melody, are you angry with me over what i wrote?

the fact that i find truth in the bible - that i believe in a creator god and a redeemer christ does not disallow me to mistrust a religion that uses this same text. and yes, i have read the bible all the way through and studied it for over 30 years.

my statement about christianity dictating that a member of christianity listen to leadership and participate in the collective was a statement about the tenants of that religion, not a proclamation of my beliefs.

if i have any interest in knowing god through the bible, if i believe that christ was/is “the way to the father,” i cannot discount the centuries of people who have lived and written about this god (st augustine, jeanne guyon, cs lewis, henry nowen. you asked for names, those spring to mind). the fact that i recognize harmful heirarchical leadership in the religion of christianity as well as men and women who wrote with insight about their relationship with god are not mutually exclusive.