re: #574 Aceofwhat?

Yes. There isn’t a way to get there without faith. And we do all have to make personal choices about belief.

Right. The process of personal theology, that is to say how you interpret the meanings involved, is how you get from text to practice. And practice need not adhere to the bluntest, most direct interpretations to be found on the face of the text.

The only people who I would take rational umbrage are those who claim to be “Biblical literalists,” that is those who claim that their interpretations are the most literal (blunt/direct) meanings of the text, and then use that claim to try to enforce pretty much anything they want.

I’ll grant that Acts 10 may be suggestive that dietary restrictions are no longer binding on Christians, but it seems to me to be a broader interpretation than others available. Many Christians, such as Seventh Day Adventists, disagree with that interpretation.

Not being personally invested in Christianity, that’s not something that I have to wrestle with. If I did, then I’d probably end up going by the same interpretation as you do.