Thanks everyone. You are all much too kind. I can think of a number of times when I've detonated and some other poster's chest was ground zero so don't set too high a bar, okay...
Chap wrote:MercyandGrace seems to be a kind and charitable person.
However, may I try gently to detach those qualities from her religious allegiance (remember that Pahoran would also say that he 'loves the Gospel')?
I have known Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and life-long atheists who have exhibited a degree of kindness and charity that has made me wish I was more like them. Decency and kindness are not dependent on religious belief, even thought decent and kind people with religious belief structures tend to articulate their moral and personal qualities through those structures.
Chap,
I LOVE that you wrote this. There are admirable individuals in every faith tradition and plenty of people who have no religious affiliation or religious beliefs who are more "godly" than orthodox believers. If I followed after everyone I saw who was worthy to play rabbi to my devoted disciple, I'd be a JewiCathoAngliBuddhiMormoHindiatheist. At least.
One of the most fascinating aspects of some of the parables in the New Testament is how unpredictable and unexpected heaven is, and how much less dependent it seems to be on tribe than we sometimes believe. People who are convinced they are getting into heaven are sent away and people who are welcomed in seem to be jaw-droppingly surprised at the invitation to the feast. And it all boils down to how we treat each other... when saw we thee an hungred... and all that.
And then there is the stern condemnation for those who consider their love and loyalty of friends to qualify them as fulfilling the commandments. All that taking sides business just collapses under the weight of seven words:
Do not even the Publicans the same.
Rambling. Sorry. I'm not good at receiving compliments and you've all been more nice than I deserve.
Thanks again,
MnG
"In my more rebellious days I tried to doubt the existence of the sacred, but the universe kept dancing and life kept writing poetry across my life." ~ David N. Elkins, 1998, Beyond Religion, p. 81
