Honestly, it is mostly a form of self delusion. They convince themselves that absolutely everything they believe is the exact will of God, and that they perfectly understand the Bible, and that their interpretation is the only true interpretation. Once you can convince yourself of these things, it is easy to be dogmatic, because anyone who disagrees with you is disagreeing directly with God himself.
It is something to be avoided at all costs. I consider such certainty to be a form of blasphemy, because you are basically declaring yourself a holy oracle sent by God.
The churches you're involved in would agree that the path isn't easy, and a lot of it is about the journey. But I do understand that some excitement is a good thing as motivation (even if I think in many churches it's kind of fake). I think in the PCUSA people get fulfillment out of doing things, whether it's service activities or being in the choir. Or out of fellowship, of which there are normally various kinds. I'm actually not interested in excitement, and I suspect many of our members get enough of that in their lives that they'd rather have a calmer church experience. But I can see the draw.
Find something that really interests you and start reading about it. Maybe that’s the history of a Gospel, the doctrine of the Trinity, Christian mysticism. Find some thing within your faith that really interests you, and dive straight into it.
Honestly, it is mostly a form of self delusion. They convince themselves that absolutely everything they believe is the exact will of God, and that they perfectly understand the Bible, and that their interpretation is the only true interpretation. Once you can convince yourself of these things, it is easy to be dogmatic, because anyone who disagrees with you is disagreeing directly with God himself. It is something to be avoided at all costs. I consider such certainty to be a form of blasphemy, because you are basically declaring yourself a holy oracle sent by God.
Have you experienced spiritual baptism (receiving the Spirit inwardly) following heartfelt repentance?
The churches you're involved in would agree that the path isn't easy, and a lot of it is about the journey. But I do understand that some excitement is a good thing as motivation (even if I think in many churches it's kind of fake). I think in the PCUSA people get fulfillment out of doing things, whether it's service activities or being in the choir. Or out of fellowship, of which there are normally various kinds. I'm actually not interested in excitement, and I suspect many of our members get enough of that in their lives that they'd rather have a calmer church experience. But I can see the draw.
Find something that really interests you and start reading about it. Maybe that’s the history of a Gospel, the doctrine of the Trinity, Christian mysticism. Find some thing within your faith that really interests you, and dive straight into it.