Roy, I left my church years ago when I questioned certain truths: hell, evangelism, rigid doctrinal teaching.
And I can also say the church left me - I was a questioner, they felt peril and wanted me out of there if I wasn't going to conform to their teachings.
This also caused me to leave God for a season, to question His very existence.
I looked into spirituality of all types, just looking for something to fill a vacuum. I was never able to embrace any of these belief systems either, I think, because all the questions I had developed in leaving 'christianity' weren't answered in buddhist thoughts or new age goddesses. I realized they were man-made constructions.
After having Nothing for awhile, I still felt a calling of some sort, and was led by some fluke-y events back to a large Baptist church, where I was a skeptical observer and sometime participant. The Divorce-care class was a key- we were an afterthought class, founded by people like me who were raw and angry and allowed to meet by some of the leadership who were, well, just kind and caring, and fought for a place in the church for us "outcasts" to spew and question. I think if some of the deacons had stepped in on any given Sunday, we would have been chucked to the curb!
At the same time, since I was tentatively considering that God maybe did really exist after all, and maybe even cared, I started exploring all denominations that I had been taught were idolatry, chiefly the Catholic church. A study of the catechism was really eye-opening! Ray says somewhere that Protestants and Catholics have 90% of their doctrine in common. Protestant beliefs come right out of Catholicism. I also looked into Orthodox christianity - Greek and Antioch.
Ended up attending an Episcopalian church, the branch that supports active homosexual bishops.
All of these trails and searchings led me to Bible Truths.
And I can't say that any of those journeys hurt me. So many things I learned in those churches have given me understanding into the bible and church history, and I have met many wanderers in those churches who I think God is calling and may be choosing soon.
I think your wife, Roy, is now free to search and explore her roots. She is questioning EVERYTHING right now, being uprooted from her old church. This may be the journey God has called her on, to answer questions that she has, that she has to find on her walk. Even if she embraces Catholicism for a season, I'm sure that if you are faithful to stay true to what you have learned, the truth, she will be able to see your light and be guided by it, to see God's truth.
Karen
Author
Topic: what to do (Read 11846 times)