I'm a Christian, but probably not the kind you're thinking of.

Too often, Christianity is associated with judgmentalism, magical thinking, moralism, and stale traditions. My spirituality isn't about any of that.

It's not heaven-focused or sin-obsessed. I don't believe in simplistic, Santa-like versions of God, or the idea that anyone had to die for me to be whole.

My Christianity is about humility, not superiority. It's a call to love and serve, not judge. It's about compassion, kindness, and human dignity—a path of meaning, not magic.

I follow a Jesus who cared about people flourishing, especially the lowly and the marginalized, and creating a world based on love.

My style of Christianity prioritizes simplicity. Big-box churches, baroque cathedrals, rosaries, praise bands, cloying Marian devotion, charismatic gifts, and Latin Masses don't resonate.

I also find the influence of Evangelical theology on Christian thought deeply troubling. The biblical idolatry, legalism, and fundamentalism it has unleashed are repugnant. Instead, I strive for spiritual realism. My focus is on love of neighbor, Mass, and simplicity.

Moreover, I’m a liminal Catholic.

The word liminal originates from the Latin word limen, meaning threshold. It refers to doorways and entrances, boundaries and blurred lines, and spaces in between.

The Irish concept of a thin place is similar. Thin places are entries and exits, blended spaces with spiritual meaning where one reality starts and another ends.

Like a shoreline between sand and sea, a liminal Catholic spiritual path is a space between traditional and nontraditional practices and thinking. It is a space between doctrines, interpretations, and traditional customs and stances.

This means I find meaning on Catholic shores but with one foot in the sand of tradition and one foot in the waters of a Catholicism yet to be.

The following essays provide further insight into my understanding of Liminal Catholicism. I don’t pretend to speak for the Church, only for myself.