I love facebook conversations! Recently one of my fb friends and I (she, a fanatic gun-tottin' gun-rights advocate) were discussing our differing positions on the issue of gun control. We are both Christians who take our faith seriously--Christians on opposite ends of the spectrum if you start with conservative and move toward liberal. I personally consider myself progressive (if we need a label) but I have a foot in all communities who confess faith in Christ since I grew up in a conservative exclusive church... then served overseas in an interdenominational mission context with my husband for 16 years. That's when we began to recognize siblings in Christ beyond our denomination, thus beginning our slow move along the spectrum of faith. Always in every situation we focused on our common faith in Christ... and less on our differences. This journey has taken us into and through many Christian communities where we have developed deep (and I hope, enduring) relationships. But I digress.
Back to that recent fb conversation I mentioned... I assured my gun-owning friends that I did not want their right to have a gun hindered, but I personally did not want a gun in my house... that I would rather die than shoot someone... that nothing I owned was worth defending with a gun... etc. I grounded my position on Jesus who blessed peacemakers and called us to pray for our enemies and for those who mistreat us.
My gun-tottin' friend asked me point blank, "Is the right to own guns a gun-rights issue or a spiritual issue?"
My response to her insightful question came without much thought. I wrote (remember this is a fb exchange) gun ownership is a spiritual issue for me... for you it is a constitutional, gun-rights issue. I respond to the gun issue out of my understanding of Jesus' teachings, but I assured her that I would not force my position on her. We are both Christians coming to the issue from different perspectives... and differing perspectives do not change our relationship in Christ unless we let it.
As soon as I wrote the comment I saw a parallel in the issue of marriage equality. I see the issue of marriage equality as a civil rights issue... and some of my conservative friends see it as a spiritual issue because the Bible says homosexuality is an abomination. Again, we are both Christians coming to the issue from different perspectives... and differing perspectives do not change our relationship in Christ.
The analogy may break down at some point, I suppose... but it felt like one of those 'light bulb over the head' moments for me... and doesn't today's culture demand we share those moments in a blog? *wink*
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I believe this could be the stepping stone to further fruitful discussion. I also find it amusing that you used "abomination" as one of your labels.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, I just read your blog, and I thought about replying with a comment that would layout how I think your "analogy" - IMO - doesn't correlate. However, I decided not to, (and this is only an assumption on my part) thinking that it wouldn't make any difference in your reasoning. So, I sincerely wonder, with the millions of opinions floating around in cyberspace - do they matter? If so, to whom?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, each of us is seeking to understand the changes that are happening in our culture and our response to them--be it gun violence, rape violence, or marriage equality.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you decided to refrain from 'correcting' my analogy because the entire point of this post is that I would never force my opinion or conviction on anyone else... and would hope the same respect from you. For me, it is important to form an opinion that does not compromise my conscience or my faith. Opinions and civil conversations are important. They enable us to move forward together and in the process we develop spiritually.
"because the Bible says homosexuality is an abomination. Again, we are both Christians coming to the issue from different perspectives... and differing perspectives do not change our relationship in Christ." I would like to add Because the way they interpret the Bible saying .... I do not believe the Bible says that homosexuality is an abomination. Good Article!
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