Yes, sometimes I do hafta just smack myself in the forehead, and remind myself - "yes, they
call themselves `Christian'!"
Mob rules only applies where
might makes right ...
For the record, aberrant is one thing, and
abhorrent is another. I'll take the former over the latter any day, when it comes to unpopular beliefs.
And if I were to end up the last idiot on earth believing these
*gasp* - UNpopular, NON-traditional, dare I say
heretical eek:
) notions -
... ya know, it wouldn't phase me one bit.
The "Members Only" club mentality, frankly, is what disgusts me about Christianity - or rather, the churchianity that has run away with Christ's name.
Believe this, genuflect like that, say your Our Fathers and Nicene Creeds like this ...
and it's back to Jethro Tull (`My God'):He is the god of nothing if that's all that you can see/
He is the God of everything, He's inside you and me.
A child knows this. S/he doesn't need any outside agency to make, keep, enforce, and jealously guard "the rules." Forums have rules - now let's all abide by them, and stop acting like we have sole ownership of God's own Truth! Again, Christ's image is
not copyrighted.
I may have contributed somewhat to the stirring up earlier on this thread, Dondi but let's settle things without getting haughty. I could just as easily hold up a mirror to statements like:
You don't lead a lost soul into a forest of confusing ideas that has little to do with Christianity, if that is what he is seeking.
and respond with
Yes, you are correct, and that is why I spoke up!!!
Instead, I simply suggest that there are many approaches to and interpretations of
what Jesus taught, how he went about it, where he studied & learned the Wisdom of God, and
how his last days, hours & minutes were spent. Notice I did not say,
HERE IS THE TRUTH - and beware of these
abherrant (sic) voices, these false ones, who distort the
official truth!!!
sighhh ... what I perceive, is that we have a vested interest in sticking to the status quo, and quickly relegating
any alternate interpretations to the common, dead-letter versions (canons, creeds, TM insignia and the whole nine yards) to the
Outsider's Club.
Ahhh, but remember friend (we tell the inquirer), if you want to know what the
REAL Christians believe, come talk to us. We run this club, and we have the answers.
No, I am
disgusted by that kind of mentality. Dondi, that is
not a personal attack aimed at you. I am being a bit direct, but I'm really speaking of something that we have all inherited. I was Lutheran myself, after all, for the first 1/3 of my life, and I know my opponent well enough from direct experience. It has to do with fear - being afraid to question, afraid to "try on" a different robe of beliefs than the one we've grown accustomed to, and a fear that somehow, just maybe - unlikely as we've told ourself it must be -
somehow, there might be more to the picture than what we've bought into, lock, stock 'n barrel!
And nobody suggests we discard our Faith and start from scratch, or "throw the baby out with the bathwater," abandoning a ship which by
some reckoning could be said to have run aground long ago - now sinking fast. Huh-uh, all's I dare to come out with is that people have (and should
use) eyes and ears of their own (as was mentioned), and if one wants to know how the ship arrived at its present location, there are
many records available in the captain's quarters. I didn't say anything about mutiny, and I didn't suggest that you go throw yourself overboard - being an
unfit crew member to help the rest of us out of the jam. Hmmmm - how readily we rush to force the swabs to walk the plank ... but I will ask you, even if you force me into the water at
proverbial swordpoint - have
you seen what's in the captain's quarters? And are
you so sure that what you've come to believe is "God's only, highest, and
Gospel truth?"
At best, I can accept that you simply feel strongly about the tradition you've come to follow and cherish. I can respect that. Can you respect that my own take on things is every bit as important to me, and that I find it every bit as sound as (even more so than) the
version which you and the majority uphold? If your concern is that poor, confused Penguin is being misguided with all these
strange notions, then let me assure you, I make no bones about my unconventionality. But I will assert with
equal vigor that it is what
I believe which is the accurate version, and that what
you believe, though well intentioned, is actually confusion.
I have but turned the tables, and shown that the mirror can reflect whatever you dish out. Amazing how much we are asked to
absorb,
to swallow our pride as it were, and simply
let things roll off. And we do. Humbling ourselves sometimes, all but throwing in the towel at others, almost lamenting sometimes - that once again,
tradition trumps truth. If it be for the right reasons (all in the name of harmony, discussion, and the building of rapport), then no humility is too great to suffer. History bears witness to those whose lives were thick with calumnly and constant accusation, yet who plowed determinedly forward,
as if impervious. I assure you, they were not.
And from time to time, if for the right reasons, one is called to
stand. And I will stand, saying to Penguin only that I believe something unconventional, but that
every fiber of my being tells me that it is so. Jesus traveled East ... and I cannot be sure about his death on, or off, the cross. But it's more important to me to
seek, to continue to inquire and be open to
all possibilities - than to chase off people who happen to disagree with me (even if they number in the many millions). At least I will no longer be burned at the stake for believing as I do.
Chased away, yes, but not burned alive.
Strength comes not always of numbers, nor of our convictions (or
faith) alone. Let me share another episode from Christ's life, this time a confrontation with the
Sanhedrin:THE QUESTIONER OF CINEDRION
MEMBER of Cinedrion asked Christ:
“Would you come to us if we should ask you?”
Christ answered:
“Better would I go to the cemetery for there is no lie.”
A member of Cinedrion asked Christ, “Why dost thou not acknowledge us if even Thy father was married by one of our members?”
“Wait until your house crumbles; then shall We come.”
“Wherefore shalt thou come—to destroy or to erect?”
“Neither for destruction nor erection but for purification. Because I shall not return to the old hearth.”
“How then, not to respect your forefathers!”
“New cups are given for the feast. Respecting a grandfather, one need not drink out of his cup.”
Respect means not belittling those of other beliefs, no matter how
different they are from the `norm.' Let us speak more about our
beliefs, and less about
the truth. As for rescuing the surviving pearls ... and seeing to it that all is not lost in utter confusion - yes, there are some who labor
quite ceaselessly that this may be so.
In Love and Light,
taijasi
