Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site bunker.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!bellcore!decvax!ittvax!bunker!garys
From: garys@bunker.UUCP (Gary M. Samuelson)
Newsgroups: net.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Christian Survey
Message-ID: <821@bunker.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 29-Apr-85 15:05:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: bunker.821
Posted: Mon Apr 29 15:05:31 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 1-May-85 03:14:09 EDT
References: <178@cci-bdc.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: Bunker Ramo, Trumbull Ct
Lines: 78

> Are you accepted...?

Yes, as long as I don't try to "cram my religion down others' throats."
Which, generally, means not mentioning religion at all.  I perceive
the notion that "any belief (or none) is OK, as long as you're
sincere" to be almost universal (even among Christians).  To suggest
that *any* religious proposition is either true or false (rather
than saying "it works for me") is a real conversation stopper.

> Do you ever have anyone threaten you?

Only on the net.  (1/2 :-).  Seriously, I have seen articles
which lamented the fact that Christians are not persecuted 
the way they were in the good old days.

> Do the neighborhood kids pick on yours for their beliefs?
> Do you ever feel rejection from your children...?

Not applicable.  We have one child, who is 30 months.

> Do you ever worry about being open with coworkers for fear of censure?

Yes.  (And, in my mind, this constitutes a confession of sin.)

> Do you think it affects your likelihood of getting a job at any parti-
> cular place?

No.  But it does affect the likelihood that I would accept a job
at some places.

> Do you ever feel so pressured by outside forces that,
> even though God is there to lean on, you doubt, if just for a little
> bit, before you are reassured by prayer or other means?  

Yes.  (Another confession.)  It is a wonder to me the things that
some people have gone through, yet maintained their faith.  And I
wonder if I would be nearly as strong.

> Does being Christian ...  become a "preferred" minority ... ?

I'm not sure I understand the question.  If you mean, are
Christians treated better than others, because of their
Christianity, I would say not.

> (here I speak largely to fundamentalists, who are a subset
> that has recently rebelled against the teachings of the Catholic
> and Protestant churches in an effort to "get back to the basics"
> of what Christ's life was supposed to teach us)?

I wish someone would post a definition of "fundamentalist" so I
could figure out if I am one.  I know some people think I am,
but I am not sure what they mean by the term.  I am in favor of
getting back to the basics of Christ's teachings, but the term
"fundamentalist" seems to connote a lot more than that.

> Do other Christians (eg. Catholics) reject you for your beliefs ... ?

In general, no.  There are some who appear to think that my beliefs
are so far wrong as to be damning, but not many.  To be honest,
though, Christians (including me), like anyone else, tend to associate
only or primarily with those who agree with them.  So the harmony we think
we have is sometimes illusory.

> And how do you feel about their beliefs?

Depends on the belief.  Not a terribly informative answer, I suppose,
but it's a terribly broad question.  There are beliefs which are
essential to Christianity.  There are beliefs which are
a matter of individual discretion.  Unfortunately, there are
disagreements about which are which.  Some people seem to think
that the first set is empty, and others that the second set is.
So, if I hold a particular belief, and believe that my position
is essential (note that that makes two beliefs), and someone else
rejects both the belief and the classification of the belief as
essential, then we will both be uncomfortable (or worse).

Gary Samuelson
ittvax!bunker!garys