Are YOU a Cafeteria Christian?

Definition of a cafeteria Christian: One who picks and chooses from the bible, accepting what they want to believe and rejecting what they don't want to believe.

I am a cherry-picking cafeteria Christian. I believe we all are, whether we think we are or not.
1 Timothy 2:9 I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes…

No gold? No braids? As soon as you say “well, what it really means is…” you are “cherry picking.” Married women, are you wearing a gold wedding ring? You’re “cherry picking.” Have you ever braided your hair? You’re “cherry picking.” Now, you may know that in the time that Paul wrote this, prostitutes braided their hair. Suddenly, the meaning of the verse becomes clear. I follow the meaning; Women, dress modestly. Don’t show off. Don’t dress like a slut!
That’s an easy one, but there are many more verses that I just can’t swallow. Most are stories from the old testament. The first one, for me, was the story of Samson. (Judges 13 and on) He was incredibly strong, until Delilah cut his hair off. This sounds like a story to me. In fact, it sounds an awful lot like the Greek story of Achilles, whose weakness was in his heel. The only way I could continue believing in God was to give up believing in Samson!
So why can’t the story of creation be just that; a story? Or a poem? The story of creation is beautiful, and the story of Adam and Eve is very meaningful. (In fact, it’s somewhat problematic that the order is mixed up. Which came first. People? Animals? The garden? Does it matter?)
In fact... If you focus on the literal story of Adam and Eve, you might just miss the meaning altogether. They took the apple from the tree of KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL! Hmm... could that be applied to my life? What about pride? Does the bible say anything else about pride? In fact, could God be warning us against the dangers of pride? (I'm just sayin'.)
In this light, the story of Adam and Eve is very important.

That being said, I strongly believe in the central message of the bible: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I think one can go too far, as Thomas Jefferson did, and ignore or even cut out parts that one simply doesn't like. (Look up the Jefferson Bible) There are also many parts of the bible that I don't LIKE, but I believe in. (Hell, for instance.)
But that would be another blog.

Peace, love & tolerence.