On a Curve
I'd like to think that I've come to a place in my walk that I've gotten harder & harder to offend. I'd also like to think that this is/should be an enviable goal of like-minded believers everywhere. After all, how can we be the torch-bearers of the Light that extinguishes & overcomes the darkness of this fallen world if we are constantly unsettled by the very offensive nature of it?
This brings to mind 1 of the last things that has stuck with me when contemplating the ideal of offensiveness. Now, perspective has arrived on the scene & I sit & wonder if I even have a case for offense. It doesn't really matter in the long run, but I can't help but ponder the question.
I was perusing blogs on the net, as I often do from time to time, when I happened upon the questionable articles of offense. They proposed the idea that, & I'm paraphrasing somewhat here, that fundies were spiritual cretins who only happen to skim the surface of the concept of God, grace, redemption & all that that entails, while certain others of the family of faith (i.e. liberated catholics, episcopalians, methodist, etc.) aren't satisfied to remain there, but long to plumb the depths of an amazingly & largely unknown God of creation. As a searcher & self-proclaimed thinker, I wanted to cry foul & through rocks, but after some time, have come to wonder the same.
A great friend & brother of mine sent me a favorite text of his & it hasn't taken long to arrive at the same questions of depth when it comes to the faith & our differences in denominations. I'm now at a point that it doesn't really bother me all that much, but it has gotten my attention. What if the simplicity & beauty that is the gospel story that I've known for a great while is only the tip of the iceberg?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not an advocate of becoming drunk from the well spring of knowledge of the One through metaphysics or any other means, but I can't help but beg the question the burns from within. Why the great disparity among the faithful? Are the fundies really the short bus riders on the slow trek to the Almighty who'll not only have to wipe away the tears from their eyes, but the drool from their mouths also?
These aren't my questions. They're just given voice by, hopefully, a former simpleton that unearthed them in an attempt to dig. So, does anybody have any answers?
Don't worry, although there may be right & wrong answers, I do believe that we may quite possibly be graded on a curve...
This brings to mind 1 of the last things that has stuck with me when contemplating the ideal of offensiveness. Now, perspective has arrived on the scene & I sit & wonder if I even have a case for offense. It doesn't really matter in the long run, but I can't help but ponder the question.
I was perusing blogs on the net, as I often do from time to time, when I happened upon the questionable articles of offense. They proposed the idea that, & I'm paraphrasing somewhat here, that fundies were spiritual cretins who only happen to skim the surface of the concept of God, grace, redemption & all that that entails, while certain others of the family of faith (i.e. liberated catholics, episcopalians, methodist, etc.) aren't satisfied to remain there, but long to plumb the depths of an amazingly & largely unknown God of creation. As a searcher & self-proclaimed thinker, I wanted to cry foul & through rocks, but after some time, have come to wonder the same.
A great friend & brother of mine sent me a favorite text of his & it hasn't taken long to arrive at the same questions of depth when it comes to the faith & our differences in denominations. I'm now at a point that it doesn't really bother me all that much, but it has gotten my attention. What if the simplicity & beauty that is the gospel story that I've known for a great while is only the tip of the iceberg?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not an advocate of becoming drunk from the well spring of knowledge of the One through metaphysics or any other means, but I can't help but beg the question the burns from within. Why the great disparity among the faithful? Are the fundies really the short bus riders on the slow trek to the Almighty who'll not only have to wipe away the tears from their eyes, but the drool from their mouths also?
These aren't my questions. They're just given voice by, hopefully, a former simpleton that unearthed them in an attempt to dig. So, does anybody have any answers?
Don't worry, although there may be right & wrong answers, I do believe that we may quite possibly be graded on a curve...
posted by lee at 2:46 PM
2 Comments:
Hey brother, I am with you on this one. What a journey. I no longer seek the anwers nearly as much as I attempt to ask the questions.
being offended was never my deal. I have been pissed off at the brethren...many who have knocked my legs out from under me. which was never a problem with the pagan.
we are,(evangelicals) more than most, the least likely to remove our blinders that they give us when we get all churchified.
when i realized this, it made it easier for me to at least understand the ones who attack the brethren because of being challenged.
tip of the ice berg? dang skippy. now the deal is to wear a Hawaiian shirt and talk about how to tell a story, or find a purpose. nevermind about theology. after all, it divides.
truth is, all theology is is good teaching. we are seperated as a people cause we do not agree with the others good teaching.
we have "become bargain shoppers at the mall of critical thinking."
and every body knows it. at least the ones who are looking at our actions towards people as it relates to our words.
good stuf bro.
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