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menoman-the quote you pull is from the purity laws of the torah. i happen to think that they say a lot more when you don't enforce them...the people as they enter the land (modern day Isreal, Palestine) are trying to stay a people, and not simply blend in. The folks that try to assimilate are dealt with pretty harshly... (and that includes a ban on temple prostitution: a man not lying with a man...) point being that the motivation behind that is an attempt at cultural preservation in difficult circumstances. Anyhow.
fundamental flaw? i don't tend to see it that way. HR Niehbur, in his work Christ and Culture talks about how there have been multiple christianities since the very beginning...the whole thing swings back and forth over time. perhaps most importantly...we're a people searching out revelation...and so to try to come up with "One" answer invites not just tyrrany, but a lack of imagination. We have to have respect for the "unconcluded history" of the church. it's not ours to define...just ours to journey with. and as i posted before...it has always been Christian to hope for more light and truth to come to us.
i don't agree that it's however you want to make it. when i converted...i had a pretty solid idea of what i wanted to beleive in. now two years later...i think about the original checklist...and very little has made it. a few very important items, for sure, but i've realized that being in a community of belief is going to challenge me in a lot of ways i'd never thought of. when i struggle with something, i know that some of the most brilliant minds of western civilization have struggled with the same...and so in contact with their voices and writings, i'm pushed much farther than i would have been any other way. i agree...there are many ways to read any passage. but at it's best, Christianity is about considering and wrestling with all the options, not just picking one.
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