Questions

Today, for some odd reason, I was questioning myself about the Christian faith I share with so many others. I wasn't questioning its truth or validity, but rather I was asking questions to clarify certain positions I take based on my understanding of Scripture and God. I imagined myself in an open public forum, in which people submitted anonymous questions in writing and a panel of Christians (which I was on) answered to the best of their ability. We didn't claim to represent "the" definitive answer to be expected of all Christians, just real answers from real Christians. (By the way, I think this could be a good idea to do in real life.) The average answer took around twenty minutes in my mind as a discourse (I commute more than an hour one way to school and back each day, plus I have a three hour gap between classes on Monday and Wednesday, so I've got the time). The questions included my positions on:

-Homosexuality
-What is a "Christian"?
-What happens to people who die that haven't heard about Christ?
-The relationship between the Church and Israel
-Separation of Church and State

The first two were fairly quick, but I did imagine having the audience all close their eyes and asking anyone who wanted a more in-depth answer about anything (for some reason I was emphasizing the answer about homosexuality) to raise their hand. I told them that they could submit what they wanted me to make clearer or adress that I hadn't in writing during an intermission. I ended up doing one more question, first, though.

My longest answer was about what happens to people who die thta haven't heard about Christ, mostly because I explained five perspectives on the subject and how I interpreted them to come to the conclusion of what I believe to be the case concerning such people.

The intermission took place here, at which point I (in reality) prayed and then listened to some of the first Thrice album, Identity Crisis. (No, this was not in any way a reflection of why I was asking myself questions.)

The next two answers were a bit more political in nature, but it was great to re-afirm Israel's importance; I hadn't thought much about it for a while. The church and state question was fun because I got to interpret both the Bible and the United States Constitution.

To conclude all of this, I am a dork. Perhaps the man who told me I thought too much (it was a weird experience, seeing as it was on the day I met him) was right, but I like to think. So I'll try to think about things pertaining to the Kingdom (no, I don't mean the movie staring Jamie Fox). Maybe I'll post my answers sometime...