Disagreeing Properly
Tom Roberts One thing I've loved about my Christian college so far is the fact that as much as they teach and share the theology of the denomination they are tied to, they never insist that students agree. They explain the five points of Calvinism or the various ways a piece of Scripture might be interpreted, but they also acknowledge that students may follow a different tradition of belief, and that's okay. The school suggests that rather than teaching students what specific tradition to believe, they equip students to be better-informed believers of any Christian tradition. For reference, I used to be much more combative than I am now. I insisted upon being right in everything, and was determined to debate anyone and everyone until they agreed with me. I never considered trying to understand others with an open mind, and I think much of this feeling of competition stemmed from the way I was brought up. The church I grew up in was one filled with wise, strong believers, but I...
