I
don't know whether this makes any difference to anyone (except possibly
as "proof" in certain quarters that I'm not a true Christian), but for
the record: I'm Episcopalian, my husband is an atheist, my dad is a
Presbyterian elder, my brother is Roman Catholic, one of my close
friends is Wiccan, my childhood best friend was Jewish (Hi, Joel!), and
my junior prom date was an evangelical who believed the world would end
in 1986. Dan didn't live long enough to learn he'd been
mistaken. I expect he knows now. So. I'm used to having friends and loved ones who don't agree with me about religion. You may disagree with me, too. Odds are you probably do. All I'm saying is that this is fine with me. You can even say so in this journal if you like. Just don't assume I'm a baby-killing, religion-persecuting enemy of Jesus, just because I'm a Democrat who thinks the U.S. Constitution is pretty good as it stands. Conversely, please don't assume that because I mention my church fairly often here, it means that I am against non-Christians in any way (other than to hope that atheists such as John change their minds someday). Nor am I in favor of every tenet of every belief system anyone labels as Christian. There seem to be an awful lot of those, and they lead people to an incredible diversity of opinion considering the common source. Fortunately, we live in a country where that's still allowed.
Karen
Lent
Repose
Repose, Part Two
What Would Jefferson Do? Does it Matter?
One Christian Responds to Another - Or Tries To
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2 comments:
Hi Karen - no need to worry. You couldn't possibly have angered anyone with half an open mind.
If someone chooses to post something obviously provocative in your public journal, you have every right to respond publicly. And I think you did so with eloquence and coherence, which is particularly impressive considering that the topic is so very close to the emotional center of your being.
And if it helps, your recent posts on your Christian beliefs have helped me feel an even greater sense of solidarity with you. Although it's been several years since I was a weekly churchgoer, I consider myself a deeply religious Catholic as well as very much to the left, politically (the Democratic party is even too conservative for me, although I will cast a pro-Kerry vote this November because I am soooo hoping to see Bush out of there). I tend to find myself in social circles where my Catholicism is clearly not the popular choice, and I certainly don't even agree with everything my own chuch preaches. Yet Catholicism seems to be part of the personal tool kit God gave me to try to understand and follow Him (or Her), and my personal quest to find Jesus has led me to my very "bleeding heart liberal" ways.
Sarah
Hi..you have a way with words and I'm enjoying reading your journal. I was kind of brought up the same way I was a back-sliding Methodist, with a Jewish best friend, Catholic Boyfriend and wound up marrying a Shinto...oh, my mom came from Greek Orthodox .... hodgepodge doncha think?
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