Neighbors in the Valley

 As I have been getting into discussions lately with "Progressive Christians" on social media, I've been running into the same sort of situation with most of them that I feel needs to be addressed. The topic is biblical accuracy. Should the Bible be read literally and historically? Or is it a book of stories meant to teach a lesson about how we should be living? The latter seems to be the opinion of most modern "progressive" Christians, and is most often justified with statements such as "I think there are passages in the Old Testament that just seem outlandish. Do you really believe the earth was made in 7 days? Or that God flooded the whole earth and only Noah's small family survived? Or Jonah being swallowed by a big fish, really?" I also hear a lot of "The Bible was written by men, and men are flawed, so can we really trust its accuracy?" To not beat around the bush on my stance: yes, yes I do. And if you claim to have bot...

I wasn't always a believer. I wasn't always thirsty for the Word and hungry for His wisdom. For many years I was an atheist in pursuit of validation. I sought earthly wisdom, and egotistically preached against the faith of others. I thought my own understanding to be greater, and felt sure that I was saving people from the ignorant oppression of religion. I declared the church a fraud, and denied God and His will. I was proudly lost with no desire to be found, and I am forever ashamed of the result. While many, I'm sure, were more annoyed than affected by my rantings and ramblings, I know of several, and I'm sure more, who fully stumbled at the blasting of my self-righteous trumpet.   One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.      Proverbs 12:26 (ESV)   Since turning away from that life, I have done more than my share of soul searching, begging forgiveness for my misdeeds and...