SOOOOOO….. I ran across this blog when they commented on a post I made. I’m not exactly sure what the point of their blog is. Plain evangelism, maybe? There aren’t ads, nor is there much dialog, so… 🤷♂️?
They seem to have the standard fundamentalist take on things (which isn’t necessarily bad – I think we all (ok, *some* of us) are fundamentalists about something, right?), but it’s also got that Lifeway-scented Christian bookstore feel to it, and I do have opinions.
I found myself getting carried away with a serious reply to one of their posts, which might be silly, given all the signs of non-genuine-ness. And then I thought, hey, I have a blog.
So, here it is, my credo, copy/pasted to its very own blog post:
(Not that; that’s just the post I’m responding to, if I’m working this machine right.)
«Biblical convictions are now labeled as hate speech.»
Sometimes, they ARE hate speech. Westboro Baptist Church has done no one any favors. Religion can be used to oppress as much as uplift. Do you believe gay people are going to hell? If so how does that affect your thinking and your speech?
«Now is not the time to retreat. Now is the time to stand.»
Stand for what? It’s a little vague, and I might mistakenly fill in details from your general tone.
I stand for justice, compassion, and the use of the brains God gave us.
I stand for science: for immunizations, for fluoride in the water, for an understanding that we evolved from conditions God set up (without His guidance, because what kind of a system needs constant tweaking?). I stand for impartial inquiry and actions informed by what we learn.
I stand for compassion: I stand for caring for the oppressed and unfortunate, regardless of their religion, and without attempting to coerce conversion. It’s enough that they know I am Christian and I act out of my conviction. If atheists, Muslims, etc. show up and act compassionately out of THEIR convictions, that’s fine, too. I call for a compassionate response to law-breaking, for a response proportional to the crime. No one should get sent to a prison run by a dictator in a faraway country for a speeding ticket.
I stand for justice: I stand for the righting of wrongs, including those done by white Christians against our non-white brothers and sisters, both in the past and in the present. (I don’t want to vacate the land my house is on, though, nor do I want to lose my neighbors. That’s tricky, and I hope we can work something out.) I stand for justice for the Rohingya and Uyghur peoples. I stand for justice for the Palestinian people. (That does not mean I support Hamas. I know some people equate those two positions.) I stand for justice for women: no one should be forced to stay in an abusive marriage. No one should be forced to bear a child they don’t want. No one should be excluded from opportunities at work merely because of their gender.
I stand for self-determination. All people have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (Except: if oppressing Black people makes you happy, sorry, you don’t get to pursue that.)
I stand for a lot more, but that’s the gist.
And I stand for all of this *in my church*. I will not worship in a place that does not agree with my convictions. I will not surrender my brain and free will to any human minister, only to God’s calling for me. (And even then, boy howdy, am I imperfect, because later today I will be drinking and playing video games instead of reading *The Sum of Us* or figuring out how to talk to Republicans or committing to a zoom call to do the same.)
Here, Read This 