Bad Church Experiences: Legalism, Grace vs. Works, and Postmodernism, with Jon —The Alisa Childers Podcast #102

Read Alisa's book on progressive Christianity:

I was given your new book last week. Began reading and am tearing through it. Looked you up and clicked in and joined your blog. Plan to listen to what I can see, one at a time. Thank you for a well done, interesting talk with Jon McCray. So typical of many you get sucked away from Jesus love by proud people who think their answers are the right ones. I love his searching mind. Plan to begin following him also.
thank you both –

Hello Alissa i know that you are a
busy gal doing the important work about; and it gets hard taking on it all. As the mockers are everywhere even mostly at our own churches. I have been basically kicked out the most of them, for my questioning them. I find Christians will be less likely to take a good arguement in this. Disbelievers r easier 2 explain to.

There is no fixed or static quality to existence, existence is not a vacuum. Spirit and matter are not separate. We save ourselves, it is us represented on the cross.

My ex partner had a terrible time at Old Chatham Quakers in NY state. We are LGB. She'd been subjected to bad sex harassment at work, which then spread as rumors into the community. Meanwhile, at the meeting, one older gentleman asked her to "sit in his lap" in the sanctuary of meeting. After meeting, the man also pawed her on her arms and shoulders in front of a group. When she asked him to stop he grabbed both her shoulders again and made a clueless joke about sex harassment. Another man she knew from the meeting had called her at home and tried to read (smutty) "literature" over the phone. After she politely tried to tell him she wasn't interested, he became hostile to her. Then after the sex harassment at work, apparently a small clique of intrusive individuals started talking about her. They spread gossip about her. She said people at the meeting began to act strange. The engaged in slut shaming and shunning all based on gossip, without ever giving her a chance to defend herself or offer her side of things. She tried to talk to a woman in ministry and counsel about the problematic behavior. But she was treated poorly. The woman ignored her complaint and defended the man with the "literature." Instead of dealing with sexism, they were very callous– even though they are involved in peace and justice issues, LGBTQ issues, immigrants, etc. They should have stood up for her and at least heard her side of things. Instead they made her life worse.