Sanger again referred to his propensity to ask questions, saying the habit would be “very disruptive unless I were already on board.”
“I would never want to undermine the pastor in any way, shape, or form, on matters of doctrine,” said Sanger, “particularly if he’s simply following his confessional standards or doctrinal statements.”
In his Aug. 21 thread, Sanger said, “I attended a local ACNA church last Sunday, and I absolutely loved the liturgy, which I found deeply spiritual, as well as the fellowship.”
“It helps that the liturgy is all on overhead projectors,” he added, “and the acoustics are such that I could actually hear the sermon if I turned my hearing aids all the way up.”
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“I do regret taking so long to join myself to the local, visible Church,” said Sanger, linking to a Feb. 24 blog post that elaborated on his previous explanation for his actions. In the newer post, Sanger said his reasoning went beyond wanting to figure out his doctrinal positions and beyond not wanting to be disruptive.
“I worry that it would become news that I was attending a church of a certain denomination,” Sanger said. “What if people got excited about a long-time unbelieving co-founder of Wikipedia joining their denomination and church?”
“I wish that wouldn’t matter, but I think it might,” he said. “In that case, it could prove to be disheartening to them if I then left the denomination and proceeded to explain my theological reasons online. That could be deeply alienating.”
In other comments on X, Sanger made it clear that he is seeking a denomination that holds to fundamentals of the Christian faith while allowing him to disagree on certain beliefs and to continue wrestling with questions. Baptists, for example, in Sanger’s view “don’t really take that kindly to asking a lot of questions, leaving things unsettled, writing long theological essays in which the answers aren’t regarded as simple and straightforward, etc.”
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