I find your site fascinating in that it seems totally unbiased towards any one religion. I am having issues with being one religion and am trying to find the "truth" in religion. My urge or dream, if you will, is to study theology and learn as much about religion (any and all of them) as I can. That's kind of how I found your site, I used a search engine. Anyways, to my point, I was wondering if indeed you are nondenominational or if you have a single religion you adhere to. I would appreciate any input you could give me, or just a simple answer to the question of religion. Either way it's only a curiosity. And thanks for your site, it's very good reading. Thanks for your time.
Answer
The only religion to which I try to adhere is Christianity. Within that, I try to be truly non-denominational. My goal is to follow the Bible, and it only. I do not follow any set doctrine of a specific church, except that the Bible is my doctrine. Generally I do worship with a non-denominational group that sometimes uses the designation “churches of Christ.” (This “name” can be found in Romans 16:16.) Each congregation is independent of all others, and there are minor issues of doctrine that may differ from one congregation to the next. In fact, I have yet to find a congregation where I agreed with everything said by the preacher or other members. On certain things we may disagree. I have disagreed with members of various congregations where I attended on such things as evolution, the trinity, the role of Jews in the church, how to spend the church treasury, the use of musical instruments in worship, and whether the “fruit of the vine” in the Lord’s Supper should be fermented wine or not (or it doesn’t matter). On certain things we must agree, because they are clear teachings of the Bible. These include immersion in water for the forgiveness of sins, the independence of each congregation from other congregations, the organization of the church (elders and deacons), and the authority of the Bible.
On my site I try to use this “back to the Bible” approach in teaching others. I have been shown that I have been wrong. I hope in each of those cases I have changed my mind, and admitted it. (And hope I have thanked those who corrected me.) Although I may at times be wrong, I believe the Bible is always right.
Thank you for looking at my site and taking the time to write me. I pray that your search for truth in religion will continue, and that you find what you are looking for.