Wearing clothes at home -- Covering, part 2

In my last post I talked about covering my faith in my day-to-day life, around those that don't share my beliefs. When one compares covering a part of identity to covering the body with clothing, it's almost understandable that one should cover when away from home, moving about in the day. I don't know about you, but when I get home I like to get comfortable. There's nothing like undressing for a relaxing hot bath and a soft robe at the end of the day. But what if we were required by social custom to wear professional wear -- say, pantyhose and uncomfortable stiff suits -- while in the 'comfort' of our own homes? I'd have to wonder where the word comfort actually fits in that scenario.

I sometimes feel the need to cover even while around fellow believers, or to dress in stiff suits while at home with family. While it's easy to lump all Christians together into one category -- where, incidentally, we should all be, living together in unity -- one must take into account the formation of denominations. Denominations are delineations along faultlines of disagreement, separating Christians into not-so-tidy subcategories. It seems that the presence of a teaching in the Bible isn't enough for it to be true; unfortunately we have to analyze and interpret the Bible, and then fit it around what we want to believe.

I believe that spiritual things are timeless, that while my contemporary life is circumstantially different than the lives of those who wrote the Bible, I have an eternal relationship with the same God as they did, so we share a vital commonality. In that, I have access to the same spiritual, miraculous, even mystical experience that they did.

Now that statement, as broad and undefined as it is, can cause some serious doubt about my hold on reality. Therefore, it's not discussed much -- especially with Christians -- unless I'm confident that I'm with people that share the same conviction. While that belief seems (to me) almost central to faith in God, many people disagree.

I was raised Baptist, where I was taught specifically that God no longer does the same things He did while the early church was being established, as recorded in Acts. This doctrine explains that miraculous signs were necessary for forming a strong network of people to call the church, and that in our modern age, miracles aren't necessary to convince people, who have been exposed to Chirstian teachings all their lives, to believe in God. When I started exploring this on my own, I found scripture that ran exactly contrary to that teaching. The further I went in my research, the more I wanted to share my findings with those that were teaching something that was starting to look untrue.

That was my first experience with the pressure to cover my beliefs. I found that you have to be careful what you say to a person about something they've believed for a long time, because it can be interpreted as an attack on their identity, and it hurts like a personal attack; therefore, they are prone to pushing back or even lashing out. This isn't exclusive to matters of faith, but can be observed in many areas and circles of influence. Dropping an untimely and dissenting word into a conversation, even if its intention is harmless, can be like dropping a grenade into a foxhole.

Another example. I belong to a book club comprised of close ladyfriends from my church. Over a year ago, I was hosting our monthly gathering. As is our custom, the host chooses the book, and I had chosen a collection of essays penned by a surgeon. Fresh in the headlines was the Terry Schaivo case, and I felt it would be subject-appropriate to discuss the case in light of what we had just read in this doctor's account. My personal belief is that the essence of Ms. Schaivo was suffering when kept alive by a feeding tube. While her life is precious and priceless, her life was not being lived in her condition. I believe that her family, though good-intentioned, was keeping her spirit trapped. Starvation may not be the humane way of ending a trapped existence such as hers, but it was eternally more sympathetic than continuing a life in which over an hour's worth of video was taken to get several seconds of what appeared to be a sentient response to a baloon. I found out that holding that belief put me in the extreme minority in this particular circle; and the other view was so passionately held that I backed away and covered my dissenting view quickly.

So covering is an activity I pursue while among those with whom I share a common belief system, too. Huh. Perhaps I shouldn't be so concerned with how my beliefs are received by those around me. Maybe they don't care as much as I perceive they do.

Legal cases concerning covering and discrimination notwithstanding, maybe daily collisions with covering pressure that others experience are perceived bigger than they are, too.