Don't know me that well? Haven't been bewildered by me? Haven't felt uncomfortable by the spewed verbal garbage on this blog? By all means, allow me to proceed! (At this point precisely, Rob is getting nervous and sweaty.)
What it boils down to is that I'm too ________.
Too religious.
Too secular.
Too conservative.
Too liberal.
Too mainstream.
Too peculiar.
Ready to be offended? Let's go!
I believe in the Bible and I believe in science.
Creation, science, and the inspired Word all have the same author: God. None have to be mutually exclusive. To reject scientific findings of our natural world in favor of an account in the Bible (that was never intended to be a scientific textbook) doesn't make sense to me. So here it is: I believe the Bible is the infallible and inspired word of God (there go half of you), but I also believe - dare I say it?? - in the overwhelming scientific evidence that supports the theory of evolution (and there go the rest of you).
Still reading? Haven't fainted dead away? Great! Let me keep offending!
I believe in the sanctity of life and I believe in the sanctity of life.
Shut the front door. I know. Preposterous. So what does that actually mean? I believe an unborn baby is more than "a woman's right"; I believe he is a human being with his own rights. He is his own person, he would probably love to grow up if he were given a chance to voice his opinion, and he feels the pain of being delimbed when aborted late in a pregnancy. However. That scared young girl who decided against an abortion? The one who made the decision to give her child the right to live his life? I believe society can't just wash their hands of her. That's right, I support welfare and social services, and contrary to what some people argue, I don't think the church alone is equipped to take care of the poor. The unloved. The forgotten. The ones deemed unworthy. We may be angry at her other life choices, but I believe we need to respond with the same love and grace that God has shown to us (who also make questionable life choices). If it takes God working through tax money given to social programs, then I'm all for it.
Keep breathing. There's one more.
I believe in the sanctity of matrimony and I believe in making gay marriage legal.
So the Bible appears to be fairly clear on God's view of homosexuality. However, the Bible is also fairly clear on God's view of remarriage after divorce. (Interestingly enough, Jesus himself addressed the remarriage issue but not homosexuality, women's roles, or other controversial topics, something that intrigues me.) (And here I'd also like to point out that there are Christians who believe the mainstream understanding of the verses dealing with homosexuality have been misinterpreted and actually address master/slave relationships and pagan rituals.) But really, my views of homosexuality and remarriage after divorce are neither here nor there - for me, what it boils down to is the separation of church and state. I don't support restricting second/third/fourth/fourteenth marriages through state or federal legislation, just as I don't support banning gay marriage through state or federal legislation. (And, consequently, though a little off-topically, I don't support regulating the practice of polygamy. Legally, there would be complex tax and benefits implications to consider if making polygamy legal, but law enforcement arresting members of healthy, happily "married" polygamist families - those not involved in the practice of forced child brides - just doesn't make sense to me.)
Do you see what I mean? I'm a Bible-believing Christian who believes God's hand can be seen in evolution, who is pro-life but votes against cuts in social program spending, and who doesn't believe in pushing my views on marriage into legislation. Who also, for the record, argues for marriage and gender equality but resides as the typical stay-at-home mom.
So to everyone out there, no matter which side of the (many) fence(s) you're on:
It's never as cut and dry, never as black and white, never as "yes" and "no" as it may appear out in the world. There are the Jacobas out there - the ones who push against what is expected, the ones who don't like being spoon-fed opinions, the ones who stand stupidly in the middle of things and tear themselves up with indecision when it comes to voting in elections. The ones who make things uncomfortable with everyone on either side of an issue. The ones who write complicated blogs while on vacation. The ones who wear pajamas until 10am out of pure distraction (mixed with a dose of laziness).
Maybe we're not many, but we're out there. And we need a shower.
Still confused by my jumbled mind? This post might explain it all and then some:
Want to read more on some of these subjects? One book and one short blog post I recommend:
The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Francis Collins
What if We're Wrong? by fellow Fort Worth blogger Jennifer Hunt
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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