I believe.

**This post is about religion and my beliefs.  I am not writing it to make you see it my way.  I believe that every Christian has to read the Bible and discover it's meaning.  If you feel different, I respect that and would never ask you to take on my views.  If you do not like religion or believe in God, I respect that as well.  We are all on our own spiritual journey and no two are exactly alike.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but I am a Christian.  I believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  I believe in one God.  I believe His story (and ours) is the Bible.  I believe the only way to redemption is through His Son, Jesus Christ.  I believe I am a sinner and I confess my sins and I repent.  I give my heart and soul to Jesus and invite him into my life through the Holy Spirit.

With that said, lately, I have had to defend myself repeatedly to direct and indirect attacks on my faith.  I am not a public figure.  I am not a minister.  I do not believe I am the only person who has it right.  But I do believe that the Bible is parable.  It was not immediately written down as God was forming the Earth and talking to Moses and all the fun stuff of the Old Testament.  And for that matter, nor was it written down immediately when Jesus was born and walked the Earth either.  He didn't have a PR guy with him, recordng his every move.  Sure, the 10 Commandments were on stone slabs when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, but beyond that, much of the Bible was written after the fact.  It wasn't an on-the-spot account, but rather a remembering or retelling.

Ever play the game telephone?  That is where you sit in a circle and one person starts and whispers to the next.  By the time it makes it through the circle, it is never the same.  You have the personal interests and bias of each individual affecting the retelling of the very short, often four lines or less, story.

So, how can we not expect that some of the Bible will have the inflection of the personal interest and bias of each person who was telling of their experience with Jesus?  Or what could be lost or changed in translation?  It has been translated many times over to get the King James Version, which is the most widely accepted first English version, which happened in the 16th century.

So, with that said, I believe in a historical interpretation of the Bible.  For example, we no longer put people to death for adultery, as directed in Deuteronomy nor do we take our stubborn children to the gates of the city to be stoned by the elders.  It would not be accepted in today's world.  I also wear wool and linen together, but not often because they are two different seasonal clothing.  We all have pushed aside many of the explicit written laws in the Bible.  There is no doubt.  They were written clearly and purposely.  But we do not follow them.  Churches perform remarriages, which is explicitly condemned by the word of God.  Divorce is only granted under specific circumstances in the Bible, but we widely accept it today.

When we talk about homosexuality or gay marriage, well, that is basically the one thing that we follow with no exception, except, it really isn't explicitly written in the Bible.  There are vague references to what some consider to be written against homosexuality.  Most are references of sexual immorality or perversion.  So, if I think it is perverse to have sex in a hotel room with your spouse because it isn't the marital bed, does that mean it is against God's word?  There are references to sexual immorality in the Bible, but not one conclusive list, per se.  I am supposed to believe that vaguely written verses that theologians themselves cannot 100% agree the exact meaning of are definitely that of God's word.  I don't.  I don't believe that homosexuality is a choice.  I don't believe being transgender is a choice.  And I don't believe God makes mistakes.  I believe they are as God intended them to be just as much as he intended me to be heterosexual.

So, I believe this.  I don't push it on my fellow Christians.  I respect that they believe what they believe.  Each of us have a private conversation with God in our lives.  Who am I to say I know 100% I am right?  I don't have a red phone on my nightstand where I can call him and ask him to clarify some of what he said!  (Boy, that would make things easier though!)  I respect that you believe you are interpreting the Bible as you think it should be.  But so am I.  I know I could be wrong.  But I don't believe showing kindness and love and acceptance of all people will get me the express train to hell either even if I am wrong, nor do I think if I am right, everyone else is going to hell and I will get the biggest mansion in heaven.

My faith is with no arrogance.  My faith is submissive to the word of my Lord and Savior.  It would be arrogant of me to think I know the definitive word of God.  We are all interpreting the same book.  None of us were there.  Why is everything a fight?  What does my faith and interpretation of the Bible do to you?  Why be so angry and so vehement you are right?  Is that what God wanted for us?  Jesus turned no soul away.  None.  Not prostitutes, not sinners, not atheists.  He welcomed all.  He didn't just hang out with the righteous.

99% of my beliefs are pretty much the same as my fellow Christians.  But that 1%...it makes me different I guess.  I get "You can't twist the Bible to fit your personal feelings.".  But, I don't think that is what I am doing.  Truth be told, I think that is what the moral majority seems to do.  I think we fear what we do not understand and they use the Bible to say, "This is wrong."  Just like our ancestors did to justify racism, the treatment of women, the beating of children and many other wrongs that now we accept as being wrong.  I believe my children will see the day this isn't the painful debate it is today.

I love all my fellow Christians.  Even the ones who attack me and my family.  Even the adult who helps with their youth activity at church who continually attacks my children on Facebook because we believe as we do.  I love him.  I just wish that same love and acceptance was given back in the same spirit.  I don't want you to change your beliefs because I say so.  Why are you so angry because I won't accept yours?  I don't believe this is what Jesus intended.