Religion
In reply to the discussion: I am a liberal Christian [View all]SoutherDem
(2,307 posts)Your are between a rock and a hard place.
I will admit up front, I am an Atheist. But, I am not going to try to shame you, tell you your wrong or anything like that at all.
For me, before giving up on religion, or a belief in god I was in several denomination. From pentecostal to protestant. From conservative to moderate. One of which was Southern Baptist, so I understand how you feel.
I must admit it is hard for a liberal to be in a Southern Baptist church and I hope this doesn't happen to you but I was slowly worn down till I changed to another denomination. For me what made me finally change was when I realized I was using the church as a social club instead of a place of worship. Leaving my friends was hard. But I felt the purpose of church wasn't to socialize. I will admit the Southern Baptist church I was in, Democrats were rare and the few who were there, were old George Wallace Democrats, extremely racist.
There are some moderate to liberal denominations out there. I found that The Presbyterian Church of the United States of America (PCUSA) was a church I could be liberal even openly gay and be welcomed. I am sure there are others, PCUSA is just the one I know about.
For me continuing my education is what moved be from a faith in god, but if I would have not found a denomination in which I could be myself, today I still think I wouldn't be in a church. But I would be a guilt ridden unchurched christian rather than a content atheist.
I am not telling you to give up on your core values. Nor and I telling you to give up on your faith. I am not even telling you to change churches. I am just telling you what happened to me.
As to DU. While not speaking for anyone else I can tell you we sometimes, for open minded liberals, are not always so open minded. We at times get heated on subjects which we are passionate about and can go overboard. I have simply accepted I am going to be offended at least once each day and I will offend someone each day. I try to remember overall we really are on the same side even if we don't agree.
I wish you the best of luck in finding your way in this sea of confusion. Whatever your choice I hope you will continue to post on DU. I hope no one ever feels they are not free to be themselves.
By the way, I promised I wouldn't shame you or tell you were wrong for your faith and I hope I have kept that promise. But, if you ever do want to discuss that matter I would be happy to do so.