I am 60 years old, an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. I speak for myself on these pages, not for my church. I cannot emphasize that too much. Opinions and beliefs are mine, not my church's.

I came from an almost unchurched family, in a highly fundamentalist community. As I grew up, my views were quite secular, and have continued to be, even as I joined the church, and entered ministry. For instance, ever since I heard of evolution, it just made sense. I can remember as a very small child noting how several other animals had two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, even two fore limbs and two hind limbs . . . just like me! The fact that some had tails and some didn't did not escape my notice. However, noting the resemblance between me, my dog, and the birds that landed in the yard, when I first heard of evolution I readily accepted it as the truth. I still do. I appreciate my church's position that they stated in 2008, though I must admit, most people in the pews know nothing about that position and many would disagree with it. However, I suspect that many just do not care either way, and that mystifies me. It has mystified me since the day I entered ministry. It was a major concern in my own journey, and they simply ignore it!

Though my family was basically unchurched as I grew up, I still went to Bible school and visited churches with my friends. There I learned the Biblical creation story, with Adam and Eve, and I quickly sensed the problem. Where did dinosaurs and cave men fit into the Genesis story? Even a seven year old could understand that they didn't. By high school I was a silent atheist. I stayed that way until college when I learned that religion had more to offer than stories of origins and offer ways to mitigate the fear of death; religion offered meaning when one was faced with meaninglessness. None the less, I did not join a church, and attitudes toward religion swayed back and forth. God I doubted, but was interested in. Science offered knowledge, and I never doubted that science offered a way to know truth. Religion I questioned. There were times that I ventured toward the Christian faith, and times I moved away. Buddhism and Taoism and the writings of Alan Watts always attracted me. The eastern way did not seem so much in opposition to science as Christianity. Note that Buddhism and Taoism do not say there is no god; there may be or there may not be. However, such gods are beside the point. Buddhism (especially Zen) and Taoism posit the possibility of meaning without theism, and are in that sense atheistic religions.

It was not until after the age of 40, after a divorce that I entered the church. I had heard of the concept of pluralism from a family member who is a United Methodist minister. He also spoke of theology that was not fundamentalist theology, and it interested me. After the divorce, I needed a little meaning. I became active in the church, and ultimately entered ministry. It took a little while, but as I went down the road, I learned that though the concept of pluralism is not dead in the United Methodist Church, it is under attack and has just about been pushed to the sidelines. Despite that fact, I still find that it is necessary to my own theology.

The United Methodist Church offers an alternative, somewhat less demanding path for those who enter ministry after age 40. Although I could have taken that path to ministry that did not require seminary, I choose the seminary route. During that time, I realized many things about the United Methodist Church. One was that though the theology of the United Methodist Church was more open than most of the churches I had grown up around, the people in the pew seemed to be a mix: a few who were open (always enough to know that they are there), and many who were closed. I also learned of the forces that want to move the church to the right, such as the Confessing Movement, with their ties to the Institute for Religion and Democracy. I had watched the growth of the Religious Right from the 70's to the 90's and was repulsed by it. During the time I was in seminary, I sensed that these organizations reason for being was not about faith and theology but about power. I always sensed that the Confessing Movement (and Institute for Religion and Democracy and Good News and UM Action) all wanted to take the United Methodist Church the same route as the Southern Baptist Church had gone. I was not and am not interested in being part of such a church. I must add that I resent the hijacking of the noble name of the Confessing Movement, which originally referred to the heroic efforts of the German Protestant church to resist the influence of Nazism as it took over the church.

A few years ago, I first heard of Christian Reconstructionism. It scared the daylights out of me. Yet, I see it all around. I think because of the fundamentalist environment I grew up in, I can see all the red flags, but at the same time, when I see such flags, it is an intuitive thing and I can't always back up my feelings with knowledge. I can sense it a mile away, but I cannot always explain the danger to others.

There are still are theological struggles. For instance, what is the nature of the kingdom of God? Is it in some way present in the here and how? Or is it in the unknown future? Is is to be set in place by God's people, or will God establish it one his terms and in his time? I would like to somehow think of the kingdom being a time when there will be perfect peace and perfect justice. I also want to think that as God's people are to somehow be responsible for achieving it and maintaining it. But then, I still utterly oppose anything that resembles a theocracy. I live in a secular world, and I like it that way. Theocracy would be tyranny. (opinion? Likely yes, but strongly held!) My hope is that it may be like Jesus said as he told about who would be present in the kingdom . . . he said many would be surprised at who is there. I guess we may be a bit surprised about the exact nature of the kingdom; God's kingdom may yet be pluralistic.

With all that said, I am convinced that living things, human beings, and faith are able to flourish best in a secular environment.

I am happy to find Talk to Action. Perhaps there are things that I can learn . . . to be able to explain those red flags, or maybe find a thing or two to flesh out that pluralistic understanding of the kingdom. But more than that, I really want to understand the threat and learn to effectively oppose those who would put an end to our free secular society. I am interested in joining with others who also see the danger.