Soren Kierkegaard once spitefully commented that the "very
atmosphere of Copenhagen predisposes one to Christianity." Despite this
recognition, he lived and died in Copenhagen, and remained true to his own form
of Christianity. Dietrich Bonhoeffer criticized Karl Barth for not expanding
his intellectual horizons for lack of travel to other countries where he felt British
empiricism would lend itself to Barth's own entrenchment in continental
theology. Kant never ventured beyond Konigsberg, yet he changed the world of
philosophy forever.
One is predisposed to his religious creed or culture for any
number of reasons. My challenge over the past five years has been to back away
from those things that come easy to me, while considering as many different approaches
to religious reality as possible. I make the points only to point out that cultivating critical thinking does not
necessarily require travelling great distances, though I've been indebted to my experiences in
England, Finland and Russia (where I made a point of immersing myself in
religious experiences in those countries - my only regret was the Buddhist Temple in St. Petersburg was closed when we arrived). This is why I study and practice
(perhaps as a dilettante and nothing more - which some would argue create problems in
itself), so that no one will say to me at the end of my life, you didn't
consider all the options available to you. You didn't make the effort. You made
truth a reflection of your own reality.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I have been all over the map
religiously. I grew up as a Roman Catholic, moved through Pentecostalism, the Churches of Christ, a Baptist church here and there, Evanglical Lutheranism, the UCC, and finally an Episcopal church. For those who think the break with Christianity was not significant enough, I also spent time in Mahayana Buddhism, and veered into atheism during my college days. I make no apologies for my experiences. I can't imagine standing in a
tradition and exerting one's intellectual efforts tirelessly in its defense,
with either little or much sophistication, to prove one has already and always
known his way through this life.
One might not be "converting" people in such instances, but it certainly begins to look like apologetics, even if the audience is only as large as the person believing or researching the materials. Modification of one's tradition is not enough. Intellectual honesty is important to me. Emancipation from modification has been and is my path for the foreseeable future.
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