Reason #9

I left the church because I felt like I was the only one troubled by stories of violence and misogyny and genocide found in the Bible, and I was tired of people telling me not to worry about it because “God’s ways are higher than our ways.”

The Bible is such an important faith issue in our journey with Jesus.  It is full of wonder, mystery, conflict and troubling stories.  It is no wonder that for some it is easier to just be selective about what parts of the Bible they want to accept and which parts they can just ignore.  

We have to avoid simple answers to complicated questions.  There are no simple answers to why God would ask the Jewish people to destroy and kill the women, children, and animals of a city they were fighting against. There are some complicated explanations that in the end may not satisfy the heart, but at least they show that we care enough to think through our faith instead of just accepting without processing the deeper questions.  Life is complicated and messy.  The Bible is complicated and messy.  Our spiritual journey with God is complicated and messy!  The good thing about this coming generation of young people - they can handle things being unresolved much better than being simplified.  

We have to quit ignoring the questions and hoping they will go away.  People are hungry for God or at least hungry for something beyond themselves. The church must step up to the conversation with people in a loving and compassionate way.  Figure out how to be people of conversation instead of lecture.  Figure out how to listen to the questions that are being asked so we can join in the dialogue that will point people to the love of Jesus.  

We must still hold on to the truth of the Good News of Jesus!  In the same breath, we must be able to come down from our holy mountain and make the Good News flesh.  Just like Jesus did.