In Reply to: Be honest posted by porceleindoll on April 05, 2004 at 19:25:38:
Good question, I don’t think pity is the right word. Perhaps respect for making the tough choice of leaving would be a better word to use. As far as religion is concerned I can only say that after leaving its understandable that religion is rejected. When I left I thought the unthinkable. Is there a God? And had to take it from there. I’ve reached the point were I think Christianity in its essence is what I believe although I do have a few questions re: some fundamentals. It’s all very much ongoing.
I’m still thinking allot of stuff through but it seems to me that as a Christian there is allot of room for manoeuvre on how you live your life, etc within certain directional parameters. Jesus did make some very excusive claims so he was either mad or the Son of God. Jn 10:36, Even the devils knew, Lk 4:41, Mat 9:29. He said, I am the way…Jn 14:6 It is the exclusiveness of Jesus’ claims which give rise to dogma and intolerance. But I think there are many ways to that one way which is what allot of people miss. The Christian life can be expressed in many ways which is part of its beauty but also its downfall as so often there are very narrow groupthink confinements leading to division.
Hope might be a good word to use not only for SG’s but for all of us that we can look at our spirituality objectively without the colours of the previous distortions of bad experiences or erroneous beliefs and practices and make up our own mind. Easier said than done, as I shed one colour I find there’s another shade underneath. Maybe I’ll get there in the end??