There is absolute truth, but not absolute interpretation.

I know I’ve said things very similar to that more than once. Absolutely everything we experience is filtered through our expectations, our desire, our culture, in short, our entire perception. God conveyed Truth, absolute Truth, to us in the form of his Son. But our understanding and interpretation of the accounts about him and the early church are always filtered through our perception. When we forget the danger inherent in that fact, we stray.

The problem with love is that it is grey.

Isn’t it though? Love, real love, takes you to dangerous places. Places where you’re not sure what to do or even what is right. Love starts with the person, not the things the person does. And it rarely comes naturally or easily to us.

Every time I’ve thought someone should be excluded from the church
for some reason, I find out that I should be excluded for reasons
which are just as equal.

Of course, you’ve heard a lot of my personal reflections on that very point. I never have to look very far or hard.

There’s something worth learning from every religion and
every philosophy. Ask what’s right before asking what’s wrong.

and

Find out what’s right about someone else’s beliefs before
attacking what’s wrong.

And I made a comment, from my personal experience yesterday morning, almost exactly like the above in meaning just yesterday. That wasn’t the first time, either.

I’ll stop there. But I’m going to keep reading that one. Thanks. Personally, I’m hard-pressed to find much to disagree with. But then, there aren’t a whole lot of the sort of iron-clad claims that lead to strong disagreement on the list. And I don’t have a lot of personal hilltop fortresses worth fighting to defend. I do see how it could be more challenging to others.

I just asked the other day where our prophets were in this time where they are sorely needed. This one may or may not be exercising the full biblical gift (which often looks a whole lot more like a curse from a human perspective), but it’s certainly a start. And the surprising, widespread response to a simple, anonymous blog that, as far as I can tell, makes no effort to garner attention is interesting.

Too bad God has to use modern prophets to slap us in the face.