Greetings. I consider myself a free thinker as long as free thinking does NOT create static barriers or dogmas to the thinking process itself or the community who practice such openness. I appreciate your essay on NOT denigrating people who live in a religious or wisdom tradition. I grew up entirely SECULAR in middle America in regards to religion. I was, unbeknownst to me, baptized in a Lutheran body but did not know it because my parent left the church when I was about 2 or 3 years of age.

I was drawn to “spirituality” as a young boy/man growing up largely due to my biological father’s suicide when, again, I was a toddler. The hole he left in the family was a tremendous force in me personally. His death not only left our family destitute and clinging to survival, but the entire psychological linkage between a developing child and a parent (in this case, father with son) and the “male” role that is reflected and shared was destroyed the day he died. To say I grew up with an identity crisis for many, many years would be understating it. Existential crisis at its ugliest.

Long story short, after many starts and fits, I was able to secure an under-grad and graduate program (4 year program) along with many other honors and awards since I started in earnest in 1979. My graduate degree is in Divinity. My undergrad was in mural painting studio art.

After retiring from being a Lutheran minister in 2018 due to physical disabilities, I have been able to do more in study and reading in so many areas I enjoy. I have gained a huge amount of help from good family systems counselors and person centered therapies, from Hinduism and Buddhism and from my lifelong study of the historical Jesus (rather than the theological Jesus created by Saul/Paul aka Apostle Paul of the Christian script.) as well as social advocates in history.

All to say, I have been able to feed my CURIOSITY for most of my life. In that way, I have been VERY DAMN LUCKY!!! I have the idea that “freedom of thought” is very much a mitigated concept as most all people are groomed and programed, if you will, by the time they are 5 to 7 years old by their place of origin, the people in that circle and the time of the culture and geography of those critical years of development. Therefore, to be “free in thinking” takes a hell of a lot of work to TRULY “know thyself,” to be able to see ones own biases, feelings and thoughts in contrast to others from differing cultures and experiences. To the degree we, as a species, can successfully get beyond our own personal and cultural walls and meet in the middle of acceptance, healthy dialog and understanding will determine whether or not we survive both as a species and as a healthy planet.

Thank you for providing this space for healthy and humble (I hope) curiosity based dialog!- Brad