I've Made a Decision

Most people who have had an in-depth conversation with me about religious matters will know that my theological understandings are... unorthodox. In the course of studying and thinking about God, I've come to conclusions that are pretty radically different from the great majority of people who raised in the Christian tradition. This presents a dilemma when it comes to conversations with most other Christians - fundamentalist Christians in particular - because however firmly I hold my own convictions, I do not believe it is my role to challenge the structure and foundations of their beliefs. My inclination, then, is to keep the more radical of my understandings close to my vest, but subtly to encourage the people with whom I'm speaking to think about their religious assumptions from unfamiliar perspectives. If as a result my conversation partners shift their perspective, I hope it will be the result of their own reflection rather than the adoption of my ideas. I'm pretty self-conscious on this point.

Which brings me to the aforementioned decision that I've made. In the context of this blog, I've decided that I want to openly express my thoughts on theological matters. I hope that in reading the ideas that I post, my readers will think carefully about what I say and then post their own responses to let me know if you agree or disagree with something that I've said. Perhaps we can open up a dialogue that will help us understand each other better.