I like to remain upfront about being Christian to avoid awkwardness from people assuming I am not one because of my interests and general habits towards tolerating or even supporting things a lot of mainstream 'Christians' violently condemn. I try to be open and accepting of other peoples' beliefs, preferences, self-identity, etc. provided they are not using them as excuses to harm others.
- Automatically shoehorning me in with bigots, or taking broad "all Christians are bad" strokes in my general vicinity is a great way to get me to avoid you.
- Trying to argue with me why you disagree with my beliefs is a great way to get blocked.
To reiterate the post that got buried on Twitter:
- Given the nature of social media and the way values are represented and distributed, please don't feel intimidated by the cross in my Twitter bio. I try to be the "love and respect everyone" type! It's what Jesus wants!
- It's all about what you do, rather than who you -are-. Kindness is a pretty tall ask in the world these days when there's so much hurt around, and I understand that. Many who claim to share my faith have caused a lot of pain...all I ask is that people don't judge with shoehorns.
- I'm not super outspoken on such topics, but trust me when I say I believe in gay rights and trans rights. Black lives matter. I feel weird just listing things; like it makes me feel I'm doing it only performatively, but I do truly believe it. I'm just bad at activism.
- Sowing pain and hate in the name of one's values - regardless of those values - is the main thing I won't tolerate. I am extra critical of those who do it in God's name. I'm just a bit of a coward to speak up and prefer the safety of my comfort zones, is all.
- Anyone who still can't trust me, that's ok! I understand! Just making it clear that I'm not here to judge and oppress and hate. I just wanna make stuff and share it with people. If that's not enough, then I'm sorry... but I understand all the same.
Have a good one!