Letters to the Editor
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Like Ms. Miles, I was raised in a loving but largely agnostic, if not entirely atheistic, household. Most of what I knew about religion came from a few bad childhood experiences in church and my dealings with some religious "friends" of mine in school, as well as listening to jerks on radio and TV. I thought that it was impossible to be a reasonable, compassionate human being and a Christian at the same time.
I was greatly mistaken. Again like Ms. Miles, my 'conversion' has been a slow, heartbreaking, painful process. A lot of people assume that religion is supposed to hand you all the answers and an easy worldview... this is simply not the case. A lot of people assume religion is for the weak-minded, because it is an "opiate" for troubled minds. Also not the case. I am far more deeply troubled and conflicted as a Christian than I ever was before. And this is a good thing. My own relationship with God has been somewhat rewarding, but mostly frustrating.
Anyway, kudos to Ms. Miles for having the courage to think beyond 'reason' or 'logic' or 'fact.' There is much more to life than can be proven or supported with fact or evidence, and it takes true courage and strength to entertain the notion that maybe "knowing things" is not nearly as important as living rightly and following life's troubling questions, no matter where they lead.
Doubt is a good thing. Questions are a good thing. Keep asking the important ones.
"It is not as a child that I believe and confess Jesus Christ. My hosanna is born of a furnace of doubt."
Fyodor Dostoevsky