First, my history with religion, I was raised strict Southern Baptist. Four generations of my family, including my siblings and myself, attend a Southern Baptist church on the southside of Richmond, VA. I grew up, and like all children went through a phase where I questioned the status quo of the worldview taught to me by my parents, I examined many philosophies in life, including atheism. However found upon detailed inspection that I did wholeheartedly believe in Christianity. I don't agree with every decision that the National Southern Baptist Convention makes. I think sometimes Jerry Fallwell talks before he thinks. However, every word he says is under a microscope and is blown up in the press, and he is a falable man. I was recruited by Liberty University for a football scholarship and during the recruiting process, actually met and shook hands with Mr. Fallwell. He is a really nice guy. I stayed at Liberty for a weekend and decided that the rules there were too strict to me. I ended up going to college at UNC. While at college, I kinda lapsed on the practice of my beliefs. I fell into the usual college vices. I had wild rugby team parties, drank a lot of moonshine, and experimented with some controlled substances. I got my girlfriend pregnant (abortion never crossed my mind). She miscarried after we had both become accustomed to the idea of being parents. I'm not perfect, never claimed to be. After I got my degree, I realized how far I had fallen from my original direction. I cleaned myself up. I now attend church regularly. I still have a drink every once and a while, but nothin crazy, and as with every person, I still sin whether I intend to or not.
My worldview has stayed the same through all of that. I believe that there is a God. God's son was Jesus Christ. He gave his life to provide the blood sacrifice necessary to cleanse us of our sins when we repent from them and ask God for forgiveness. I believe that those who ask for forgiveness, and truely feel repentance in their heart, go to heaven. I believe in a very close to literal interpretation of the scripture and have read the entirity of 3 translations of the bible (NIV,KJV, and Jeffersonian). I have studied and read on macroevolution and scientific creationism. I believe the earth is less than 10,000 years old, the earth was created in 7 literal 24 hour days, adam and eve,fall of man, dinosaurs died in the flood of Noah, which also created geologic layers in the earth creating burried animals, techtonic plates, and fossils, that microevolution has taken place because of the drastic change in the earth's electromagnetic field, as well as natural selection. I believe that having sexual relations with someone of the same sex is a sin. I believe that killing babies, born or unborn, is murder, no matter how big they are. I also believe premarrital sex is a sin. I believe marriage is a religious institution adopted by the government, and that the government shouldn't recognize same sex marriage because it goes against the very foundation of the creation of marrital union. I don't let that conflict with my constitutionalist belief in states rights over marrital contracts though. I believe that as it states in the bible, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light, there is no other way except through him. That means I have a very clear cut black and white belief that Christianity is the only correct religion. Before you start yelling "tolerance" look around... do people of jewish faith believe christians are right? do people of islamic faith believe buddhists are right? No. that's just what belief is, having the knowledge not the feeling, that your worldview is correct.
I don't believe that science is a seperate religion. I believe that science is a tool used to search for truth. I also believe science compliments, not contridicts, religious faith, and I am willing to sculpt my beliefs around any irrefutable scientific evidence I read or find, and have many times before. I believe that there is a concrete reality, and each persons beliefs is just their own perspective on that reality. I believe in a black and white view of right and wrong.