The Chaotic Life of Adrien Melody

After publishing yesterday’s post , it occurred to me that anyone reading my blog might be confused as to why I identify as a Christian at all. After all, I made it fairly clear that my experiences in the church have been less than positive (and honestly, that’s true in far more ways than I bothered to mention). I’ve also shown that I don’t take traditional theology very seriously, and that there are significant differences between my views and those of established Christianity. So anyone who isn’t religious themselves might wonder why I bother with religion at all. Why not let it go, and focus on more practical, less annoying things? On the other hand, someone who is a Christian might wonder the same thing. If I’m not going to take established theology and church teaching seriously, why do I claim to be a Christian in the first place? So I decided that, before I write about my personal exploration of Jesus’s teachings , I ought to answer that question. So Why Am I a Christian? I’d lik...

  As you’ll know if you’ve spent any time on my Blogger profile , I have many interests outside anime and video games. I’m also deeply interested in philosophy, psychology, and religion. In particular, I’m absolutely fascinated by the Bible and church history, as I’m a devoted Christian myself. Today, I was trying to compare Calvinism and Arminianism —the two major branches of theology in the Protestant churches. My own pastor is a hardcore Reformed Christian (which I’ve learned is the nice way of saying “Calvinist”). Meanwhile, I’m more of a Wesleyan in my thinking, so I identify as an Arminian. We had butted heads during a recent luncheon together. Not to say we were evenly matched—my pastor is a powerful intellectual, and it was quite clear the entire time that I was well out of my depth. Fortunately for me, he is also quite gracious, and doesn’t require that I share his theological position, despite my being on the church’s payroll as a musician. Ever since our stimulating tal...