Dear Unborn Kin,

A little more about my life. I treasure the writings of my grandfather, sparse as they are, and figure you might do the same.

Long years ago I faced a choice. As a young Christian, I saw two roads in front of me, each of which would lead to a life totally different from the other. I could go to a Southern Baptist Theological Seminary or I could go to graduate school at the University of Florida with a major in psychology. I fell back into myself with deep consternation. My soul was on the line.

I chose psychology over theology. (Of course I combined the two as my life unfolded; psychology becoming for me, a study of the human depths, the soul; theology transforming into a study of peak experiences, cosmic consciousness, and global spirituality.)

You know what a doppelgänger is? Your living double. I have found my doppelgänger, a man who was brought up in the Christian persuasion much as I was, hard core evangelical who was taught that the Bible was the literal word of God. He chose to go the route I did not take, receiving his initial theological training at Moody Bible Institute (pretty hardcore) and moving on from there. Like me, he has an inquiring mind and does not rest in his quest for truth and reality.

His name is Bart Ehrman. He is now chair of the department of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Bart has written over twenty books, some of which are New York Times Bestsellers. No lout he!
His book (introduced to me by my mythopoet friend Brad Olson -- thanks Brad!) that I just started reading with great appreciation is "Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why." Excellent scholarship by a man with great appreciation of Jesus.

Perhaps needless to say (why do we say "needless to say" if it is needless to say?), both he and I would have been roasted and toasted by the Christian communities of our early upbringings for daring to speak and write what we know to be so today. Condemned to eternal hell fire! If this is hell, so be it. I experience it as light, as warm and radiant light with no bounds except those of self-creation.

I thought of writing this letter to you in pen and cursive but yielded to this more mechanical apparatus. It serves its purpose.

Anyway, just wanted to remark on the blessedness and wonder of seeing how your life would have turned out if you had taken that other road. Not much different really. The soul unfolds the way it will unfold, like an acorn becomes an oak and a watermelon seed becomes a melon. Plant them in different ground and they will still be who and what they are.

I hope all is well with you. I pray for you daily.

Your Loving Ancestor