“… and so when one embarks on an inquiry of this kind plain, old, and I might add, God-given common sense shows us immediately that those differences which manifold deemed worthy of death are really dead horses. Now to illustrate this for yourself, ask yourself the simplest of questions: Do these so-called basic tenants of Christianity really affect me at all? For instance, ask yourself: Would I appreciate beauty any less if Jesus were not virgin-born? Or ask yourself: Would I respect the rights of others less if he had not gone about the countryside performing miracles? Or ask yourself: Could I really be considered so gross as to somehow be responsible for the death of the Son of God? Would I be so harsh as to condemn humanity to a fiery pit? Could I be more merciful than God who is reported to be love? No. You can see where we’re lead by these simple obvious questions. To insist that the Bible is anything more than the poetic expression of those greater principles by which man lives with man is to box oneself in with a wealth of opinion and counter opinion which really doesn’t matter because it really doesn’t affect the way we are. What matters my friends, is what we can know about man’s relation to man. Create the universe in six days if you like, but don’t force me to accept that myth as fact and make our relationship depend upon it … upon my accepting it. Believe in a real Adam, believe in a real Eve, believe in a real serpent …” – The “bad” minister from ‘A Thief in the Night’
Can someone who believes in creationism have a successful friendship with someone who does not? Can someone who believes in a real Adam, Eve, and serpent be close to someone who does not? Should Christians associate with other Christians who are unequally yoked in terms of spiritual convictions and beliefs? Just curious.
Be Persuaded 
“..because it really doesn’t affect the way we are.” True that in this statement, his/her basic premise is complete opposed to one of the basic ideas of Christ. It shows a disregard for the image of God stamped within each person, and a profound lack of understanding regarding the core of human nature apart from that identity. “Man’s relation to man” has been seen throughout history. No thanks. You do, however, ask some interesting questions about friendship and fellowship, which come in different forms, and therefore are not for simple yes/no answers. Jesus, Himself, modeled relationships with dissenters in different ways, depending on the sincerity of the questions.
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It’s interesting how different people coming from different backgrounds can see things in different ways, and yet the tendency for Christians to associate in like-minded churches means that everyone is cut off from alternative points of views that can help give them a clearer picture of the things they didn’t see but someone else did. You just saw something that I missed.
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Another reason I like the blogosphere….it’s not the same as face to face, but it’s a good supplement.
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In my case, with face to face conversations, I tend to hold back a lot. The blogosphere gives me a place where I don’t have to hold back so much. Sometimes that’s not a good thing – as I don’t always know when not to say something and I can get myself into even more trouble than usual.
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HAHAhaha! So I’m in good company!
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