Christian Agnosticism

Being a gay Christian is like a piece of legislation grudgingly passed by the House of Representatives and grudgingly signed by President Obama. Both sides see too many fundamental flaws for it to be considered worthwhile. Some see it as dangerous, harmful, and a slippery slope to the other side.

I identified as a Christian (at 5 yrs old) long before I identified as gay (realized I was gay about 10, didn't identify as such until 19 or so...but boy oh boy THAT is another story...). However I’m much more confident and secure in my “gay-ness” (ha) than I am in my Christianity. That is why these days I choose to label myself a Christian agnostic. What does that mean exactly? Being a technical writer by trade, I will use bullet points to explain:

• Even if the Bible is inerrant (and I have serious doubts about that – see anything written by Bart Ehrman), most of it has been grossly misinterpreted and abused in order to wield power over others
• Nevertheless, I believe the Bible is an incredibly useful book when taken in historical and literary context
• IF it is true that God requires holiness and perfection, then my only hope is that Christ’s death and resurrection covers that for me
• I don’t believe in a literal hell in the sense that I don’t believe God sends people he created to a place of eternal torment – if a hell like this does exist, I don’t want to have anything to do with God
• I believe that loving and seeking connection with other human beings, NOT as a means to an end (thank you Andrew Marin), is the ultimate purpose in life
• I believe truly following Christ and his teachings brings a lot of personal fulfillment, difficulty, joy, and pain
• I do not believe in proselytizing in regards to theological dogma – I believe in loving people where they are, and sharing my journey (if asked) – I believe in listening to others and learning from them
• I don’t know 100% for sure if God exists, and if God exists, what exact form he or she has. I choose to relate to God through Jesus and through a Christianity based on loving people. Whether the person is an athiest or a fundamentalist doesn't matter. (Side note: in general I find it much easier to get along with athiests than I do with Christians. The athiests I know have better things to do than try to convince me that there is no God. And they appreciate that I don't ever try to convince them to my specific thoughts and opinions about God.)
• I fail at loving people almost constantly

This is a snapshot of my spiritual journey today. What about you?

Tweet