Greetings, all. This seems to be the place appointed for introductions, so here I go:
I was raised nothing-in-particular, which I guess would be called agnostic, except I'd thought so little about about God/religion/ethics/etc. that even a catchall term like that would be too dignified.
Despite being a voracious reader throughout childhood and young adulthood, I managed to make it to 18 without ever having touched a Bible. My attitude would probably have been best summed up as not caring what anyone else believed, so long as they didn't bother me with it.
My introduction to the Bible was a deliciously "random-chance" affair. Freshman year at Uni, I was playing chess with a Christian friend of mine who had to leave to attend a campus ministry Bible Study. We were in the middle of a game, and anyway it would've been a hassle to hook up with him later, so I tagged along (we actually carried the in-progress board down two hallways and a flight of stairs so we could finish while we waited for everyone to arrive).
And that was that.
I fell instantly in love with the Bible. I'd never read anything so powerful and complex and real and insightful and beautiful, and I'd never met a character more alive and inspiring than Jesus. I call him character this once, because it was actually another four months or so before I believed any of it was Truth.
For the next four and a half years, I was always in one weekly Bible Study, and most of the time two - one a pretty random assortment of gospel passages and the other a more intense focus on Mark. They were always the high points of every week, and offered me the most joy I have ever experienced.
Unfortunately I moved around quite a bit after graduating, and haven't found much in the way of fellowship for the last five years, and while I keep returning to the Scriptures on my own, it's just not as living and fruitful.
Anyway, I found my way here via Google advertisement, because I was wondering what kind of goofy fellow would advertise with the tagline "Hell Does Not Exist."
I'm sure you're all familiar with what the wonderful surprise I encountered in Mr. Smith's writings, and a few hundred pages in, I happened to notice the link to a forum filled with people who appear to love the Word as I do.
I am verymuch looking forward to being a part of your community.
- John
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Topic: aloha (Read 5053 times)