May 09, 2014

Shades of Gray

Earlier this week I visited with member of a New Age church who mistakenly thought we were kindred spirits. As though picking through a sampler box of chocolates, she tempted me with delicacies from Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity. Rejecting her “all paths lead to God theory”, I told her I would stick with the Bible being the inspired Word of God. “Oh, I believe it’s the inspired word of God too, I just don’t think it's all black and white. I can’t agree that some people are saved and others are not.”  She was so convinced of self-salvation that I finally came right out and ask if she thought she could become like God. She acknowledged God as Creator, yet his position over creation didn’t diminish her views on man’s spiritual prowess. Obviously the same old line Satan used on Eve in the Garden of Eden is still effective today, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:5 NIV).

1 comment:

Steve Corey said...

Gail;

-----Most religions possess a grain or two and maybe a couple strands of truth. Otherwise precious few people would be attracted to them. Other paths don’t lead to God, but most intersect at one place or another with the one path that does lead to Him. And the Bible isn’t all black and white. It’s just that none of its shades of gray are about pivotal issues.
-----I’ve studied the processes of deceit for many years, so perplexing it was to me that so many seemingly good people become completely deceived. I often get consternated and start barking derogatory charges of stupidity about folks who wind up disastrously deceived. But deceit is too crafty to rely upon the stupidity of its victims. It catches those who stop searching, who stop thinking, who have concluded that they now know.
-----Truth has awareness. Each piece of it has an unfulfilled edge begging for another piece fitted to its shape. The Buddhist may have been interested enough in the truth to not be a murderer but wasn’t interested enough to notice Christianity went where no Buddha’s been before. More love for the truth than for what truth one has attained leads a person to step onto Christ’s path and walk it. And the walking it and abiding in its way is propelled by dissatisfaction with the idea of having arrived while still in a world full of error, a dissatisfaction with the idea of having come to know while still trapped in a mind experienced in precious little.
-----Many of these people caught up in dead end errors are very smart. They just lack the humility which tells the self to keep looking for the better fit to the unfulfilled edge of their spiritual life. There is always a better fit. That might tend to indicate something could be better for our unfulfilled spiritual edge than Christianity. Some people make that mistake. But if I wore cereal boxes on my feet because they fit better than refrigerator boxes, I doubt I would try on a pair of orange crates next. But I might opt to try on a pair of welding gloves. I would probably then walk in them as a better fit than the cereal boxes without later being interested in switching to soap boxes. But a switch to cotton gloves would give more comfort until I finally trip over a pair of rubber boots. Even though at that time I will have discovered proper foot apparel and will never wear a box or glove or the likes on my feet again, I’ll try a slipper, or maybe a good Hush-Puppy. The truth zeroes in on what fits truly, but just because Christ has been found as the proper walk-wear does not mean there’s no improving what you put on your feet. It isn’t stupidity that diverts folks into foolishness. It’s the perception of having arrived in the quest for knowing the Lord.

Love you all,
Steve Corey