The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth

So why do we cling so tightly to the traditions of the past? Why do we cling to the status quo interpretations of scripture…hanging on for dear life, even when those interpretations make no sense? Because the truth makes us uncomfortable. It “upsets the apple cart.” Nobody likes to have what they know to be fact, questioned. You know the saying…..I’ve made up my mind, now don’t confuse me with the facts? So true in modern Chrisitianity. Closer to the truth sometimes is not that “I’ve” made up my mind but rather….the powers that be….my spiritual leaders and those who “KNOW” have made up my mind.

Why is that? Are we afraid we will be found mistaken? Is it the slippery slope thing talked about so often in Christianity. Once you start down that slippery slope, watch out…0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds. You are a goner….headed into abyss of the liberal, ungodly heathens. Straight to hell with you, pal.

Is it laziness? It is a lot of work to seek out the truth, weigh the options and decide for ourselves (with the guidance of the holy spirit) Much easier to just listen to what others who know more tell us? I cannot be satisfied with what others tell me. I have been on a quest for truth for years now. It is an insatiable burning desire…hunger, thirst to find the truth about every doctrine that besmirches the name and nature of God. To see him as he is…apart from the qualities and traditions that have been attributed to him. And I will keep seeking and searching under every rock, in every nook, in every craney….finding revelation (that quickening in my spirit) everywhere….not limited to just the Bible or what the respected theologians say (and since they don’t agree anyway, what theologian would I align my beliefs with anyway?)

So, this has gone off on a tangent. I will end it with some quotes on truth that I found the other day. I love quotes. They so succinctly encapsulate truth into a sort of "aha" moment. The ultimate summary of what could take paragraphs to explain.

Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized.  In the first, it is ridiculed, in the second it is opposed, in the third it is regarded as self-evident.  ~Arthur Schopenhauer

All great truths begin as blasphemies.  ~George Bernard Shaw, Annajanska, 1919

We do not err because truth is difficult to see.  It is visible at a glance.  We err because this is more comfortable.  ~Alexander Solzhenitsyn

The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable.  ~Attributed to James A. Garfield

Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad.  ~Aldous Huxley

If a thousand old beliefs were ruined in our march to truth we must still march on.  ~Stopford Brooke

Sponge, truth quotes, obama thing....