Chat across the great divide

[thegreenheartofmanyroundabouts]

So this is a bit of an experiment. Threads in this part of MN can get very heated and it is easy to loose sight of the person behind the screen so this is a place to chat and get to know each other whether we are christians, atheists, muslims or whatever. It isn't a place for proving that your viewpoint is right. It is more a place find out what it is like to walk in another person's shoes and that requires empathy, listening, tact and the maturity. We all know that tone is hard online as we just have words and a jokey comment ends up offending where not offence was intended. So to borrow a term from across the Atlantic - don't be a jerk and if you mess up, fess up. We are posting from places of safety (homes, offices, coffee shops) about things we hold dear. So be kind.

Maybe introduce ourselves?

I'm a vicar who was an atheist from 12-18 but I started exploring Christianity at university. The thing that keeps me going through long days is builders tea, non of your herbal rubbish, and plain chocolate digestives.

Anyone else?

Hello, I've been lurking her for a while. Glad to see the conversation continuing.

I'm a life long atheist and I don't remember a time when I wasn't baffled / bemused by people believing in a god.

I do like the community aspects of church / religion though, and sometimes find myself wondering about joining up.

As pps have said, I'm very interested in how believers interpret the bible and other holy books. In particular how you decide what to take literally, and what is to be taken with a pinch of salt. What is your starting point?

Also, particularly those who have found faith in later life or changed from one faith to another, how did you know which faith / God you were being drawn to?

Hi Graysor, I believe the Quran is the word of God so I take the entire book literally, I don't believe anything in the Quran can be discarded or taken with a pinch of salt. I have always been Muslim but did look into other religions when I was younger, ultimately I stayed Muslim mainly because of my beliefs on the Quran and Muhammad pbuh. I personally think that all monotheistic religions worship the same God so that was never an issue for me.

Graysor - there are lots of tools that Christians use to study the Bible. There is a reasonable list here en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_criticism

There are strands of conservative Christianity that take the Bible literally but this is not mainstream in the UK.

Graysor I found these really helpful - you can ask them lots of difficult questions!
christianity.org.uk/