Prodigal Faith Geeks

Confession is part of a faith geek’s life, so here’s mine. I am a prodigal faith geek. For a large part of my life I was a person bordering on atheism and considered those who chose a life of faith intellectually impaired and/or psychologically needy.

God is always on the look-out for people like me and perhaps takes a perverse sort of pleasure in getting us to admit how wrong we are. Like C.S. Lewis, my conversion was a reluctant one; the Hound of Heaven pursued me relentlessly and left me little choice in the matter.

Maybe that’s why I suffer from a sense of inferiority when I meet up with the older-brother-type faithful, the ones who come from a long line of pastors or attend a church founded by their great-great-grandparents. (I did have four great uncles who were Roman Catholic priests, but they were an aberration rather than the norm in my family.)

I haven’t tried to hide my prodigal past and know that many others in the faith community share my history, but I sometimes find myself feeling out of place in gatherings of religious leaders,  just waiting for someone to usher me out and tell me I don’t belong, I’m not part of them. Yes, I know it’s silly and our faith is all about redemption and renewal, but that’s how I feel…

Faith Geek Weekend

While others may be shopping at the mall, catching up on things at home, or just relaxing, a faith geek may have a weekend schedule such as the one listed below.  (And yes, this was actually what I did this past weekend.)

Friday night – Research a question that came up in Bible study as to whether Paul was riding a horse when he was converted. Results: the Bible doesn’t mention a horse but several paintings of the event include a horse.

Saturday morning – Attend the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church to be consecrated by the bishop and certified in Christian Education.

Early Saturday afternoon – Go with husband to his mom’s to help her with a few chores. She treated us to a lovely lunch which negated any good deed credits which might have been earned.

Late Saturday afternoon – Attend high tea at church presented by the United Methodist Women. Listen to excerpts from the records of the women’s group throughout the last century, eat scones, and sing hymns.

Sunday morning – Go to church for Pentecost and Confirmation service. Get slightly teary-eyed at seeing the emerging faith of the confirmands.

Sunday afternoon – Attend church picnic, eat cheeseburger, home-made salads and desserts, and talk about church stuff with various people.

And how was your weekend?

Are you a faith geek?

What is a faith geek?

From Merriam-Webster.com:

• faith – firm belief in something for which there is no proof…especially: a system of religious beliefs
• geek – an enthusiast or expert
• So a faith geek is an enthusiast or expert of a system of religious beliefs (for which there is no proof).

Take this quiz to see if you’re a faith geek.

1. You’re in the religion section of Barnes & Noble and overhear a conversation about the difference between the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed. You:

• a. Wonder how you ended up in this part of the store and hurry on to another section.
• b. Listen for a few minutes and then continue on.
• c. Stay and listen to the whole conversation.
• d. Join in the conversation and then check the shelves for any books about the creeds.

2. Your personal library of books contains the following:

• a. No books about religion or theology.
• b. A few books about religion or theology.
• c. A number of religious and theological books that I had to purchase for courses and workshops.
• d. Enough religious and theological books that I could probably start my own spiritual/theological library.

3. You are getting dressed in the morning. Your attire includes:

• a. Jeans and a t-shirt
• b. A t-shirt with a message that could be interpreted as spiritual.
• c. A clergy collar.
• d. A labyrinth necklace.

4. PBS has just announced a new series called God in America. Your reaction is:

• a. I don’t think I’ll watch it.
• b. I won’t watch it but I might ask friends who watched it what it was about.
• c. I will definitely watch it.
• d. I will watch it and will be looking for a study guide for it so we can discuss it in my church.

5. Your collection of books includes:

• a. One Bible
• b. Three Bibles
• c. Three or more Bibles and at least one book on spiritual practices.
• d. Three or more Bibles, at least one book on spiritual practices, and your denomination’s book of order.

6. In terms of your Facebook habits:

• a. What’s Facebook?
• b. I have a few Facebook friends from my church.
• c. Most of my Facebook friends are church related.
• d. Most of my Facebook friends are church related and I “like” several well known religious speakers/authors.

7. My church attendance is:

• a. sporadic or non-existent.
• b. I am a Chreaster (attends on Christmas and Easter).
• c. I am there every week.
• d. I have a key to my church.

8. Here is what I know about denominations:

• a. There are different denominations in the church.
• b. I know which denomination I’m in.
• c. I have a pretty good handle on the mainline denominations.
• d. I have a good knowledge about the different denominations and enjoy discussing the differences with other people.

9. In terms of Bible or adult study groups:

• a. I have never been in a study group.
• b. I have been in a study group a few times.
• c. I regularly attend a study group.
• d. I lead a study group.

10. My house is decorated with:

• a. Nothing religious or Biblical.
• b. One or two religious or Biblical objects.
• c. Lots of religious or Biblical objects.
• d. I have my own sacred space in my house.

Scoring

Give yourself :

• 1 point for every “a”
• 2 points for every “b”
• 3 points for every “c”
• 4 points for every “d”

• 0-10 points – You are definitely not a faith geek and will probably never be one.
• 11-20 – You are not a faith geek but you have a small potential to become one.
• 21-30 – You are a borderline faith geek.
• 31-40 – You are definitely a faith geek.