Friday, November 11, 2005

Learning to stand

I was recently ranting my mom about my frustrations with the evolution debate, and my mother, being a wonderful lovely person whom I do not deserve to have as a parent, listened politely and said little in disagreement, despite the fact that we agree on almost nothing in that field. We batted back and forth about whether intelligent design belonged in the classroom at all, whether strict division of instruction along subject lines is desirable, and the general nature of science as a subject. We had hammered out some rough truces, which was roughly satisfying, and then I fumed:

"Why do so many people waste so much time with this intelligent design in science class thing? It's not the end of the world to leave it out, nor to put it in."
"Some people just need to fight, I think."

And this is very true. I named this blog after a Bible passage which I feel expresses this desire to argue, to debate, to test. But for some reason this made me think.

There are a number of Great Debates at the moment in which Christianity figures prominently. Evolution. Abortion. Homosexuality. The boundaries of "freedom of religion." Actually, in each of the above Christianity is not only a player, but it's generally assumed that God's position (if there is a God) is set out in genuine Mt. Sinai stone for the world to see in, er, gray and gray. And Christians (on both sides) will claim that their desperate struggle is part of a desperate stand to protect God's interests, or at least God's interests for His people. Christians will bemoan the lack of spine which keeps fellow believers from standing against the prevailing winds of unbelief.

Certainly there are a lot of people in this world who could stand to learn a thing or three about standing up for the right thing. But being involved in a debate is not an indication of standing, or even swaying with the wind. It's hard to believe, I know, because it's so rarely observed, but humans can be contrary critters. There are actually people out there who prefer to lean against the wind. I know, I'm one of 'em. And some of us like to lean into the wind so hard that when the wind stops blowing, or we're taken into shelter, we fall flat on our faces.

I've wondered why I was born into privilege, into comfort, into a loving home in a relatively safe and prosperous country, and I think this is why. I need to learn to stand independent of the prevailing wind. I think the truly strong person is able to stand for what they believe without needing to push or pull against anyone or anything else, and I think God moves us away from the props which inhibit this. Now I just need to push everyone else into understanding this, and getting along while appreciating diversity of opinion, and then corralling everyone into the Right Point Of View as soon as my studies ascertain exactly what this is. Yeah.