Why I Believed

Of the various bits of information gathering I've undertaken in my quest for truth, one resource stands out as most accurately and succinctly approximating my own thinking.
Ken Daniels' Why I Believed is a generous-hearted, clear-headed and articulate accounting of a former missionaries journey from evangelical faith to a non-theistic belief system.

Ken's former theology is not identical to my former theology, but they are close enough that his questions and mine largely align, and his critique speaks well enough to my context.  Ken appears to be more self-disciplined and more devoted than I ever managed to achieve, though!

I never made it to the mission field, though I was employed in full-time ministry for some years.

For those wanting to know my story, Ken's book is a sensible place to start.  There's no point my reinventing the wheel.

I hope to gather various resources that I've found helpful or that help explain my position.  This one is generously made available free of charge on Ken's website, or there are paid versions for which Ken donates the proceeds to charity.

Often Better Than Fine

As someone who has recently left evangelical Christianity, this blog is a space for me to gather and test my thoughts, and to link to resources that I find helpful or that help explain where I am at.

The title of the blog "Often Better Than Fine" is taken from a line in the Quiet Company song, The Black Sheep and the Shepherd.
Quiet Company are an Austin band that produced an album a few years ago (We Are All Where We Belong) about their break with Christianity.  It's really really good.  Even without the theme that resonated so deeply with me, I love their music.

The section of the song I've stolen my byline from goes:

So I tried and I tried to achieve belief. Maybe there is something wrong with me, but I've been feeling fine (in fact, often better than fine).
Though, now both my shoulders have started hurting from walking around under such a burden, to reconcile everything that we learn with everything that we were taught.  But with all we know now, how can you say "Oh you've just got to take it all on faith" and "Don't think too much.  Just hush and pray, exactly as we've always done."

I'll aim to do a proper 'personal review' of the song at a later point, but for now, I've linked to the youtube version for the whole song for your listening pleasure.

And maybe there is something wrong with me.  Breaking with religion is a trial.  But pretty much, I've been feeling fine.  In fact, often better than fine. :)