Faith from the Ashes

                                 Burned by the fire of fundamentalism 

" Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9),
             

Dear Family and Friends,

My semester here in Princeton, New Jersey is fast drawing to a close. My finals are done and now, all that is left is a few papers that I think I will be able to finish by the December, 19 deadline. It has been a very hard year for me. 

Although I finally graduated and earned my elusive B.A. degree, it was not without a very deep and anguishing personal price. My time there at that Southern Baptist school and within fundamentalist Evangelicalism has charred and scarred me beyond recognition. I have been burned by the fire of fundamentalist fervor and I do not where my home is. I am lost and do not know if I can ever get back to where I once belonged...

However, despite my anguish and deep wounds, I still believe. I am still a Christian and believe in Jesus Christ and the historic and most holy Christian faith with all my heart, soul, mind and being. Despite being burned by the fundamentalist flame and the sin of my own undoing, I still believe in Christ and want to follow God. I still believe in the cross of Christ and cling to Him now. I love you all. I am still on the path to heaven, I hope...

Merry Christmas,

Love,

Lee Edward "Ed" Enochs

~

It was the day the world went wrong

I screamed til my voice was gone

And watched through the tears as everything

Came crashing down

Slowly panic turns to pain

As we awake to what remains

And sift through the ashes that are left behind

But buried deep beneath

All our broken dreams

We have this hope:

Out of these ashes... beauty will rise

And we will dance among the ruins

We will see Him with our own eyes

Out of these ashes... beauty will rise

For we know, joy is coming in the morning...

In the morning, beauty will rise

So take another breath for now,

And let the tears come washing down,

And if you can't believe I will believe for you.

Cuz I have seen

The signs of spring!

Just watch and see:

Out of these ashes... beauty will rise

And we will dance among the ruins

We will see Him with our own eyes

Out of these ashes... beauty will rise

For we know, joy is coming in the morning...

In the morning...

I can hear it in the distance

And it's not too far away.

It's the music and the laughter

Of a wedding and a feast.

I can almost feel the hand of God

Reaching for my face

To wipe the tears away, and say,

"It's time to make everything new."

"Make it all new"

"Beauty will Rise"

Steve Curtis Chapman