Reconstructing Faith: Following the Early Path

For as long as we remember, our faith has been passed down to us by our church, families, and communities. We accepted doctrines, traditions, and meanings as we were told, rarely questioning where they come from or how they fit with how Christians have understood them over the ages.

In the modern day, we are more connected than ever. With a simple click, scroll, or swipe, we can get in touch with people from all over the world, often from other communities that see their faith just that little different. Or sometimes people who do not believe at all and challenge us over our faith.

And we saw abuse and corruption. The very people who were meant to guide and protect us in the name of God were sometimes not doing so. Stories of sexual abuse by priests, camp counselors, and the suppression of accusations by authorities or even our own families made us look inward and question. What is it all about?

Many of us started what is often called deconstruction, questioning the unquestionable, removing the blindfolds of our communities. Sometimes, disillusioned with what we found, we walked away from our church, our community, and sometimes even our own family. But for just as many, this process was never satisfying. A lingering ember remained, a desire to return to God.

From deconstruction to reconstruction

This is also what happened to me, and I started what we can call reconstruction, suspending all the teachings and dogma that were passed down and returning to the roots of Christianity. Finding out what the early followers of Christ believed, how the Bible came to be, and how doctrine and dogma formed over the centuries.

This website is that journey, and I invite everyone to follow along so we can take this path together.

Why Return to the Roots?

Christianity as we know it today is the result of two thousand years of interpretations, doctrines, and cultural influences. Over the centuries, many choices have been made that we now take for granted, among them which books belonged in the Bible and which voices were silenced. But who made those decisions? And why?

Most of us have always seen the finished product, a set of ideas and traditions handed down over many generations and to be taken as the absolute, immutable truth. But Scripture has not always been so immutable. It took many debates, political power, and authority to come to what we now call the Bible. In the early days, some communities followed texts that few now know about. Today we might have difficulties recognizing them as Christians, and they would not understand our views.

Many of the doctrines we were taught, like the Trinity, Virgin Birth, and Sola Scriptura, are now taken for granted, but not everyone has always held those as true. Early Christianity was a messy period with many groups. The assumptions we now make about the Bible were built over centuries, often mysteriously aligning with whoever was the most powerful at the time. Around the 5th century, institutionalized religion had taken over, but how similar was it to the early times?

During reconstruction, we suspend these assumptions. We do not reject them outright, but we allow ourselves to doubt them. We look at the texts, and not only the parts now considered canon, with fresh eyes and an open mind. We try to find our answers to questions like:

• What did Jesus actually teach?
• What did the first Christians believe?
• How did doctrines come to be?

By going back to basics, to the earliest communities and their writings, we hope to understand the context of those texts: what did they mean to the people they were written for? How did they practice their faith? What do we truly believe? And in doing so, we build our own system, molded to our own situation, a new theological framework in which we can find Christ for ourselves without the need for an authority to tell us how to think.

What You Will Find Here

This website is first and foremost a personal journey of reconstruction, but it is also an invitation for anyone who wants to walk this path alongside me. The content you will find here is not just my exploration, but I will also try to give you the tools you need in your search.

You will find:

• Personal reflections (and rants)
• Thoughts about verses
• Deep dives into scripture
• Discussion on non-canonical and early Christian writings
• Development of doctrines and theologies
• Early Christian practice (and how you can do those too!)

The early path is not a paved path, but a long winding path marked by guiding stones. It is different for everyone.

What You Will Not Find Here

It is probably also good to be clear about what this website is not.

You will not find:

• Sermons or preaching
• Fire and brimstone warnings
• Absolute truth set in stone
• New doctrines or dogmas you are expected to adopt
• A complete theological system for you to follow

The things I write here are my personal reflections, my understanding, my ongoing reconstruction. They are my doctrines, for my journey. You are welcome to read them, disagree with them, question them, or even be inspired by them, but you are never expected to adopt them.

This is not a church, not a ministry, not a spiritual authority. It is simply a space to explore, to question, and to search. Nothing more, nothing less.

Future Plans and Support

Right now, this project is something I am doing privately, in my free time, and fully at my own expense. The research, writing, and study I do here require time, books, and resources. And as far as I know, no manna is falling from heaven yet.

In the future, if this project grows, I may explore options to help support the work and ensure I can continue providing meaningful, high-quality content that everyone on this path deserves.

This could include things like:

• A newsletter or mailing list
• Optional ways to financially support the project
• Early access to certain content
• Other ideas to keep the work sustainable

I want to be upfront about this from the start. If you decide to follow along, I want you to know that I may offer ways to support the project, but participation will always be entirely optional. The core content and spirit of this journey will remain open and available to anyone who finds it helpful.

My focus will always be on the integrity of the journey, not on turning this into a business or ministry.