Mild rant

[mari4212]

I'm getting off to a great start, aren't I, with a rant as the second entry? But really, this is something I've been irked about for a while, and the great thing about livejournal is that I can yell about something to my heart's content without annoying my family, who all agree with me on the subject, and thus don't need to be convinced about it.

I really am starting to hate it when being a Christian becomes synonymous with being an arrogant, pig-headed, bigoted jerk who doesn't consider facts, scientific reasoning, or the possibility that people who disagree with you might have brains and point of view that you haven't considered. I'm not sure who I'm more ticked about, the people who act this way or the people who assume that because some Christians have their heads stuck in the sand, all Christians are tarred by the same brush.
I am Christian. I also am studying Biology at college, so understanding the basic premise of evolution is sort of a necessity, and I believe in it. Why? Because I give God* credit enough to assume that God knows just a little more than I do, considering that God is omniscient. I also believe that if God wants to do something, God will do it in whatever way God sees fit. I don't know everything, and I don't understand everything either. I have faith that God is capable of deciding how and why God is going to create, and that it might not happen exactly the way the Bible says it did.
And as for the Bible? I definitely believe that it is inspired, and that it has a lot to teach us, but it is a human document, written by countless different people, all with their own biases and understandings, and it has been edited and translated by still more people, all of whom are fallible. In short, it is entirely possible for parts of it to not be good, and parts of it to be downright sickening. Leverite's Concubine anyone? If you don't read the Bible with an eye towards its failings as well as its good points, you've sort of missed the whole point.
And don't get me started on some Christian's treatments of people that they feel fall outside of their idea of morality. Never mind the fact that Jesus spoke out on behalf of the marginalized, and ate with sinners. God is loving, why hate some of God's children?
*I've found that after my Women and Religion course, I have a hard time using pronouns in reference to God. I might decide to go the Madeline L'Engle route and use El as a pronoun for God, but for right now I'll just use God. Makes for some awkward senteces, but it feels better this way.