Dreaming of a Post-Credal Christianity,

I find a lot to resonate within this article. I've been reflecting on how I -as a formerly likely candidate for new agery- find the kind of trends Grodon Lynch describes here fairly familiar and I think I would attest to their genuineness as informing popular spiritual consciousness. My own becoming consciously Christian was about responding to the call of Christ and doctrine only came after: experience of the transcendant and the mystical and a desire to contribute to teh net improvement of the world were my motivations and I find that external authority leaves me cold. God's authority only really makes sense to me at a deep level in terms of God's love. Embodiment is important and I'm viscerally unconvinced of dualist metaphysics. I think that my 'gut reaction' spirituality is probably fairly in tune with what's going on 'out there'; I'm trying to take it more seriously and explore it more fully. I've even gone as far as to start writing some of it down ... watch this space.
Doctrine seems to me to be a helpful reminder of the way things probably are and so form the kind of warning signs about issues that may imperil exploration. That I can live with -but seeing doctrines as a test to be passed to be saved -if that really is believed by people- I cannot grok it at all.
Dreaming of a Post-Credal Christianity, by Gordon Lynch.