introduction

[profnachos]

Not knowing where to begin, I will just write down some thoughts and things about myself as an introduction.

I grew up in a Christian family, but my seriousness about walking as a Christian began in my college years. Looking back, the campus fellowship and the church I was involved with (they were closely related), were very legalistic. Jeff VanVorderen's piece called When You Are Ready To Try Again: Going Back to Church (http://www.spiritualabuse.com/dox/backtochurch.htm) describes the church as a "hurtful church" to a tee. I've discovered that the characteristics of hurtful churches do not manifest themselves right away, but rather they are subtle and hard to pin down.

Left the church feeling confused, but 15 years removed from my college years, I am still trying to find my footing in the family of God. Being single in my late 30's, soon to be 40 only compounds the difficulty, and I am starting to suspect that I've missed the bus and that there is no hope.

One of my biggest problems is a language barrier. English is my second language, but no, I am not talking about that kind of language barrier. I detailed my thoughts down in on my blog in a essay called Christianese (http://davidcho.blogspot.com/2005/02/christian-ese.html) Here is the link.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to getting to know you.

[Theodora]

(LONG, rambling response to your message below. Read at leisure.)


Not knowing where to begin, I will just write down some thoughts and things about myself as an introduction.

I grew up in a Christian family, but my seriousness about walking as a Christian began in my college years. Looking back, the campus fellowship and the church I was involved with (they were closely related), were very legalistic. Jeff VanVorderen's piece called When You Are Ready To Try Again: Going Back to Church (http://www.spiritualabuse.com/dox/backtochurch.htm) describes the church as a "hurtful church" to a tee. I've discovered that the characteristics of hurtful churches do not manifest themselves right away, but rather they are subtle and hard to pin down.

Left the church feeling confused, but 15 years removed from my college years, I am still trying to find my footing in the family of God. Being single in my late 30's, soon to be 40 only compounds the difficulty, and I am starting to suspect that I've missed the bus and that there is no hope.

One of my biggest problems is a language barrier. English is my second language, but no, I am not talking about that kind of language barrier. I detailed my thoughts down in on my blog in a essay called Christianese (http://davidcho.blogspot.com/2005/02/christian-ese.html) Here is the link.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to getting to know you.

Hello!!! Thank YOU for posting! I've just visited your blog and also checked out your biography which you offered there. For the moment, I'll just tell you that you have me smiling as I recognize some interests etc. which sort of identifies you as a "kindred soul." (Among other things, my husband of almost 39 years is an avid bicyclist, biking to work since 1982 through rain, heat etc. He just left today on a bicycling tour through our state---his fifth year to do this. He's traveling with a group whose purpose is to raise money for the hungry. )

OR....??? Did I take your using of "biking" as one of your interests in a wrong way? Are you meaning that your passion is for "motorcycles"? For me, "biking" means primarily getting on a "Bicycle"----speaking of a language difference! However, when one says one is a "biker," that usually translates to someone who is on a motor"bike." OR??? That leads us down a little "rabbit trail" as an aside, but I'd be curious about this, if you care to share more!

Also in the FWIW dept., our younger son is a Marine, now serving in Iraq and his speciality is in computers. As a non-technologically-oriented person, my hat is off to YOU and YOUR expertise! (At times, I've listened to our son talk--or TRY to talk--about the work that he does and I've commented to my husband afterwards: "I know that he was speaking English, but I was sure finding it hard to 'translate' what he was saying!!!")

AND, in the FWIW dept., seeing Phillip Yancy listed as one of your favorite authors made me smile as well. Yes....!!! His approach to questions of "theodicy" have resonated with me too. Seeing you searching out authors which support a "different" kind of approach to the faith (and validates questioning and "searching" )again makes me feel that we'll find something of common interest.

Have you ever read "Your God is too small?"---(author J.B. Phillips?...I THINK! Sort of dopey at the moment tonight and won't stop to verify that.) In any case, this was a sort of an instant classic in "modern" theology back when I was in college. (FYI...confessing how OLD I am...and feel!!!...I have a double major in French and German and graduated from college in 1965.)

A class in "epistemology" which I took at the Univ. of Ks. also introduced me to Paul Tillich's collection of "existential" essays/sermons in theology called The Shaking of the Foundation and I continue to recommend that as well. Among other titles which come to mind at the moment in this very accessible but THOUGHT-provoking book is a chapter called "You are accepted." You might find some good thoughts there to "think with"/"think AGAINST"---as my aunt used to say.


Well....this is altogether MUCH too long, so will stop for now. I'll try to browse through some of the essays on your blog "later"/as able and YES...I DO look forward to getting to "know" you a bit!


Soooooooo.....welcome to the forum(s)! I don't usually post much on this forum, but have been active on the more general NACR forum since August 1997. If interested, you can search out something of my recent "offerings" and get to know me a bit by clicking on the "Member" link at the top of the page....Obviously, you won't have any problem "navigating" through things here, since your professional expertise is in computers! As you find other subjects besides spiritual abuse to be of primary interest to you, I'd also invite you to "visit"/post on NACR as well. (Several of us DO interact on both forums. And, on the other hand, I'm aware of several people who've told us that they only post on NACR and, from my point of view, you'd be missing out on a LOT if you didn't get to "know" them a bit too!)

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh!

MUST stop!!!

Blessings to you and yours this night! :) :D

Theodora

[jane]

again,

welcome :D ! I look forword to getting to know you more.


Jane

[butterfly]

:) Welcome to the forum. I enjoyed reading Christianese. Your mother was very pretty and I am sorry she had to go thru so much heartache. butterfly

[jane]

ok I'm curious, no actually I am nosey.

Why professor Nachos?


Jane

[profnachos]

Thank you for asking Jane. I used to teach undergraduate computer science courses at a university near by as a part time instructor.


(I will try to avoid techno mumbo jumbo as much as possible) The course was about operating systems, but I couldn't use commercial operating systems such as Windows and Linux because
- they are too complicated to cover in a semester and/or
- the source code (computer code) is a trade secret

NACHOS (Not Another Hueristic Operating System) is an instructional operating system which is free and open (not a trade secret). I used it and my students either loved it or hated it. But those who loved it got a lot out of the course.

If you are interested, here is the link (http://dcho.ecs.fullerton.edu/cs351/lecture_notes_index.htm) to my lecture notes.

Hence the name Professor Nachos :)

ok I'm curious, no actually I am nosey.

Why professor Nachos?


Jane

[jane]

and here I am thinking that you got caught eating doritos while teaching a class :) .


feel free to use your techno mumbo jumbo. I am a social worker and sometimes forget myself and use "psychobabble"

hey, I can ask you for a translation and you can ask me.

sure wish I went into computers- makes just a little bit more than social work :rolleyes: .


anyway, glad you're here-


Jane

[profnachos]

Thank you, theodora, for the warm welcome.

No, I like to ride non-motorized bikes, to exercise, not motorbikes. Those things absolutely scare me. I have not yet to meet a mortorcyclist who has not seriously injured himself riding it.

Best wishes to your son who is serving our nation in Iraq.

No, I have not read "Your God is too small."

Thank you again, and I look forward to getting to know you more.
(LONG, rambling response to your message below. Read at leisure.)




Hello!!! Thank YOU for posting! I've just visited your blog and also checked out your biography which you offered there. For the moment, I'll just tell you that you have me smiling as I recognize some interests etc. which sort of identifies you as a "kindred soul." (Among other things, my husband of almost 39 years is an avid bicyclist, biking to work since 1982 through rain, heat etc. He just left today on a bicycling tour through our state---his fifth year to do this. He's traveling with a group whose purpose is to raise money for the hungry. )

OR....??? Did I take your using of "biking" as one of your interests in a wrong way? Are you meaning that your passion is for "motorcycles"? For me, "biking" means primarily getting on a "Bicycle"----speaking of a language difference! However, when one says one is a "biker," that usually translates to someone who is on a motor"bike." OR??? That leads us down a little "rabbit trail" as an aside, but I'd be curious about this, if you care to share more!

Also in the FWIW dept., our younger son is a Marine, now serving in Iraq and his speciality is in computers. As a non-technologically-oriented person, my hat is off to YOU and YOUR expertise! (At times, I've listened to our son talk--or TRY to talk--about the work that he does and I've commented to my husband afterwards: "I know that he was speaking English, but I was sure finding it hard to 'translate' what he was saying!!!")

AND, in the FWIW dept., seeing Phillip Yancy listed as one of your favorite authors made me smile as well. Yes....!!! His approach to questions of "theodicy" have resonated with me too. Seeing you searching out authors which support a "different" kind of approach to the faith (and validates questioning and "searching" )again makes me feel that we'll find something of common interest.

Have you ever read "Your God is too small?"---(author J.B. Phillips?...I THINK! Sort of dopey at the moment tonight and won't stop to verify that.) In any case, this was a sort of an instant classic in "modern" theology back when I was in college. (FYI...confessing how OLD I am...and feel!!!...I have a double major in French and German and graduated from college in 1965.)

A class in "epistemology" which I took at the Univ. of Ks. also introduced me to Paul Tillich's collection of "existential" essays/sermons in theology called The Shaking of the Foundation and I continue to recommend that as well. Among other titles which come to mind at the moment in this very accessible but THOUGHT-provoking book is a chapter called "You are accepted." You might find some good thoughts there to "think with"/"think AGAINST"---as my aunt used to say.


Well....this is altogether MUCH too long, so will stop for now. I'll try to browse through some of the essays on your blog "later"/as able and YES...I DO look forward to getting to "know" you a bit!


Soooooooo.....welcome to the forum(s)! I don't usually post much on this forum, but have been active on the more general NACR forum since August 1997. If interested, you can search out something of my recent "offerings" and get to know me a bit by clicking on the "Member" link at the top of the page....Obviously, you won't have any problem "navigating" through things here, since your professional expertise is in computers! As you find other subjects besides spiritual abuse to be of primary interest to you, I'd also invite you to "visit"/post on NACR as well. (Several of us DO interact on both forums. And, on the other hand, I'm aware of several people who've told us that they only post on NACR and, from my point of view, you'd be missing out on a LOT if you didn't get to "know" them a bit too!)

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh!

MUST stop!!!

Blessings to you and yours this night! :) :D

Theodora

[Kerrin]

:)
Belated welcome from me :o

Sounds like you found the right place to share some thoughts and experience; look forward to getting to know you. ;)

( I love Philip Yancey's books and have just finished "Stories for the Soul" , a humbling collection and ,as always, beautifully expressed by him.)

Orange County??
As My daughter and I plan our visit to the States next year, so she can meet the family she was too little to remember in Texas and Maine , I plan to show her around the beautiful Southern Californian area that I travelled with my ex all those years ago..........sorry I'm babbling ; thats' because she has a specific purpose for wanting us to visit Orange County. :rolleyes:

Welcome again,
Kerrin ;)

[profnachos]

Thank you so much for the kind words, butterfly.

:) Welcome to the forum. I enjoyed reading Christianese. Your mother was very pretty and I am sorry she had to go thru so much heartache. butterfly

[profnachos]

I haven't even heard of "Stories for the Soul." Is that a collection of essays? His essays are beautifully written and I love them.

Well, Southern California is quite congested, but there still are things to be enjoyed here. Let me know if you have any questions and I will try to help as much as I can.

:)
Belated welcome from me :o

Sounds like you found the right place to share some thoughts and experience; look forward to getting to know you. ;)

( I love Philip Yancey's books and have just finished "Stories for the Soul" , a humbling collection and ,as always, beautifully expressed by him.)

Orange County??
As My daughter and I plan our visit to the States next year, so she can meet the family she was too little to remember in Texas and Maine , I plan to show her around the beautiful Southern Californian area that I travelled with my ex all those years ago..........sorry I'm babbling ; thats' because she has a specific purpose for wanting us to visit Orange County. :rolleyes:

Welcome again,
Kerrin ;)

[Kerrin]

:)
Yes, "Stories for the Soul" are a collection of essays by Philip Yancey and truly inspiring and humbling in his most eloquent style of writing..

( His words always remind me of the price Jesus paid, and his understanding and expression of grace is beautiful.......always a *tear* shed , when I read his stuff.)

A small book but powerful! :)

Blessings
Kerrin ;)

[joemama]

hey profnachos,
I got such a "BLESSING" reading your "TESTIMONY". It really "ENLIGHTENED" me and "I FELT THE LORD'S PRESENCE". It was also good to hear from"GOD'S PEOPLE" as they responded to it!
But really,I thought that "Christianese" was great---have you ever noticed how people pray in a different voice in church settings? I hope that I don't do these things but like you said,sometimes you fall into it merely to stave off the onslaught of accusations (all cleverly disguised in "Christianese")----joemama

[Kerrin]

:rolleyes:
Hey Profnachos , you "pinched" my avitar!

It's kinda confusing but I was brought up to share :D

God Bless! :)
Kerrin

[profnachos]

Oh,

I will find myself another one. I HAVE TO be different, you know :)

[molehills]

Welcome, I too enjoyed your "Christianese" article. I think we've made for over substance such a rule we don't even realize that there is no substance.

What a mess!

[profnachos]

molehills,

Thanks for your kind words. Yes, substance. What a concept!


Joemama,

I know exactly what you mean by people praying in a different voice. That is exactly what happens when they speak Christianese. All of a sudden, they sound "serious" and well, "spiritual."

Was at a bachelor's party for a Christian guy some time back. It was as raunchy as any, and then the best man at the end of the party decided have some time of worship and encouragement. People's voices changed drastically and language to Christianese. "Phillip has been such an encouragement in my life and a testimony..blah blah"

I kept my mouth shut when they guys were pretty loud, obnoxious, and raunchy. And I kept my mouth shut when they switched to Christianese. It is a familiar scenario I find myself over and over still trying to find my footing among my fellow Christians.