Having an Open Mind

By paperbackwriter · Dec 7, 2018 · 597 · 12
  1. Conservative Christianity and conservative politics might view "having an open mind" as dangerous. Once you start accepting exceptions, a whole stampede of horses bolts through the gate. You gotta stand firm, stick to your guns and not let the slippery slope slip any further.
    But just recently I see a danger in "rigid" thinking. I might be wrong but dogmatic opinions are an indirect cause of what goes wrong in the world. "I'm a loser end of story, let me take my own life". Such rigid self-judgement doesn't see that you might actually be needed to hang round longer. It's all part of the divine plan which our puny brains cant comprehend.
    I picked up Power of Now again recently. For a long time I have said to myself "this book is atheistic nonsense". yet as I began reading again I saw how therapeutic it is. My Christian faith is not enough to solve all my psychological issues unfortunately. I need to read more widely and read books that challenge my tendency to adhere to conservative dogma and doctrine.
    But sometimes we need to draw the line. When we have become diluted by too much "yeah maybes" and "depends on the situation." Now and then we just have to say "Enough. There are some things that don't change. Some truths are eternal."

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  1. GrahamLewis
    "Some truths are eternal," true, but the trick is to find out what those "truths" are; if God made us He also made our faculty of analysis and evaluation -- in that case the Truth is what we find, not what we are told to believe. IMHO
    GrahamLewis, Dec 9, 2018
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  2. paperbackwriter
    Some truths are eternal," true, but the trick is to find out what those "truths" are (Graham)
    OK let's look at a few.
    Are you not happy with some of the 10 Commandments Graham?
    An eternal truth for me is I should stay faithful to my wife. Maybe some don't regard that as an eternal truth. Some might cite that in some cultures it is ok. Who am I to judge? Well Im not here to judge the person but I can judge whether it is wrong or not. So I don't do the same. This eternal truth didn't come from my discernment. it came from Moses and the Book of Exodus.
    The problem for me is when we start diluting too much..'yeah but in some contexts it's ok". That is a cop out imo. A Sixtees hippie mentality might suggest that 'eh it's cool man, whatever feels good do it". Maybe after Vatican II we got too relaxed. This is your catholic speaking. :)
    paperbackwriter, Dec 9, 2018
  3. GrahamLewis
    I should have said"discern" rather than "find." I discern that adultery and murder are wrong things to do, and I didn't need any Commandments to know that. I don't think Commandments are what keeps me from doing them.
    GrahamLewis, Dec 10, 2018
  4. paperbackwriter
    I don't think Commandments are what keeps me from doing them. (graham)
    That is an interesting comment graham.
    It hard to prove either way.
    I believe the seed was planted in not only me but society through Christian values. Some (most?) people don't instinctively know what is right and wrong. Good to have it written down as a reminder too.
    paperbackwriter, Dec 10, 2018
  5. paperbackwriter
    Graham
    you have made some good points. But I suggest if you want to debate them further, you need to think about this whole thing more deeply or do some reading on it. That's what ive done but I still have a long way to go. Giving good adequate answers on Christianity is challenging for me but it is something I hope to improve on.
    paperbackwriter, Dec 11, 2018
  6. GrahamLewis
    Thanks Paper, I do have to respond that I have spent many years and many hours reading and thinking about these things. But I kind of wonder what you are looking for when you talk about reading up on it -- do you think anyone out there has a better answer than you have in your own heart? Or a final answer? Seems to me everything written is subject to rebuttal by another writer. I think reading can give you some signposts, but at some point you have to decide based on what you "know."
    GrahamLewis, Dec 11, 2018
  7. paperbackwriter
    1. The Bible is sacred literature
    2. Great Books are like nutrition for the soul. To Kill a Mockingbird. Crime and Punishment.
    3. Theologians like Augustine and Bonaventure are truly Holy Spirit inspired in my view.
    4. Once I think I have all the answers, I've lost all sanity and humility.
    5. Good meditation/prayer I agree is the way we can find the wisdom required to live a "good" life.
    paperbackwriter, Dec 11, 2018
  8. GrahamLewis
    Your views, and I respect them. All I would add is that I think there must be billions of people who never read the Bible or specifically the 10 Commandments yet still do good by the standards you set, and a whole scad of people who have read or heard of them, yet do bad things like murder and rape and adultery and even genocide.
    GrahamLewis, Dec 11, 2018
  9. paperbackwriter
    Reading the Bible doesn't automatically turn you into a good person. It can. it has the potential to. The logic you are using sounds like the excuses people make not to read it.
    The Bible hasn't turned me into a good person either but I have a much healthier respect for its influence and symbolism on the world. And look at the influence on big literature like Moby Dick, T S Elliot Steinbeck to name a few.
    paperbackwriter, Dec 11, 2018
  10. paperbackwriter
    The Bible alone wont save your soul. I'm not about to preach the sole sovereignty and authority of it. Catholics listen to Church and Scripture. But the Bible is not only a moral guide, it is the story of salvation. How God is reaching out to us in order for us to wake up and allow him to transform our lives. Most of us resist. I resist all the time. He understands that. He knows we are fallen, not perfect. But he doesn't give up on us easily. That kind of steadfast love is hard to find in the world. Most humans don't have it. But when we realise He is the source. The very reason I can talk to you now is because he enabled me to do that. We need to acknowledge that. We might think we are the masters of our own destiny. But if we decide to obey our ego (Satan) instead, we will be heading down the highway to hell.
    You hinted that we should listen to 'the divine inside us'. Couldn't agree more. The divine inside us should be our compass for life's journey, not our ego.
    For me , reading the Bible, can trigger/encourage the divine in me more than the ego. The ego loses every time I read the Bible.
    You seem to be one who has listened to his conscience more than his ego, in your life, Graham. So I can see why you might say that reading the Bible is unnecessary.
    paperbackwriter, Dec 11, 2018
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  11. GrahamLewis
    Unfortunately, I've heard my conscience a lot more than I listened to it.
    GrahamLewis, Dec 13, 2018
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  12. paperbackwriter
    Hey ive got exactly the same problem. The ego (false self as merton put it) usually wins the day, when the pressure is on.
    paperbackwriter, Dec 13, 2018
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