Fundamentalists in all major religions accuse moderates of practicing "Cafeteria Religion." Moderates accuse fundamentalists of doing the same.
The idea, of course, is that we pick and choose which parts of the Bible (or the Koran, etc.) to practice.
I've finally finished "The Year of Living Biblically" by A. J. Jacobs. And I thoroughly agree with him that we all practice cafeteria religion.
I know I do.
First off, I'm a New Testament gal. Don't have to worry about those hundreds of rules in the Old Testament the way Jacobs did in his year of living biblically.
Next, my examples begin with Jesus and my Jesus examples start with the Sermon on the Mount.
Yes, I still have some problems with the Apostle Paul. Thirty years ago when I was helping to do battle for the Equal Rights Amendment (for women) a person yelled at me saying, "The Apostle Paul would not vote for this amendment." I said, "No, but Jesus would."
That was my "Cafeteria Selection."
Of course the are some sweeping concepts that go from one end of the Bible to the other. One is forgiveness. Another is the overwhelming mandate to take care of the poor and those who are suffering.
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