Let me guess… You’re wondering who I am and why in the world I’m writing this blog, right?

My name is Crystal and I enjoy writing about religion and my spiritual journey. I am a Follower of Jesus who finds deep meaning in the gospel teachings, Buddhism and the guiding principles of Unitarian Universalism. Although I am leaning more towards a spiritual life that doesn’t necessitate an organized worship style, I spend a considerable amount of time thinking about how Christianity’s institutions can engage the greater world. I suppose that’s because since leaving the church a few years ago, I’ve become the “greater world”. Go figure.

Since writing my One Hell of a Lie series in 2010 about the non-existence of hell and an alternative way to interpret the Bible verses upon which arguments for the existence of hell are based, I’ve been embraced in the blogosphere as a voice of alternative theology on that topic. I expanded those blog posts and compiled them into an e-book called “Quenched: What Everyone (Especially Christians) Should Know About Hell”. It’s available for free here on my website and as a paid download on Kindle.

I describe myself as “theologically liberal” and prefer to approach the Bible, theology and religion with fairly liberal perspectives in mind. Those who desire more information about what I mean by “theologically liberal” can read the paper I wrote for a seminary course about the Apostles’ Creed. Oh, yeah… And about seminary: I’m pursuing a Master of Theological Studies in Washington, DC where my focus area is World Religions. I don’t intend to become a minister. I do, however, intend to use what I’ve learned about world religions, interfaith dialogue and spirituality to make the world a better place. I’m still deciding what form(s) that endeavor will take.

I welcome you to comment, email me and connect with me in the world of social media. You can contact me by sending an email to CrystalSLewis@gmail.com. I hope you’ll consider following my blog on Facebook. You’re also welcome to follow me (@CrystalLewis) on Twitter, but I warn you– I tweet more often about food, The Golden Girls and missing the bus than I do about religion!

I hope you’ll return again in the near future.

Crystal