advice for an ub believer and a nonbeliever couple

[chucksmith1982]

Nigel, I wanted to craft a reply that would do your question justice. I put it to a fellow ub believer in my study group who has been living in the Bible belt her entire life and who is in her 60’s.  She also has traveled the world over the years as well. She has been a reader for 40 years or so. She said that she has been asked that question off and on for a while by people who don’t live in the Bible belt. Her answer is something like you have to actually live here to fully understand. She gave me an example of a friend of hers who lives in another part of the country. He can take an ub in any coffie shop and read it. There won’t be any problem with it because the people are more open minded. He can engage with them in conversation on spiritual subjects from the ub with no problem.

Here however, it is another matter. If you aren’t a fully believing bible toting Christian you are considered a bit strange. In short, it won’t matter if I tell anyone here that I love and serve Jesus. I can tell them that all day long. If I tell them that I am not a bible believer but that I believe in the ub, even if they would let me explain what it was in the most basic form, it would not matter. I would still be an outsider. They would see the Jesus that I believe in as a false Jesus. To most people in the bible belt if it doesn’t come from the bible it might as well not exist. That is what I am dealing with. Persicution? No. Narrow mindedness? Yes. They don’t care that I love and serve God. All they care about is one question. Do you serve the god of the bible? Do you serve the Jesus of the bible? Do you believe every word in the bible literally?  Are you a fundamentalist Christian? Do you hold the same beliefs, more or less, that I do? Okay, I got carried away and wrote several questions. But my point is well made. To most people where I live if it doesn’t come out of the bible it is a cult. That includes all other world religions by the way. As my friend said, it is something that you actually have to experience to really understand.
On another note, thanks to everyone who gave me advice on the matter. It has meant a lot and has been extremely helpful.

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