An Agnostic Christian

Baptized in the Christian church at age 19, and with an eclectic spiritual background, I wandered the spiritual wilderness as a seeker searching for that personal, transformative, and sacred connection to God until finding the Diamond Approach almost 30 years ago.

The Diamond Approach (also known as Ridhwan) doesn’t have a doctrine, ideology, or belief system. Instead, it simply helps students learn to discriminate between what is real and what is false in their direct experience. As a spiritual path, it can potentially lead students to the realization and actualization of their true nature.

Having never lost my Christian heritage, and gaining the capacity to move beyond the egoic need for certainty and black-and-white thinking, I came to terms with the fact that I am an agnostic Christian

Some believe that being an agnostic Christian is an oxymoron. Like jumbo shrimp, can you actually use opposing descriptions for the same idea?

It turns out you can.

As a Christian, there is much I don’t know, and that’s reflected in the term “agnostic.”

Also as a Christian, there is much I do know that is reflected in the words and life of Jesus. He taught us that love, compassion, truth, the Golden Rule, and protecting “the least of these” are guideposts for this life.

That’s where I begin each day. Beyond that, well, there is much I don’t know…

A Stranger in a Strange Land

Excerpt from "The Jesus Principle"

After turning 30 years of age, I returned to my hometown with my wife, three kids, and a dog and cat.

As I settled in and became re-accustomed to small-town living, I noticed something strange: Most of the friends I grew up with — at least those still living in this tight-knit prairie community — had become born-again Christians. Even though the denominations varied, from Roman Catholic to Protestant faiths, my friends could be described as born-again, conservative Christians.

It was bewildering. Most of them had no visible connection with fundamentalist-leaning Christianity when I left over a decade earlier. Of those who had not already converted, most would do so over the next year or two.

These transformations came to include my best friend Mike and his wife Connie. They converted my wife, Wanda, who converted my children. I was left a stranger in a formerly familiar land.

Thus began my search to understand what had been one of the fastest-growing segments of Christianity in America.

It set off a personal quest that would consume my life for the next few years and beyond.