Defending My Spiritual Convictions

Those who have discussed religion with me, often disagreeing with with me, when asked about my religious views opine that I am a contrarian. It's probably a nice way of saying that I do not confirm to what they consider to be the conventional in terms of religious expression. I do not belong to or favor any particular organized Christian denominational group. As a matter of fact, I am turned off by the ever increasing expansivness and materiality that today seem fashionable as expressions of Christian fidelity. I am merely one who finds comfort in the essential message of Christianity, the one that emphasizes humility, charity, peacemaking, love, forgiveness and all of those unpopular values delivered by the first and only true Christian to the multitudes at the foot of a mountain. So maybe I am a contrarian, maybe I am unconventional. Still, I suffer no pangs of regret from being dislocated from a pattern of expression in which beating on the chest and praying loudly is popular. I find great solace in my little dark cupboard each day where my communication with my spiritual advisor and mentor is private and exclusive.