Welcome Inspired. We have a couple of things in common we are both former Christians and we both live in Texas. Read everything here like you eat fish--eat the meat and spit out the bones. May I ask where in Texas you are located? I'm in Austin.

Greetings All,
I am a former Christian Pastor/ Seminarian/Chaplain who lost his faith in the veracity of the Christian Scriptures. This occurred while I was serving as a Chaplain for an institution serving the needs of those suffering from developmental disabilities and "mental" illness. After a period of wandering in the wilderness of agnosticism, I cried out to God and asked that if he was real, to please make himself known to me. While reading the next day on the internet and following many links, I found myself at a site that had the Quran. At the time, I didn't even know how I arrived at such a site. But I began reading it and I could not stop. Within a two week period, I had read the Quran twice (in English). While in the process of reading the Quran one morning, at 300 AM I said my shahada. It just came out of my mouth (in English of course). I then immediately started crying.
I found this website a month or so ago and started reading various threads. I have felt more affinity with the members here than I do with those at my local masjid. Being a student, I wanted someone to teach me Arabic so that I could read the Quran in its original language. Unfortunately, I cannot find anyone at the masjid who has the desire or the time to teach me. It looks like the internet will have to be my teacher.
I have increasingly felt that there is a close similarity between Catholic Tradition/Church Fathers and the Sunnah/Companions. This realization has was at first disturbing. (Catholicism was my last stop in Christianity having entered it after going back to grad school to work on an M.A. in Ancient Church History. Due to going through the process of a divorce, I was unable to complete my thesis.
I still attend Jumuah on Fridays but have become increasingly frustrated with the Hadith, what I perceive as mindless rote ritualism, and the feeling that every one wants to correct me on how straight my knees are in salat, how I do wadu, et. al. Its been two steps forward, one step back for many months now. I feel like an isolated muslim.
I look forward to interacting with the members here. I thank you for being here and I thank Allah for this site. I thank you for allowing me to join this community. May Allah richly bless each of you and guide us all into a deeper understanding of his message, ourselves, and Himself.