380 – Good Questions – A Good Father?

The Desert Sanctuary

My deconstruction began when I started asking questions. The questions weren’t the regular softball questions we asked Sunday school teachers which propped up what the teacher was already trying to assert. These questions caused the rest of the class to groan, mumble, and most likely, talk about me behind my back.

I tried asking the questions to mentors and those higher up in our denominational structures. Although the answers from these leaders were more polished like they had quoted them a few times, they didn’t really strike at the heart of the problem or answer the question. Most leaders weren’t very patient with people asking questions, and they usually found a way to mock me.

In a way, asking the questions was liberating, almost like I was speaking for generations of people who asked the same question and got the same non-answers. Most of the beliefs in question were holes in the doctrinal assumptions that had existed for centuries if not millennia. I could almost hear Sunday school teachers, former pastors, and lifelong church members whispering to me from the grave to please continue to ask these questions.

To be honest, sometimes questions do not have obvious answers and may never be answered sufficiently, but I still believe we have to keep asking the question if we really want answers. Doubling down on our ignorance is no way to make progress before long.

I continue to ask the questions in this series. Many would believe that these questions make us bitter or that we’re just causing problems by asking them. I hope the questions help us evolve into a better state of being. Being outside of organized religion, I can finally hear the whispers and observe the drumbeat of the universe and the peace and comfort that I find. I find my comfort not in a finalized belief statement, but a way of being that continues to question everything.

Travel Tips for the Desert – Part 3

Travel Tips for the Desert – Part 2

Travel Tips for the Desert – Part 1

A Stroke and a Song

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Karl Forehand is a former pastor, podcaster, and award-winning author. His books include Out into the Desert, Leaning Forward, Apparent Faith: What Fatherhood Taught Me About the Father’s Heart, The Tea Shop and Being: A Journey Toward Presence and Authenticity. He is the creator of The Desert Sanctuary podcast and community. He is married to his wife Laura of 35 years and has one dog named Winston. His three children are grown and are beginning to multiply! You can read more about the author here.