The Pastors Diary: How a Conventional Conservative Became a Theological Liberal

For many years, people have asked me to write about my theology, and I have consistently said that I could tell them what I thought at that particular day but that it would be different tomorrow, which is to say that I strongly believe that theology is a growing thing, constantly changing within the context of a changing society. The book became much more autobiographical than I intended. I discovered that my theology changed because of any experiences I had. I have described my story chronologically, beginning with my early years and how the myth of Christianity was implanted in my mind. I go on to show how I got involved in the church during high school and college and discovered others had different myths than I did. This expanding awareness gave me the stimulus to take a hard look at my own myth. Several professors at both college and seminary helped me through the changes in my understanding of the Christian faith, and I describe via some of my writings what those were. In my first congregation, a new church development, and in subsequent ones, I realized that we understate our laity, and their desire to learn about new concepts has come with further study of scholars. I came to trust that desire and began to preach and teach not only the churchs dogmatics but also the results of creative imagination and the discovery of many scholars throughout the world and from many religious perspectives. My final chapter is entitled So What Do You Believe? In this, I make an attempt to pull together the various and growing concepts of my thought throughout my fifty-plus years in the ordained ministry of the Presbyterian Church. From experience, I know laypersons would be interested in this book. In addition, pastors and other religious professionals, I think, would find it helpful as they go through their own theological pilgrimage.