About Us

The FORUM for Informed Christian Dialogue, after many years of gestation, was formed in October of 2023 when a progressive former Baptist, a questioning Baptist, a progressive former Charismatic, a skeptical Charismatic, a former Baptist turned Atheist, and a Baptist preachers kid turned skeptic convened to create a group, far removed from traditional “church”, which could meet to discuss the legitimacy, truth, and problems of American Christianity free of dogma, creeds, and cultic naïveté, and informed by real history, philosophy, and science. The desire of each member was to find an understanding of both Christianity and the Jesus of history which would not only appreciate the real Jesus’ teachings of love, grace, and inclusion, but also take into account the legitimate discoveries of modern science, philosophy, and theology, even while still patiently allowing traditional voices to work through the information that made the rest of us skeptical of the dogma we’d been taught.

We held our first gathering in January of 2024, and have since seen a few new faces come and go, and others stay, but all with the hope that we have both challenged erroneous traditional beliefs, but also created a possible space for more people like us: those who have trouble feeling comfortable in a modern church setting given important intellectual challenges not remotely addressed, but who also think that Jesus of Galilee still has some really important things to say about God, humans, and our struggles in this life, and desire the community of others who want to talk about those important things free of dogma and anti-intellectual tendencies.

If you are among this ever-growing crowd, we hope you will reach out to join us.

WHO IS THE FORUM FOR?

The FORUM is a highly ecumenical and open-minded group who welcomes faith seekers of any kind and in any part of their journey, but is designed primarily as an alternative meeting place for Christians who are deconstructing or have already deconstructed or otherwise find themselves largely unable to sympathize with traditional church gatherings. Our founders and many of our members come from evangelical backgrounds, but we welcome humble and open-minded input from all who wish to discuss progressive ideas about God, Jesus, and society, and especially how science, philosophy, sociology, psychology, and other religions relate to these ideas.

WHO IS THE FORM NOT FOR?

It’s difficult to say that there might be any people that the FORUM is not for, but there are two extremes that will be natural outsiders to this group. The first is the passionate atheist or naturalist who believes that all religious belief is the bane of mankind, and intelligent people should no longer believe in God and/or the supernatural. Many people who have deconstructed have gone to this extreme, but that is not this group. We take science and philosophy very seriously, but the members of the FORUM still generally seek spiritual truth, especially as it relates to Christianity. We believe that Jesus especially, as well as many other religious leaders and thinkers, still has/have much to teach, and there is plenty of educated room for faith in important truths beyond the material world. So if you are offended by those who still believe in God and/or the supernatural, this is not for you. This is neither a Christianity nor religion-bashing group.

The second group that will find themselves uncomfortable in the FORUM are those with very passionate religious faith, especially Christians, who might be upset at the thought of people questioning their core beliefs. If it would upset you terribly to hear people suggest that God might not exist, or is different than you think, or that Jesus was not God, or that the Bible is full of errors, or that Christianity has flaws, then this group is not for you. Most of our members still consider themselves Christians, in various forms. But if you are not able to consider the possibility that what you have been taught about the faith might be wrong, and hear others provide other perspectives, we are not really for you. One of our key values is intellectual humility, which is the ability to accept that many of the things all of us believe are not nearly as obviously true as we think. Epistemology in general, and religious epistemology, are both very complicated subjects that we want to encourage all our members to appreciate better.

WHAT IS A NORMAL GATHERING LIKE?

Normal gatherings usually last about 2 hours, and involve the casual presentation of a theme or topic, followed by either open or guided discussion as the topic demands. In most cases, discussion flows naturally and sometimes we veer far from the starting subject if necessary. We are currently meeting in the private room of the Panera Bread in Lake Worth, TX about every 3-4 weeks. Typical gatherings usually have anywhere from 6-12 attendees. The atmosphere is casual, and we encourage you to patronize the restaurant while you are there.

WHAT KINDS OF THINGS DO WE TALK ABOUT?

Common Topics Include the Following:

The Historical Jesus.

Dogma and Traditions.

Science and the Bible.

Christians and Society.

Christian Nationalism.

Arguments for and Against God

Christianity and Current Events

The Philosophy of Religion

Christianity and Other Religions.

Special Topics Suggested by Members.