For the record, professional Creationists LOVE dinosaurs. Institute of Creation Research, Answers in Genesis, the Creation Museum have tons of books, videos & exhibits about dinosaurs. They have wacky ideas about them BUT they do believe in them!
Christian & Missionary Alliance here - and this could practically be my answer. Btw, I was a kid who read a lot, asked a lot of questions, and the Sunday School teachers LOVED me- because I was seriously engaging the Bible & wanting to know. I was very fortunate not to have ministers or SS teachers who feared challenges, to be raised in an Evangelical church that comprised LOTS of different types of Evangelicals with different views on Creation, the End Times, gifts of the Holy Spirit & so did not micromanage dogma, & to have Christian parents who would have had my back if some church official did get riled up over my questions.
And being a reader of Von Daniken as early as Sixth Grade, I could come up with some wacky questions.
The church I was raised in, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, is literalist in Scriptural interpretation.(I’m now Episcopalian)
I didn’t think about differing Gospel accounts because, when I got old enough to notice, I figured the writers were looking at it from differing places.
I was kind of curious as to where Cain was supposed to have got a wife.
And the hymns, with gender-biased lyrics. now, THAT I noticed, as I’m female.
“Born to raise the sons of earth” from Hark the Herald Angels Sing is an example. I never said a word about it though. In *“A Mighty Fortress is Our God” *the line was “and take they our life/Goods, fame, child and wife” WTH? I’ll never have a wife! I prefer the more modern translation of course “Let good and kindred go/this mortal life also”
In second grade Sunday School, when we were learning about the Exodus, I did have questions, and, as it turns out, a really good teacher. I was kind of curious about the story, so I asked “If you went down to the bottom of the Red Sea would the soldiers and horses and chariots still be there?” I guess I wanted proof. Our teacher didn’t tell me not to question the word of God, but answered frankly “No, you wouldn’t” Then he explained about how, when we die, bodies decay, and wood falls apart, and metal rusts away, especially in water. So I didn’t get “proof” but the question I had was treated with respect.
Evidently, they are encouraging you to be gay!
That one is kind of sexist although things like “peace on earth and goodwill towards men” doesn’t literally mean that women are excluded, but that “man” was the gender-neutral term.
True, I haven’t seen anyone actually think dinosaurs (either live or online) didn’t exist rather than say humans and dinosaurs coexisted.
I know about “gender-neutral” terms. But I’m still not a man, and if words or lyrics can be rewritten to be really inclusive then I’m all for it.
“Born to raise the sons of Earth” has become “Born to raise each child of Earth” for just one change.
And just to point out how sexist that church is, well, my mother, born there baptized there, married there, has never attended a Voter’s meeting, because she’s a woman, and only the men are voting members. And of course women can’t be ordained. In my home congregation women can’t read the Scripture from the lectern during Sunday service.
I was raised a conservative Lutheran and while I don’t remember questioning the inerrancy of the Bible as a youth, I do recall questioning things my Pastor or catechism teacher (the pastor’s wife) said. For example, in 7th grade catechism class, the pastor’s wife told us that our worst enemies were the Catholics, because they:
- Said the Lord’s Prayer wrong by leaving off the end bit (ie for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever).
- Were worse than Hindus, or Buddhists, or Communists, or Atheists because the Catholics had once been in possession of The Truth but had thrown it out in favor of Papal Idolatry.
- Didn’t eat meat on Friday, which was more unbiblical Papal silliness, although some of the local fish fries were actually quite tasty…
My best friend at the time was Catholic. His family prayed the same way I did, didn’t think about the Pope much (They were Americans and not very interested in the sayings of some old Italian guy.), and didn’t like fish.
When I mentioned these things to the pastor’s wife, I had to sit facing the wall for the rest of catechism class. (I was just glad I didn’t have to stay late.)
Thank you for catching that! I wrote my response first and then while perusing the thread said: No-one’s mentioned the Pope yet …???
I think it’s connected, though, to the Catholic Church being more about the priests than the book, the interpretation rather than the words.
I don’t think my upbringing really counts as ‘raised Christian.’ At school there was quite a lot of religion but it was all hymns, paraphrased Bible Stories and wearing a tea-towel on your head for the Nativity, tradition rather than faith. Same with the weddings, Christenings and funerals in churches - that was just where you did them. And in the (compulsory) secondary school RE lessons it was more like philosophy or cultural studies or something. But I guess, actually, if you totted up all those influences and they were of a different religion, say, Islam, then it’d seem like quite a lot.
Anyway, no, I’m not sure anyone involved in the religious parts of this stuff had even heard of Biblical innerancy.
[/QUOTE]
And just to point out how sexist that church is, well, my mother, born there baptized there, married there, has never attended a Voter’s meeting, because she’s a woman, and only the men are voting members. And of course women can’t be ordained. In my home congregation women can’t read the Scripture from the lectern during Sunday service.
[/QUOTE]
Is this still the norm in the Missouri Synod? I know it is that way in the Wisconsin Synod (in which I was raised), but I thought every other Lutheran Synod had gotten away from that. (I can’t give any good reason for why I thought that, I just always figured the WELS was just way way out of the Lutheran mainstream.)
(I was trying to quote Baker - dunno why it didn’t work out quite right.)
One too many /. It’s {quote}{/quote} in square brackets.
And just to point out how sexist that church is, well, my mother, born there baptized there, married there, has never attended a Voter’s meeting, because she’s a woman, and only the men are voting members. And of course women can’t be ordained. In my home congregation women can’t read the Scripture from the lectern during Sunday service.
[/QUOTE]
*
Is this still the norm in the Missouri Synod? I know it is that way in the Wisconsin Synod (in which I was raised), but I thought every other Lutheran Synod had gotten away from that. (I can’t give any good reason for why I thought that, I just always figured the WELS was just way way out of the Lutheran mainstream.)
(I was trying to quote Baker - dunno why it didn’t work out quite right.)
[/QUOTE]
Well, I do know that some congregations let their women vote, or do other things outside the national rules. But the LC-MS still has those rules, and my parent’s congregation follows them. BTW, I was baptized there and confirmed there, but I can’t take Communion there now, because I’m not LC-MS.
I married in California, in 1975, at a LC-MS congregation I was attending. They were a little more laid back. See, I’d hoped to marry at home and have my father-in-law to be(a Presbyterian minister) be involved in the wedding, along with my own pastor at home. I found out that wasn’t going to happen because my FIL was not LC-MS. I said “Fine, I’ll get married in a Presbyterian church!” But it turns out the FIL wasn’t able to be there, so the point was moot. Fiance and I got married in California, where we were both in the military, and the pastor of the LC-MS congregation said he would have been fine with our plans, if the guy had been able to make it to California.