We Do Not Always See Eye To Eye In Everything

"Research published in the journal PLOS ONE, suggests that your parents 'Left or 'Right' party affiliations are not the only factor at work shaping a person's political identity. Differences in opinion between 'Lefties' and 'Righties' may reflect specific physiological processes. In research performed over 10 years ago, brain scans showed that London cab drivers' gray matter grew larger to help them store a mental map of the city." From the article: "Other scans have shown that brain regions associated with risk and uncertainty, such as the fear-processing amygdala, differ in structure in liberals and conservatives. And different architecture means different behavior. Liberals tend to seek out novelty and uncertainty, while conservatives exhibit strong changes in attitude to threatening situations. The former are more willing to accept risk, while the latter tends to have more intense physical reactions to threatening stimuli."

A few of my friends and I are on opposite polls in our viewpoints but we agree to disagree. Tolerance and Détente is respectfully applied to each other. We get along fine with out having to conform to the consensus orthodoxy of others. Protestants often believe God works by democracy.

My friends and I enjoy one another without reacting against our particular affiliations of thoughts and opinions. We actually like each other none the less.  I must respect the authority and wisdom of those tasked with my spiritual welfare, therefore I do pay attention to what my friends bring to the table.

But I as an individual do my own thinking and pick and choose my stance and the words that express my stance. I write about “controversial” things because, for a person who has seemingly “liberal” views, church can sometimes be a frightening, uninviting place. This should make all of us very sad because coerced silence is not very Christian, not very loving, and it is definitely not very Orthodox. The church that I grew up in does the coerce thingy big time. Recently the head dude sent out an email explosion to all of their senior pastors informing them that if they criticize the movement of their church on blogs they can basically "get out and stay out."

My friends and I give each other the freedom to express ourselves as we see fitting. I actually like my friends all the more when they hold to there own opinions as opposed to my own. We are all individuals that come together and enrich each other with our views and angle points of perspective.

Our "fear-processing amygdala" may differ in structure but we are brothers in the Lord and friends. We all need each other for balance and avoidance of extremes. I must weigh their words carefully and consider my own motivations. I must practice intellectual humility. We do not polarize into extreme sects of opinion, we come together in Agape' love which is unconditional.

Do you have friends who are opposite to your own opinions?