Is it really deception to keep one’s faith to oneself? I get the impression that some people I know are moderate evangelicals, but they’ve never actually said so. Generally speaking, we’re not a people who goes for show; we like a quiet, private faith. Displays of overt religiosity tend to send people running for cover. So why respond in horror, reeling at the revelations of the rumour mill? If you thought I was a decent human being before this news reached you, can you not find it in your heart to suppose that I may still be one? And if not, does that not suggest there was some wisdom in my keeping my faith to myself? If, every time it becomes known, I must fall out of favour, what choice do I have but to put up the wall of privacy? It is a self-defence mechanism, not a fifth column.
Last modified: 5 September 2014
