Wednesday, June 21, 2006
My Faith and A Woman I Don't Know
I had a few things in mind that I wanted to write about, but it appears they are going to have to wait due to a subject that has caught my attention. I link to a blog from here that I enjoy reading. I have never met the woman, although I appreciate her humor and she has recently passed the bar in California and is practicing law, which is something I am hoping to do someday (here in NY, anyway). Anyway, she posted about some events in the Anglican/Episcopal church that sparked some debate. What really caught me, and what caused me to keep going back, was the discussion that was going on between her and a reader. I consider myself a faithful person; I pray at night and am trying to teach my children about God. However, I am generally rather internal with my beliefs and do not discuss them with very many people. In fact, I do not even pray out loud - my religious practice is very internal. While reading this woman's blog entry and the comments that followed, I found myself in awe of her ability to discuss her faith and defend herself against someone who was bent on making her mis-speak and look stupid. Religion is often a very touchy subject, which is a shame. I enjoy learning about other faiths and trying to understand different points of view. (I took several religion classes while getting my BA, but that was a while ago.) I don't know, though, how I thought that was going to happen if I am not occasionally willing to bite the bullet and talk about it myself. This whole thing has caused some soul searching on my part - how about you?
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4 comments:
Have you ever done the Belief-O-Matic quiz? I come up 95% liberal Episcopal (shocker!) and 5% liberal Quaker. The very last on my ordered list of faiths (after Santaria, NeoPagan and a host of others) is Roman Catholicism.
I think that Law Fairy and I have very similar views - both being Episcopalian, not surprising. Recently my priest reminded our congregation that the bible is not history, but it is rather a story. This is the crucial point, I think, upon which so much difference in Christian denominational approach hinges. There's not a ton of middle ground between someone who thinks it to be the unerring word of God lowered down on a string from heaven and someone who believes it to be an instructive metaphor rich in the cultural and social contexts prevailing in the time in which a faith was born.
missy, thanks so much. I am really touched to hear such complimentary things said about me! So thank you!
It's also nice to hear that I didn't sound ridiculous. I hate getting emotional in debates and generally pride myself on being able to remain detached and objective. But when it comes to my faith, it is almost impossible to remain objective.
I used to be extremely right-wing, I'd go out with my youth group and give tracts to strangers in the mall, that kind of thing. I was never comfortable doing it then and I wouldn't be comfortable doing it now. But I also don't feel like I should have to hide my faith. I'm simultaneously proud and humbled to be a Christian. I think it is a badge of honor and, as you say, it's deeply personal. So thanks for tagging along on my ride into the depths of frustrating personal insult :)
I think religion and faith and how we share them are completely personal and individual choices. I don't think there's anything wrong with either proudly proclaiming your faith, or keeping it to yourself, wherever your comfort zone is. It can cross a line, however, when you're so vocal that you're not able to let others be free to believe what they choose. Interestingly, as I think the debate evidences, religious folks are not the only ones guilty of shoving their beliefs down others' throats.
"I am generally rather internal with my beliefs and do not discuss them with very many people." I'm the same way. I don't like to talk about my beliefs because it usually causes an argument. I don't have a religion. I used to go to a Catholic church (my mom was a Sunday school teacher there) but a long time ago, she decided she shouldn't need a priest to be talk to God and that she should be able to confess her sins directly to God rather than at confession. I followed her lead. I think that believing in God is enough. I don't think that I'm going to hell because I don't belong to an organized religion. In fact, I don't believe in hell, but I'll leave that alone. :)
Okay. I took the quiz. My top one was Neo-Pagan, which I don't think I am. New Age was my 4th one, which I'd agree with more. I do believe in reincarnations and that there is no satan. And, I use tarot cards. I don't think that they're magical or things of the devil. They just tap into your intuition to tell you what your soul already knows. I don't use the cards to make decisions cuz I don't think that I'm objective enough to do that. I try to predict celebrities' lives for practice and to have fun. It's interesting. I did one on Britney Spears after her quickie Vegas marriage, and it said that someone she would be falling in love with someone else soon. Who knew that it would be Federjerk?!
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