“I have not been public about my faith,” confesses Ana Marie Cox, the snarky left-wing blogger who goes by Wonkette. “I am somewhat tempted to embrace the punk-rockness of being a progressive, feminist, tattooed, pro-choice, graduate-educated believer—and then I have to remind myself that believing in God is about as punk rock as wearing pants, maybe even less so. Almost nine in ten Americans believe in God; in any given moment, how many are wearing pants?
“In my personal life, my faith is not something I struggle with or something I take particular pride in. It is just part of who I am.
“The only place where my spirituality feels volatile is in my professional life; the only time I’ve ever felt uncomfortable talking about my faith is when it comes up in conversation with colleagues.
“It does come up: Since leaving Washington, I have made my life over and I am happier, freer, and healthier in body and spirit and apparently it shows. When people ask me, “What changed?” or, “How did you do it?” or, sometimes, with nervous humor, “Tell me your secret!” I have a litany of concrete lifestyle changes I can give them—simply leaving Washington is near the top of the list—but the honest answer would be this: I try, every day, to give my will and my life over to God. I try to be like Christ. I get down on my knees and pray.”
To read the rest of her story, click HERE.
###
Rod Dreher, at The American Conservative, blogged about Cox’s coming out.
“And yet, one of the plainest lessons of the New Testament is that it is impossible to know from one’s conduct who really knows the Lord in a saving way. The Pharisees, after all, prided themselves on following the Law — yet their hearts were corrupt. It is possible, I think, to say, ‘This is what Christians believe,’ and to judge the public statements of others, and to be prepared to have our own beliefs judged, by that objective standard.
“But there are very few of us who don’t struggle with this or that doctrine, and almost none of us who put all Christian beliefs into action consistently. When I am in church, I can’t know the hearts of the people around me. I don’t know how the others have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and how they continue to sin, in thought and deed, despite themselves. I only know that they do, and that I am just like them. The only heart I know is my own, and that is the one for which I am responsible. Every Orthodox Christian publicly calls himself, with St. Paul, the ‘chief of sinners’ before he receives communion. What this means is that as far as you know, God sees you as the worst sinner in the world. Worse than the infidels, the thieves, the drug dealers, the wife beaters, and so forth? Yes, as far as you know, because only God can see their hearts, and only God knows how responsible they truly are for the darkness they harbor there.”
To read the entire response, click HERE.