How do you know when to draw the line with your skepticism?
This is a popular response. Most wonder how I differentiate what is important belief and what is not. According to scripture, faith in Jesus is essential to salvation. So how do I make sure I don’t start doubting any of the required beliefs to get into heaven? This is a line I am uncomfortable drawing for anyone else but myself. How can I tell you your convictions? I can tell you my own heart draws the line for me, and I will admit I have crossed my own lines in my life and have admitted error, it is easy to use skepticism to bend the Bible into any form you want. But I can tell you that my own conviction is to pursue religious truths, because that is how I feel close to God. If you feel like you are betraying God by questioning too much, then don’t. While I would highly encourage you to reflect what exactly God means to you, the last thing I am trying to inspire is people to abandon their convictions. And it should be stated that skepticism should never be used as a simple justification to do what you want to do. If one is going to be critical of scripture, one must study both the content and context of the Bible, and attempt to view them objectively to see what the authors are really trying to say instead of what one wants them to say. And of course, it is always possible to disagree with what scripture says, too. But then we must ask ourselves "why?" Why do you disagree? Is it because science or scholarly work points to something different? Or is it because the rule in question in a modern context doesn't quite fit Jesus' message of love? I find either of these two reasons to be generally valid, but that is in accordance to my own convictions.
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