FAITH, that is.
FAITH was a topic of conversation over my Orlando weekend. In my villa alone, we had a practicing Mormon, 3 agnostics, a catholic, an atheist -or 2, 2 other deep Christians(for lack of a more appropriate term.. "evangelical"??) and i think we even had what some would call MODGE PODGE. Not that any of us seemed concerned, we all got along and had fun, but it made me wonder how it would have played out LONG TERM. Me? I label myself A Watered Down Christian. I happen to be someone who thinks non-Christians, complete non-believers, and believers of...well... whatever, can be fantastic parents. gay men and women, in my opinion, can be wonderful parents. I don't see good parenting as a One Size Fits All endeavor. That being said, I've certainly seen some extremes that I don't necessarily agree with, but all in all, I take a Live & Let Live stance on families. Call me a pacifist-go ahead. Call me a watered down pacifist-that's ok too. I have HUGE shoulders(don't believe me? i took pictures of them. back track and see!) I can take it. A distant family member recently sent out a *KoobFace message that took the stance of "no foster child should ever be placed in a home where the parents aren't uber Christian". That just DOES NOT sit right with me. I even had the urge to take the AND WHO THE HELL ARE YOU???? position with that person, but replied gently. That person chose to ignore. Good choice. Why have a pissing contest on *KoobFace anyway? Anyway, I just spent 4 days, in a Villa, with 67 other Moms, all of different regional backgrounds, races(well...it was pretty light skinned, overall, to be honest)religious preferences and lifestyles and it was ALL GOOD. Ya think that kind of tolerance could go global?????????? EMBRACE OUR DIFFERENCES!!!!
8 comments:
I have to admit I was a little freaked out at first when I realized I was the only non-Christian in our villa. I was afraid I was going to be judged I guess.
Of course I wasn't, and the diversity and acceptance of everyone last weekend was amazing!
Finally, we are not alone!
Excellent post! I agree! and I actually just wrote about faith last night. :) My faith is complicated and probably not the same as yours or anyone else's. I was actually worried that might be a problem in Orlando, but it wasn't! Everyone was so very accepting. You are right- if we could clone what we had there and spread it to the whole world how great would that be?
amen!
"Watered down". I like that! I think I would consider myself the same since I am pro-choice, believe in gay rights, etc. We took MAPP classes with a couple "uber-Christian" couples and the role playing exercise were interesting, especially ones in which they had to role play having a gay foster child...
I thought a lot about faith over the weekend too and thought it was interesting hearing everyone's stories of what they believe and how it has changed over the years.
I am a Christian and I believe in gay rights. I'd say that I'm pro-choice and pro-life (how's that for fence sitting?) and I wouldn't consider myself "watered down" at. I love Jesus with the best of them, though I do think it's a good term.
Great post!!
I remember Kristine saying soemthing to me right away. Being worried. No need to worry.
Being the "practicing Morman" I'm sometimes embarrassed to admit bc I'm not very 'mormon-like'. We all have our demons we deal with. This is one of mine that I struggle so incredible much with. I wish I could get past it. I came home to a dh who has made it very clear that "our" beliefs no longer need to be on the back burner. That "I" need to get past it. Whatever. I think the F word might have slipped otu. :*(
Yes, the world really should EMBRACE OUR DIFFERENCES!
I think I said this to you when the conversation came up, but I consider it a bonus that I'm able to model for the kids in care we've had in our home that you can be gay and still have a healthy(ish!) relationship, that you can be a non-Christian and still find meaning in the world.
A lot of the kids we're dealing with have been hurt by men to the point where it's a bonus for them to be able to be in a home with no adult males. A lot of them have been so hurt by misused religion that they need some time off to think about spirituality and ethics on their own terms. I'm sure there are hyperChristian families who could stretch and provide that, but I love that it's something we're able to do (along with being an interracial couple) in a way that just being ourselves expands horizons of the kids we deal with. Different kids have different needs, and I think only allowing Christians to be foster parents would be a disaster for a lot of the kids who need foster families most. But you know that!
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