Another Pastor's Journey

I smiled when reading the story about the Methodist minister, Teresa MacBain, who became an atheist (“Help Thou My Unbelief”). My spiritual journey has taken me from atheism to neo-paganism to something that approaches Christianity. Blame science and human rights concerns and Mark 12:28-34 for some of the changes in my religious life. Science can describe the natural world, but science alone won’t move humanity toward a better existence. Sooner or later, every materialist discovers that “you can’t get an ought from an is.” What’s needed are qualities—an acceptance of mystery, a sense of humility, and the desire for love, to name a few—that can’t be easily explained by the power of reason.

Rev. Robert Murphy
Falmouth, Massachusetts