This is what I try to explain to fellow believers. No denomination holds the corner on what's the "accurate" interpretation. There are too many years and too many individuals to not take other interpretations into account. This is why making laws based on any Bible doctrines can become dangerous.
(And that's ignoring the fact that no religion is supposed to impact our laws more than any other according to the founding documents.)
Someone asked me on the phone the other night about how did I reconcile my faith and many of the topics and characters I choose to write about in my stories and comics, etc. Then he said that my "open mind" (his words) was one of the things he liked about me, particularly considering where I used to work.
Am I really that open-minded? I don't think so.
I think I'm far more tolerant than I am open-minded.
I share many of the same beliefs as other conservative fundamentalists. Really I do. But I just don't think that having those beliefs has to hamper my ability to develop genuine relationships with people who might disagree rigidly with me and I with them when it comes to politics, social conventions, religion, and who knows what else.
So, before anyone goes and labels me as open-minded, let me set the record straight. I'm not. Not really. My tolerance just disguises it some times. And I don't tend to advertise the individual tenets of what I believe apart from what I consider the big things like grace, forgiveness, and faith. Because the smaller things are just that, the smaller things.
It's not that I dislike the idea of being open-minded, and I guess to a degree I am. Maybe. I am willing to give ideas a chance, an opportunity. I believe Truth rises to the top, and therefore, I'm willing to accept that Truth, if it (or He/She) exists as I believe, has a way of making it's presence known in its creation. And particularly via the branch of theological ponderings I've grown to embrace.
But what I ultimately deem as Truth will determine my views on everything else. Purpose. Politics. Life. Law. Sex. Sexuality. Society. Human dignity. Poverty. Hunger. Gender. War. Peace. Economics. The world. Everything. That's why what we believe is called a world view.
But it doesn't have to prevent me from enjoying the company of people. Any people. All people. After all, I've got a great role model right at the top spot on the pyramid of my belief system.
Were I to wear my beliefs on my sleeve and tout my how they affect my political views, I'd probably lose a few of the folks on my friends list. Maybe. Or maybe not. Maybe I just somehow am lucky to meet people of a like-minded tolerance. Even toward Southern Baptists who live in the "Bible Belt."
So, why mention any of this? Because one of the things I really want to do here on LJ and everywhere else is be authentic. Perhaps painfully so sometimes, and perhaps embarrassingly so at others. Of perhaps even against the wishes of that little voice inside that says, "Don't mention that, you freakin' moron. Nobody likes a fundie. So hide the fact that deep down, you really are one. C'mon, boy, get a clue."
Oh well, just feeling introspective. This too shall pass, I'm sure.
