i know i am putting up too many links but...

I read Letters from Leavers

It is a good site and and an interesting read quite often, the following is an excerpt from a recent letter. I like the part about sacrilegious humor. I enjoy it, too.

"So I left the church in search of God. Armed with nothing but a bitter taste in my mouth of what I did not want and a wisp of faith that God was capable of revealing God’s true Self to me through whatever means necessary, I launched out on my journey. This was my dark night of the soul; this was my mustard seed genesis that has grown into a tree-sized system of belief and action that governs my every move and decision.

There are many among us, and I was one, who have heads full of the knowledge of what the scriptures say about God, but who have very little sense of what it is to lead a God-surrendered or Spirit-filled life. I was taught much of what I knew about God by people who were quite possibly agnostics; at least they seemed unsure of what they believed when you got them down out of the pulpit where you could touch them, look them in the eye, and ask them questions. I find this to be true today of some of the loudest and most confident-appearing preachers. They seem to be preaching in order to convince themselves to believe. I don’t have a problem with this but I do think it’s ridiculous to let only one doubter, the one getting paid to be there, do all the talking in church.

Doubts are part of what makes faith authentic. “I believe, now help me with what I don’t believe.” (Mark 9:24 paraphrased) People who have biblical answers for every situation make me nervous. I prefer to hang out with spiritual seekers who are not uncomfortable with questions and who can laugh at the oldest of the sacred cows. Sacrilegious humor in my opinion is the most soul-cleansing."