[Really, it's about Lee Haley and the Cosmonauts]
In this entry, the author talks about how our human condition is not really getting better. Science is proving to be another in the long list of false hopes. I remember someone saying how the Kennedy assasination was like a sign that we couldn't trust in government. All the progress that technology was supposed to bring us hasn't elevated our race to truly be better.
I think about the liberal politics of Austin. Causes are popular and treating others as more important than ourselves is being championed. I think you might see more kindness in this city now than you did a decade ago. I am excited about that. I imagine working alongside a liberal-thinking and atheistic do-gooder (forgive me for fusing the concepts into one) that shows offense into my faith, that somehow comes up. "Forget that I may or may not believe that my belief is the only Truth for a moment and just appreciate the good I'm doing. If you're attracted to the other-thinking outward-focused philosophies of Jesus, then appreciate them for what they are. Leave me and any perceived differences alone for a moment and let us work together in making this a better place." Then, perhaps the claims of Jesus to be exclusive in the divine plan for mankind's redemption will come up in an open dialog. Until then, I don't have to shove everything I believe into every conversation I have with someone of a different faith.
Perhaps the old "they might die in a car accident and face eternal judgment in a few hours and you could be their only hope to get saved" pop philosophy from one too many Gospel tracts has a downside. Maybe it's short-sighted and takes our focus on being a light.
I admit that, if I were to witness someone doing extraordinary things, helping people out of real problems with real, practical answers, I might be willing to listen to that person explain what motivates them to do these things. It certainly makes sense that believing should coax us to action. That our salvation conversion did not immediately transport us into Heaven for a reason. There must be some purpose for us being here.
"...I had moved from searching for a system of beliefs to searching for someone I could believe in. Somehow I had moved from truth to trust. This is at the core of our search for meaning."
Aha!
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at January 8, 2008 07:53 AM