For those that left the UPC...

[Jack Shephard]

This is no easy choice. My guess is that the husband has been asking himself questions for years but the answer he is giving himself is either, "it is a God-given conviction" or "it is all I have ever known and it is something I am convienced of" Neither are correct necassarily. It can be a conviction but the key is make sure it is a God-thing and not the man-thing. I am of the belief that often times the "god" we hear is actually the preachers voice ringing in our head. It is so very easy to confuse a voice that you have possibly NEVER heard and the one you often hear because after all the minister/pastor is the voice of God in the assembly. Not TIC.

I have been there before. I left and my wife stayed because of her family and frankly she thought I was losing it I am sure. After about 1 year away I returned so I could save my family. My wife and I still attend a UPC church. Our UPC church has changed a bit. It is much more comfortable now. My wife has balanced out and see things similar to how I see them because she sought them out for herself in the bible and found there is no basis for some of those things. Mirth1981 I urge you to consider this. What is your faith's foundation? Is the foundation the standards, don'ts, can'ts, and all the similar things or is the foundation actually Jesus and His message? The reason I ask you is because once some of the "extras" are cutaway (no pun intended) is your foundation safe? Mine was set on the "extras" and I am still feeling the ramifications from it. I know that I heard from God and God alone on how I am to live, but if you build a foundation with faulty supplies it will NOT stand and the house will ultimately crash down. This is why when some home owners do additions the whole of the original home doesn't continue with integrity because the foundation is insufficent. But if the foundation is completely solid and upon HIM once you cutaway the "extras" then your houses strenght and fortification will not have suffered.