Out of the Closet – a meme
June 29, 2007
I have read the contributions from Kyle, Rob, Ben, Kim and the other Will, (or am I the “other” Will?) and I decided to play along. Sounded like good Friday fun to me!
Ten Confessions:
- I confess that I have very little self-confidence. I have rarely started a project I wasn’t pretty sure I would screw up. I also confess that my default defense mechanism for such low self-confidence is arrogance and snobbery. I can act like a real buttcrack sometimes.
- I confess that I am immediately suspicious of anyone who labels themselves as “postmodern” or “emergent.” Once you label yourself that way and advertise yourself as such, I believe you are trying too hard to be postmodern or emergent.
- I confess that I believe many “conservative” Christians are guilty of Docetism or Eutychianism. Are they really? I don’t know, but I suspect it.
- I confess that having a teenage daughter scares the hell out of me daily.
- I confess that without Lexapro I worry too much, doubt myself too much, and get way too angry way too easily.
- I confess that I worry about the potential consequences of the Bishop, the Cabinet or the members of the congregations I serve reading my blog and finding out what I really believe.
- I confess that I like Kelly Clarkson, even though I think all reality TV is crap and I’m too much of a “rock snob” to like someone like Kelly Clarkson.
- I confess that for someone who really likes reading theology, I have a hard time understanding what I’m reading an awful lot of the time.
- I confess that I hardly ever finish a book.
- I confess that in many ways I am out of touch with my generation. I still haven’t seen The Matrix, I never did like Nirvana, and I’m not a Star Trek TNG trekkie.
Bonus confession: I very, very rarely remember my dreams, and when I do I can’t make sense of them.
I’m going to tag my brother, Erik, and John the Methodist.
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A Man Called Preach 
Good list! Seems like we are a bit alike.
Your number 6 makes me sad.
I didn’t really word number 6 very well. What I mean to communicate there is that I often worry too much about what other people think of me. Sometimes I worry that my congregation might think I’m wack if I tell them, for example, that I don’t believe in Darbyist “Rapture” eschatology, or (as I posted earlier) that I like an occasional glass of wine and Tarantino movies.
I worry about both positive and negative consequences of putting my thoughts “out there,” and what it might mean for better or worse for the Bishop and Cabinet to pay more attention to my thoughts than those of others.
In other words, I respect the vulnerable state that I place myself in when I post here.
Really? Us, worry about what people think? Nah… (that was sarcasm btw.)
You said:
“Sometimes I worry that my congregation might think I’m wack if I tell them, for example, that I don’t believe in Darbyist “Rapture” eschatology, or (as I posted earlier) that I like an occasional glass of wine and Tarantino movies.”
Well, my friend, join the club. The fires of hell are burning brighter for us and for all the Tarantino fans out there.
# 4!!!! I’m scared too!
agree with the daughter one
but unpack this “I confess that I believe many “conservative” Christians are guilty of Docetism or Eutychianism “won’t you?
Docetism and Eutychianism are ancient Christian heresies that essentially deny the humanity of Christ. Too many people in our churches (IMHO) will affirm the creedal statement that Christ was human, but when pressed, believe he was some sort of magical person who was immune from the human condition. Further, anyone in their right minds should have recognized him as God immediately and never questioned anything he said or did.
Remember the uproar over The Last Temptation of Christ? It seems some folks get upset over the idea that when Jesus was tempted it was, well, actually tempting. I think too many folks see Jesus not as the human incarnation of God but as God in disguise.
Now I also think too many “liberals” go too far the other direction, making Jesus into little more than a really godly dude – but far too much is said about the heresies of the left and not enough about the heresies of the right.
Will,
Thanks for this list. I haven’t actually thought of #3, even though i had always disliked much of the conservative approach to Christology. I think that you may be onto something.
I confess that I worry about the potential consequences of the Bishop, the Cabinet or the members of the congregations I serve reading my blog and finding out what I really believe.
Me, too. I always try to keep my congregation (and DCOM, etc) in mind, while at the same time being real.