I'm not sure if I should attempt this, but I was, after all, the one who wondered whether Christians of different viewpoints could talk with each other. (Yeah, this'll teach me.) So I'll try. This is a response to a lengthy comment left in my journal earlier today. My responses are in blue.
<<Wow, I haven't checked back here for a while but what I am reading here is truly amazing. Correct me if I am wrong, (which based on your writing style I am sure you will) >>
I guess that's an insult but I'm not sure why so I can't really respond.
<<but doesn't the concept that you have categorized Christians into two categories (left and right) completely go against what Christianity is all about? >.
I haven't categorized Christians except as we have obviously divided ourselves. I don't think that there can be any denying that Christians tend to lean toward either a conservative or liberal viewpoint, in terms of social and political issues and Biblical interpretation -- although different individuals may have different concepts of "conservative" and "liberal." And yes, Christianity does call for unity among Christians. But we are human, and that unity has never existed. All you have to do is look at Paul's letters to some of the earliest churches to know that Christians have always been a contentious lot. We are even contentious within our own groups, as any experience with a modern church will indicate.
<<It is my understanding that there are Christians. Period. Not left Christians or Right Christians or any other type of Christian. Just Christians. >>
It is possible that folks on the Christian right aren't terribly aware of the differences of opinion within Christianity. They have for the most part, with ample assistance from the media (most of which is religiously uninformed), co-opted the term "Christian" for themselves, and often react with surprise when people with other viewpoints also claim Christianity as their faith. The truth is that there are plenty of us Christians out here who support positions very different from those identified as "Christian" by the religious right.
<<So, since you obviously feel the need to re-write the Bible's teaching on what it really is to be a Christian,>>
I have no idea what this statement refers to.
<< perhaps you can start by educating me on what exactly a Left Christian is and what a left Christian believes. >>
I think that most progressive Christians would say that they feel a deep respect for other paths of faith, that the most important message in the Bible is the vast breadth of God's graciousness toward all of humanity, that Christ is most concerned with the poor and disenfranchised of this world, and that our tasks are set forth clearly in Micah 6:8. I'm sure that others could amplify that statement far more articulately than I can.
<<It is obvious to me that although we may all have our opinion on what is the correct interpretation of the Bible, there can still be only ONE truly correct interpretation.>>
Millions of ordinary people like me and people of much greater insight have been struggling to interpret the Christian Bible for nearly 2000 years, and the Jewish Bible for longer than that. In the article that I cited earlier by William Stuntz, the argument is made that, while evangelical Christians have much to learn from university professors about debate, university professors have much to learn from evangelicals about humility. I think that we can only approach the Bible and our questions about what it means with humility. We would be pretty far off base to claim knowledge of the one and only interpretation.
<<You are one of three things; A Christian who understands what God expects, a Christian who is learning what God expects, or in the worst case, a self proclaimed Christian who "Interprets" what God expects so that it is convienient for them. >>
I'm not sure whether this statement is directed at me personally or is a general statement of the author's idiosyncratic ways of categorizing people. As far as myself, personally, I'm not sure that I think in terms of what God "expects." I have noticed, however, that what God asks is seldom all that convenient.
<<I find it mildly amusing that all the comments I read here are in support of your stand. Perhaps it is because you too delete unwanted comments that challenge your way of thinking.>>
I will, of course, delete offensively aggressive or obscene comments. But I think I am correct when I say that I have only ever deleted one comment from my journal, by accident, months ago.
Ah, yes...debate.
I need a good night's sleep.
10 comments:
...And in the end, this person accuses YOU of doing exactly what many right-wing Christians do. They do not debate. To them, there is nothing to debate. They are right. They KNOW what God expects!!! How perfectly assinine is THAT assertion? (Or, they're learning what God expects...guess that means they'll know in a few days...)
These people won't engage in your dialogue, Robin, because if you don't believe and worship exactly as they do, you are not a Christian. Lisa :-]
there can still be only ONE truly correct interpretation.>>
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Your response to this statement is classic. Well done, my dear. What I note in the poster to your journal is passive-aggression, that attitude of "I am a Christian so I will not attack you, but you are wrong, so I must attack you." You counter the attack with clear, clean, pure logic. Plato could not have done it better. As a reader, a writer, and a teacher of literature, I bristle at the thought of the "one interpretation fits all" approach. The division of Left and Right often comes down to whether one believes in the Bible as literal truth or as metaphorical truth. Those who profess "literal truth" are so too often sure that their interpretation is the only "right" one--and that's a frightening position, because once you're that convinced, you stop listening.
Debate....it is exhausting.
I am curious about the debater's "ONE truly correct interpretation." And which ONE would that be? The one that slaveowners in the South used for generations to "prove" that God approved of slavery (as when the apostle Paul declared, "Slaves, obey your masters...").....the dietary guidelines of the Old Testament?....and I'm sure the writer would never DARE to go anywhere or support any businesses that are open on a Sunday, since keeping the Sabbath holy is one of the Ten Commandments? Sigh.
In the paragraph where you state that the Christian Right seems to have co-opted the term "Christian" for themselves, wow, you are so right. People whose minds cannot be allowed to wonder, suppose, investigate and question frighten me. They have their hands over their ears, humming and saying "I can't HEAR you!" like little children. I don't believe that faith means "never questioning", but "questioning and believing anyway".
Wonderful entry Robin. If someone is going to throw a little hissy fit in your comment section they should at least take the time to read that particular entry. Civilized debate is only possible if people listen, not just stomp their feet and try to yell louder than you
Ah....so sorry to hear this. You have never been anything but kind to me. I know that it is very easy to read into words what we want and therein lies the problem. You can only write what is in your heart and hope for the best.
Well, Im not surprised. How about we do it this way. Since it really isn't right of me to keep adding really long comments, I decided that the best way to continue this "Debate' would be for me to post my response on my own journal page. So, if you or any of your faithful supporters wish to see it. Feel free to check out my journal. C Ya
I'm trying to think of something clever to say, but I'm too tired. So I'll just say this... I agree with everything you say. Pamela
As far as I am concerned, the term "only one interpretation," is an oxymoron. Interpreting involves subjectivity, surely? As a relative newcomer to your journal, I have been very impressed by your openness and intelligence. I guess you are paying the price for expressing your views in your own journal so cogently and so cleanly. It seems to me, that that dude (or dudette) was made to feel pretty uncomfortable by your comments ad struck back rather blindly.
Keep on trucking.
Vicky
http://www.livejournal.com/~vxv789/
well. Somebody got up on the wrong side of the.... errrr....... bed. I love your journal and respect your opinions and your faith. You are unfailingly kind to me and others.... that is what Christianity is supposed to be about.
Fantastic entry and I am so glad you wrote it. I am refraining from going mining to see just who said this..........
judi
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