Vern Jones - The Non-Religious Christian: Finding Faith Outside the Church

FINDING FAITH OUTSIDE THE CHURCH

VERN JONES

PRINCIPIA
MEDIA

Wyoming, Michigan

2012 Vern Jones

Published by Principia Media, LLC, Wyoming, MI

www.principiamedia.com

ISBN-13: 978-161485-301-5

Ebook ISBN: 978-161485-000-7

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Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version, Cambridge, 1769.

Printed in the United States of America

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Cover Design: Revel www.revel.in

Interior Layout: Virginia McFadden

To Irene, my wife and best friend, who has combined constant encouragement, motivation and support, with a love I never believed was possible.

To my children Adam, Kati, Jill, Julie and Kristin, whose questions and challenges motivated me to put these thoughts into words.

To my father Harry and my mother Thelma, for giving me a solid foundation and a living example of an enduring faith.

To Grandpa Linderman, who allowed me to question a faith that sustained him through an incredible life and encouraged me to find a faith that I could own.

To the memory of a dear friend, Dave Kloppe, whose coffee shop conversations were the basis for much of this book.

The writing and publishing of this book would not have happened without the invaluable assistance of several people to whom I will be eternally indebted.

Shortly after the completion of the first draft of my manuscript I had the great fortune of meeting Dirk Wierenga. His skills as a content editor helped me refine my message well beyond my initial efforts, and his knowledge of the publishing industry helped me avoid some serious mistakes common to first-time authors. Without his guidance and hands-on assistance, Principia Media would not exist. Within the course of a year, Dirk has gone from acquaintance to editor, to confidant, to partner, and finally, a deeply-trusted friend. My wife and I are truly grateful for all his hard work and confidence.

I am deeply grateful for the undying support and encouragement from my wife Irene who has been my greatest supporter of this controversial book. She has remained steadfast in spite of opposition from our predominantly evangelical friends and neighbors. Her encouragement and fresh coffee, along with the cold nose of our dog Mika, consistently enticed me to arise early from a warm bed to complete this project.

I would like to thank our daughter Julie Hurley for her careful editing, comments, and fact checking which make me appear a much better writer than I really am.

I would also like to thank Tracey, Jason and the staff at Revel for their professional and creative work on this book cover as well as the wonderful website development for Principia Media, www.principiamedia.com.

And lastly, I would like to thank the wonderful staff at Principia Media for not only their efforts in the publication of this book, but in their commitment to provide a national voice for new and emerging authors whose work support the goals of living a Meaningful Life.

Many persons undergo a process of growth and change in their religious views as they progress through life. It is rare for a person to document the reasons for that development. Vern Jones does just that. He was raised in a conservative Baptist home, which meant that he was raised in the church and on the Bible. Immersed in both water and Biblical knowledge, he began asking questions about the Bible at a very early age. He was rebuffed by his pastor but gently and reverently encouraged by a kindly grandfather. He came to doubt that the Bible was the inerrant word of God. As an adult, although he is a scientist, he continued to study biblical scholarship. In this book he unfolds the process by which he documented these early suspicions.

It is Jones conclusion that the story of Jesus as told in the Bible was from very early on drafted into the service of a religious orthodoxy that eclipsed the real teaching of Jesus. He traces the negative impact of this from the compilation of the New Testament through the two thousand years of the history of the church. Citing the subjugation of the teaching of Jesus to the interests of the Roman Empire, the crusades, and inquisition, Jones details how the church strayed dramatically from the simple instruction of Jesus. In American history he sees a similar phenomenon. From the Salem witch trials to the contemporary suppression of homosexuals, the church has co-opted the Bible in the service of slavery, racism, war and politics. The church has consistently questioned the developments of science and fostered ignorance, especially in rejecting the theory of evolution in recent times. Thus having found the church guilty by the very teachings of Jesus, Jones opted out of the church altogether.

But the story takes a surprising turn. While attempting to extract the central message of Jesus, Jones became a more ardent disciple. He became what he calls a non-religious Christian, finding faith outside the church. The dynamics of his faith comes from the postcrucifixion experience of the disciples. Something turned them from a group of cowards to fearless advocates of the way of life taught by Jesus. Jones concludes that this dramatic change is evidence of the resurrection of Jesus. This allows one, he suggests, to see the teachings of Christ without the dogma of religion. By doing so one will experience the greatest teacher to ever walk the Earth, and, in the process, to rediscover a loving God. (p. 174) This challenges us to a life of morality characterized by love of neighbor, to be better than we believe possible. (p.178)

The millions of Americans who have been raised in a restrictive religious environment and who have wrestled with these issues will find this book extremely helpful. Some have remained in church or found a more compatible congregation while some have become atheists, and some have been mired down in between. I went through a very similar development. I started in life as a conservative Southern Baptist minister. For a long while I too dropped out of the church. My development brought me back into the pulpit as a Presbyterian minister. My choice was to bring the dynamic teaching of Jesus back into the church itself, and from there to help transform the church into a dynamic Christ force in our society rather than a prop support for the immoral and unchristian status quo.

Jones book will be extremely valuable to many who will not have the time or energy to resolve these issues in an exhaustive manner. The great strength and power of Jones work stems in part from the fact that he is a layperson. He writes not in the stilted language of those trained in theology or Biblical studies, but in the language of the heart and gut. He writes with the logic of a scientist and the earnestness and passion of a true disciple. He is to be commended for sharing this pilgrimage with us.