tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5732404254614599384.post2298044154742569468..comments2010-10-12T23:17:02.503+01:00Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09396016590610037737noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5732404254614599384.post-63215889044956735362010-10-12T23:24:42.055+01:002010-10-12T23:24:42.055+01:00It&#39;s not quite &#39;flirty fishing&#39; but it&#39;s definitely &#39;happy fishing&#39;.<br /><br />Unfulfilled and unhappy Christians tend to be hidden away and many people I&#39;ve come across know them outside the church where they don&#39;t keep up the happy face and they know of their personal circumstances which aren&#39;t apparent in church. <br /><br />There is shared accommodation where christians live that are more akin to doss houses than the well kept houses and flats that affluent Christian students share.<br /><br />Even the professional married people you find in evangelical churches aren&#39;t as happy as their secular peers as they are denying themselves so much spontaneity, culture, relaxation and fun in their lives.Lemsiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490815190639258363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5732404254614599384.post-13825944510626530822010-10-12T23:17:02.503+01:002010-10-12T23:17:02.503+01:00At first I thought God had made them like that and wondered why he had not made me like that. I trusted him too much and instead of moving forward moved backwards. I was disappointed and this led to depression.<br /><br />My periods of personal growth throughout my adult life often coincided with those periods when I wasn&#39;t going to church or just going once a week or less. It was because I had time on my hands then to go to evening classes, read widely and mix with a wide variety of people. It was also because I wasn&#39;t be discouraged by people at church. There was less pressure I felt to be successful and take learning at my own pace. <br /><br />Moving forward in the faith was not something I could do while maturing on a more secular or earthly level. The two seem to contradict each other. <br /><br />Only since stopping going to church for the last time and having access to information on the internet I know realise that they do conflict. There&#39;s no way a woman can become stronger, more confident and more mature while growing in Christ and becoming a more &#39;mature&#39; Christian because all that does is keep her down and vulnerable and sets her up as an easy target for bullies.<br /><br />I now realise what there is inside these evangelical churches are good actors. When they are young and evangelical religion is a novelty they can keep it up all week as well. But when the pressures on them increase and they get more weary the bitterness sets in and they only show the happy face on Sundays.Lemsiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00490815190639258363noreply@blogger.com