tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928508826592241080.post9093605094834655738..comments2023-10-01T05:51:54.101-04:00Comments on Wake up and LIVE: And We're Worried About Pagans?SCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162762233972733978noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928508826592241080.post-72723861221549479032012-05-02T23:29:46.015-04:002012-05-02T23:29:46.015-04:00PaxDonnaVerde: thanks so much for the comment and ...PaxDonnaVerde: thanks so much for the comment and welcome to the discussion. <br />I listened to the NPR report from All Things Considered. It was not clear to me that she told the congregation why she was leaving, or even if she had made it clear that she was leaving... like <b>really</b> leaving. They made a reference to her sermon on the 18th of March being "her last." I'd be interested to know what she said in that "last" sermon. <br />I'm sure Teresa didn't feel comfortable telling her church she was going to Bethesda to "come out" as an atheist. As such, it just makes more sense for her to have quit long ago rather than leaving and then publicly announcing that she had been leading a double-life. <br />For her sake, I'm glad Teresa has come clean and come out. I hope she is able to find peace.<br />I know she was wrestling with this issue for awhile.<br />As for how much questioning and doubting clergy, theologians and laity are doing in their heads and hearts... I know that happens all the time. But it is quite the leap to go from telling everyone about the wonderful love of God and then admitting, you don't think there is a God. <br />As for the NPR report itself... I was sadly <b>not</b> surprised that the piece failed to interview anyone besides Teresa and her husband. If Barbara Brown Haggerty took the trouble of driving by Lake Jackson United Methodist Church, she might have tried to talk to them about where they were at with all this. Or find a religious ethicist to discuss when clergy lose their faith. <br />Human beings are prone to projection, and clergy are very susceptible to becoming "God" for their congregation. If "God" says, "it's all a bunch of crap," that's bound to cause a lot of hurt. I've seen something similar happen in my own church, and the wounds are deep.<br />There are better ways to leave, and I think she could have done things differently and possibly spared herself some of the in-your-face pain.SCGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08162762233972733978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928508826592241080.post-11479343782748509362012-05-02T11:25:14.847-04:002012-05-02T11:25:14.847-04:00Don't be quite so quick to judge Theresa McBai...Don't be quite so quick to judge Theresa McBain. Almost every minister, priest and theologian will admit to times when they could not believe in God, oftentimes repeatedly. We are not always privy to when these occur. They go on preaching, writing usually expecting that the disbelief will pass. Theresa was no different except that she came to a point that she understood that her disbelief would not pass. As I understood the NPR report, she did tell her congregation that she was leaving before she attended the athiest conference.PaxDonnaVerdehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06365801020831411241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928508826592241080.post-16782621687738517102012-04-30T14:53:53.495-04:002012-04-30T14:53:53.495-04:00Woo Hoo! Great piece my little darling.
PegginsWoo Hoo! Great piece my little darling.<br /><br />PegginsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com