For those in the know about the letters – don’t worry, this is not a rant. The question of what would Jesus say or do to us all in the churches, were he to return today is not such a flight of fancy, and certainly not an invitation to look for Biblical proof texts ad nauseam. Last night we were talking about how being a “progressive” Christian perhaps with some radical or liberal leanings meant that it was imperative that we accept and include everybody in God’s love, and in the institutions of the church, even when we don’t always agree about everything.
Then someone threw in the WWJD question. Quick as a flash, HBTW said…… “He’d make Graham Norton Pope!”
General uproar and laughter followed……… then we got back to the serious stuff – learning how the secret name for God is “Compassion.” Another good evening as we approach the end of our Living the Questions journey. The course has certainly challenged assumptions and the way we live our lives. It may not be for everybody as a good bit of it is theological and cerebral, but more of it is to encourage a compassionate and caring way of living, knowing God who is as near as our every breath
I am no longer a Christian (although I am not sure I every was) but I like your style of thinking and if more people were searchers like you, this world would be a much better place.
Thanks Tabor, the longer I am a Christian, the more I learn that we can never know all the answers. At best, it is a journey, and in that there is hope.
“…. it is to encourage a compassionate and caring way of living, knowing God who is as near as our every breath”
Yesterday my host and I were talking about the beauty in our world, saying what a great place this or that is to have a quiet communion with God, and I commented that one can not look at anything around us without knowing God is always present, always with us. What an enormous comfort that is.
🙂
Whatever I am in terms of a Higher Power, life has taught me that there are many ways to accomplish the same things, and we cannot give what we don’t have.
One of the hardest lessons of my life was to learn how to give “tough love” when it was required. In my support group of mothers with troubled kids, we learned that anytime we do something for someone they should be doing for themselves we cripple them. I look at my kids today and know that my daughter who has many years of sobriety might not be here if I had not learned that valuble lesson. Mercifully, she now knows I am not an old Scrooge. She also has four wonderful girls of her own who know what WWJD personally.