My bus driver in Middle School was Ms Harding. There weren't a lot of us on that particular bus route due to I.E. Johnson being a magnet school and this group of riders being very far off from that section of Laurinburg. As such, we got a lot of time to talk. During one of these talks with my bus driver, I expressed my first Biblical opinion as it relates to politics.
It wasn't based on years of study. It was based on what I had been taught about God. Fortunately for me, I ended up being right because I had been taught about God by two parents who had based their teachings on years of study.
What that doesn't change, though, is that it was dangerous for me to base such a strong opinion on what someone else had told me I believe instead of my own study and experience.
I spent last week in Washington D.C. and New York City with 45 youth. While there, they attended seminars which (I hope) made them think about how our faith affects our political views. Each night, we broke down what we talked about. Each night, my shameless liberal bias went on display for my group of (possibly) impressionable teenagers.
I'm okay with that. They get the other viewpoint in their local churches plenty.
I did make sure to tell them that I'd be just as disappointed in them parroting the words I had without question as I would be if they were spitting out James Dobson's greatest hits. All I'm getting at is that your faith should inform your views, but that faith should be informed.
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I wish more people practiced critical thinking rather than soapbox rhetoric. I would rather admit that my insight into various topics is limited than just spewing something in a heated discussion. Then I can go back and dig deeper if it's warranted.
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