I had escaped the snare of certitude that I welcomed so
avidly at first and entered, via the name of Jesus, the wide and comprehensive
company of Jesus.”
Eugene H. Peterson
Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority.
The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is
right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work
of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped
them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical
and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on "I
am not too sure”.
H.L. Mencken
My interpretation can only be as inerrant as I am, and
that's good to keep in mind.
Rachel Held Evans,
The whole problem with the world is that fools and
fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of
doubts.”
Bertrand Russell
_________________________________________________
The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it
the words crossed the heated space between us
this person of certainty wielding their faith as a
bludgeon
I have a grudging respect for such conviction
and sometimes think it would be nice to be so sure
of God, and what God wants
to be able to frame God as a stolid father in the sky
replete with beard, and robes
armed with righteousness and rules
and reward and punishment
but such certitude also fills me with sadness,
and a deep kind of dread
some call this certainty faith
I am not so sure
perhaps it is instead the opposite of faith
a fearful need to have everything settled,
known
clear
black and white
in and out
good of evil
blessed or damned
perhaps such certainty reflects a reliance upon things
seen
and a need for security and manipulative power
The certainty that is uncertainty is an attempt to create
a narrow way. A
clear way
where the rules and known and obedience gets one to a
destination
Safety? Salvation?
Heaven?
Here is where we get into trouble
When we frame the world in this constricted and
restricted way
And then insist that everyone else sees the world the
same way,
and follow the same path we have defined
and then insist that if they don’t they are wrong
not just wrong, sinful
adding the judgment of God to our judgment
I may be wrong
but it seems to me that even as we consume the scriptures
and study the sages of the ages
we are all still
just guessing
We have some tools
the scriptures, prayer, meditation,
But mostly what we have is connection
we are branches attached to the vine….
We have an ongoing attachment to the Sacred and through
that connection
love and wisdom flow
Without that connection? We are like a branch broken off
Littering the ground
Dry, brittle
Not fruitful
that connection is what gives us life
and freedom
that connection allows us to be open, and curious
that connection allows us to embark on a journey
not into the known and certain
but into the unknown and uncertain (ask Abram)
that connection sustains us along the way
and that connection allows us to join other pilgrims
each on their own journey, their own path
to join them without
judgment
without the need to manipulate and control
without the need to be right
without certainty
knowing that we may be right
but we may be wrong
and we must always be learners
know that we will never fully understand
the mystery
that is God
that is love
know that all we can do is keep stumbling
from one wonder to the next
open
questioning
seeking
being kind and caring to those
we meet along the way
until we all finally
find our way home
into the Sacred Heart
together
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