical tradition. Ironically, much of my "re-examining" has been thanks to the teachings and writing of some former Southern Baptist or other so-called "conservative" teachers or pastors.
Am I saying I now have all the answers? No. I am saying that I have come to a place of being willing to weigh the idea that what I thought was Truth may have just been the result of someone's interpretation, but is not necessarily supported by Scripture. Once I figured out that I had enough basic intelligence to read and study scripture without some theologian or divinity student holding my hand and telling me how I should interpret everything, it was only a short trip to realizing that maybe we have not come up with all the right answers, even after all these years.
So, spoiler alert: I still believe the Bible is true. I still believe God created the universe and everything in it. I still believe Jesus died to set us free from the curse of sin. I have yet to figure out how we arrived at other doctrines that have been handed down through the centuries by various denominations, such as "once saved-always saved", "the Church has replaced Israel", and "the Sabbath is now Sunday - or any day I want to take my rest."
A few things to think about: Myths we believe
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