Context
Most Christians, in America today, are aware that the Bible comes from a very different culture, technology level, and had another popular view of ethics and the supernatural. I agree, but add another context - the context of the reader. We all have different perspectives, for a variety of reasons; some we control and some we don’t. I do not believe anyone but God can be objective and I do not even try to do so, as I believe that would be dishonest.
Self Doubt
One of my greatest strengths is that I have doubts about a lot of things, especially myself. A lot of this is driven by my mental illness, Schizophrenia, in that I am always afraid of the future and the unknown. I see this as a strength, because I can learn from other people and am able to improve my situation, as well as, avoid many painful experiences.
I do not believe I am always right. I believe I always can learn from anyone. Being able to improve myself over time gives me hope that my life will continue to be worth living.
Reverse Skepticism
When most people talk about being a Skeptic, that usually means that they are skeptical of the supernatural and religion in general. I am skeptical mostly of Science and I do not doubt the reality of the supernatural world or the reliability of the Bible.
I don’t trust anyone or anything outside the Bible. I do not believe in any ideology other than what is in the Bible. I have severe doubts about both Science and American / Hollywood culture.
Complexity
I think the big issue that will destroy the world system is complexity. There is no point in voting if the issues are so complex that only an expert can understand it. I try to resist making my life any more complicated than it absolutely needs to be.
On the other hand, I have had to adapt and learn to deal with unneeded complexity. I rarely read self help books because they are too complex to remember. One of the reasons why Eastern, especially Chinese, Philosophy makes so much sense to me is its simplicity.
Non-Christian Influences
Throughout my life I was exposed to more non-Christian influences than many Christians are. Part of that was deliberate because I studied world religions so I could credibly say that Christianity is the one true faith to non-believers. I never considered leaving Christianity although I was very troubled by a lot of the cultural ideas in the Church that I saw as being in opposition to the Gospel.
The important thing to remember that the ideas I learned from my studies were not ideas new to me. I merely learned the right names for these ideas so I could explain it to others. Ironically to prepare for the world I read encyclopedias and literature so that I could be taken seriously by educated people. I later realized it would have been better to learn how to play computer games and watch Hollywood movies.
Military - High Standards
One of the things that lead me to my psychiatric break from reality was the idea that the Army wanted me to be good at everything. They wanted me to follow orders without thinking, but then also make good decisions on things that needed to be done properly, for the safety of many other people. I was exposed to so many different things, that I am still emotionally unpacking memories, decades later.
Military - Evil and Suffering
Another big thing I learned from military training was how much evil and suffering there is in the world. This is one of the reasons why I studied Eastern Philosophy for so many years. I learned the importance of labor unions and was fully convinced, then and still to this day, that I never want to lead anybody, in any capacity. This was also part of what lead me to become mentally ill.
Military - Paradox
The other thing I learned from the military was the idea of paradox, which has been key to my understanding of Chinese Philosophy and theological concepts from the Bible. The paradox in the military is between the leaders and the soldiers. They think opposite about the world because they have opposite training.
Military - Officers vs Enlisted
Officers are built up emotionally and given power and independence. The soldiers were made to understand they had no power or independence, not even over their own bodies. We were putting our lives into the hands of other people that, with one mistake, could lead to permanently hurting us.
Military - Low Profile
The final thing I learned during my experience in the military is that being safe in the world today is best achieved by not being too important. I do not travel far, even just to big cities, in America. I have no interest in getting published or becoming rich or famous. I believe as an American I already live like a king, which is exactly why the rest of the world hates us.