A Bear Is A Bear

How does a bear know that it is a bear and not something else?   C. S Lewis says that is knows by interacting with friends who are people.  The bear in this friendly atmosphere will then come to know it is a bear and not a person.  So what? So what, is that we need to discuss religion, our beliefs or lack thereof with others who are friends but are not just like us, or else we will not know what we truly believe.  We have to hear other ideas and argue points.  In this way we come to a better understanding of what is wheat and what is chaff in our religious world.  Too often believers and non-believers hunker down with people who they see as just like themselves.  This is lazy thinking, maybe safe, but ultimately banal, and mediocre.  Why do people say that they never want to talk about religion with those who disagree?  Unpleasant?  What might be unpleasant is the underpinnings of our system will be shown as lite, weak, and not likely to change us for the better.  Sometimes people say that they are non-believers, atheists, believers in one religious path or another, because it is the easier and softer way.  I like to read people and listen to people who challenge me.  If I dismiss them too quickly, it is probably because fear has come up.  A faith that is mediocre will be lived by a life that is mediocre.  I prefer more depth and meaning, something worth dying for.