There was an interesting and compelling article in the LA Times over the weekend.  It was written by William Lobdell, who has covered their religion section for a number of years.  I've read several of the stories he references in what turns out to be his sayonara to the religion beat and, it seems, his Christian faith in general.

Here's a link to the article, Religion Beat Became A Test Of Faith.

I felt a kinship with Lobdell when he described his conversion experience, his early years in faith and the struggle he's had to reconcile faith in God with the actions of those who call themselves "God's People."

It's been a tough several years for me and faith.  Heck, it's been a tough several years for me and life!  After struggling with the imprisonment of a dear friend, the tsunami of aftershocks to our lives, and recovering from depression, I've moved from a fairly rote set of spiritual practices (daily prayer, daily bible reading, weekly church services and weekly small group meetings) to an almost non-practicing faith.

I pray when someone asks for prayer.  I often express my gratitude to God for the blessings in our life (and they are indeed abundant).  But I don't keep lists of prayer requests nor do I feel like I must follow a particular prayer regimen.

I don't go to church anymore because the last one I went to just about did me in, in terms of faith.  Much more focused on the evils of homosexuality and liberal politics than they were on anything even remotely resembling talking about Christ and YHWH.

I feel a pull back to a community of faith...but no urgency to find one.

So one might expect that my faith is less than it was before.  In fact, I feel like it's stronger than ever.  It's my convictions about the extraneous stuff that's fallen away.  I believe in a larger, greater "mystery that we all call God" (as Depak Chopra put it on Larry King Live the other night).  I believe I live my life in relationship to God in a similar way that I live my life in relationship to others.

And, during the same Larry King show, Tammy Faye said, "I trust God with me."

That I do.

If that's not faith, what is?

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