Why?

I was relieved that a recent study on Prop 8 indicated that race was essentially a non-factor in it's passage which debunks earlier studies. The main factors were age, church attendance and party affiliation. What skewed appearances is that African-Americans tend to be more church going.

But what it does indicate is that knowing LGBT people and experiencing discrimination is trumped by proclaimed religious beliefs.

The question then is how do people acquire their religious beliefs. It starts from parents and ministers and church teachers. For many that's where it stops. Few people bother to study the Bible themselves, to meditate on scripture, to seek inspiration. People who believe the Bible strongly supports the one man one woman version of marriage are not very familiar with the Bible.

Anyone who has performed a marriage ceremony knows that the Bible is slim pickings when it comes to marriage liturgy. Anyone who's attended a few marriage ceremonies will soon find the scripture reading familiar. To me it's always seemed a stretch to assume that Jesus's attendance at a wedding feast was the same as blessing marriage. Did his supper with a tax collector bless tax collecting?

The bottom line is that we really choose our religious beliefs. Many people are comfortable with a basic understanding because it doesn't conflict with their other beliefs and life. For the many who choose to dig deeper, the ground quickly becomes less firm. Dogma quickly starts to crumble and requires increasing convoluted rationalization to support it.

But we all find a belief system that suits us. It's erroneous to claim that what suits us is universal or even God's ultimate truth. What we believe is our truth. To claim it equals divine truth elevates us to God's domain. Our truth changes as God works in our lives, as we grow and mature in our faith.

We believe what we want to believe. Belief filters our vision. Scotomas block out the things that make us uncomfortable. Of course the Bible supports our belief because our beliefs don't let conflicting things in. The only way to increase our awareness of truth is to suspend our will and beliefs and let God speak to us. That's why I ask myself constantly - why do I believe this?

Is this from God? Is it from a respected source? Does this contribute to oppression or to peace? How does it conflict with my other beliefs?

Is it loving?

That's the question I challenge others with. Why do you believe the things you do? Why do you practice the sacraments you do? Why do you preach and prophesy the way you do?

The Bible can say what we want it to mean. It can also be simple text on a page simply meaning what the words say. But when we are quiet, God uses the Bible to speak to us. This multiple meaning though means the Bible in and of itself is a poor teacher. Our use of scriptures is a reflection of our beliefs and only rarely God's truth.

Humans are poor vessels for God's truth. Our understanding is so limited. Our seeing is so influenced by our pre-concieved thoughts. We have ears but do not hear. We have eyes but do not see. We have hearts but do not love.

This is why the Bible makes a poor authority figure. Anyone can quote the Bible. But the real Good News comes from our hearts, from love and compassion, from hope and peace.

When someone quotes scripture to me and doesn't speak from their heart, it has less meaning than someone who witnesses from their personal relationship with God.

That's what I try to do here, to witness my own faith journey, my struggles and inspirations, and my personal and personalized relationship with God.