He has heard many things from God or so his books tell us. His "Converstations With God" are interesting to say the least- if not highly inspiring. Of all the things he"s recorded as having heard from God, the five-word phrase "You"ve Got Me All Wrong" stands out the most striking to me. Maybe it"s because I think we do, or at least much of the institutional church in America does.
I"ve been amazed at the HATE that comes from many Christians when they discover that you don"t believe in the Gospel of Conditional Love which they embrace. And when it"s also discovered that I think grace extends beyond the grave- that"s it! I"m a heretic that needs to be avoided with a plague. I"m sure glad I"m living in the 21st century and not the 10th, 11th, or 12th!
Isn"t it strange that mammals have this strange trait called curiosity, and yet the homo sapien sapiens that we shy away from most questions: particularly if they challenge our faith. And what is faith anyway if it isn"t tested? What does one call untested faith? I wong go there! :-)
I believe that the lack of curiosity truly illustrates our fear, as well as our disrespect for others whose ideas differ from ours.
How is it that we"re so sure that what we"ve been taught is holy grail? Who gave you such assurances and from whom did they receive it? One of the greatest attributes that one can embrace is that of a teachable spirit. One doesn"t have to agree with every opinion, doctrine, or dogma that"s spoken; however, the refusal to even listen to others is discourteous at best, and he height of arrogance at some other level. The Gospel isn"t a control or conforming paradigm, but a revolutionary subversive one.
There should be no set formula as to how anyone arrives at the transformation process, let alone how fast they travel that path. God created us all differently for a lot of reasons.
Faith is not believing the RIGHT things. Faith is not just ORTHODOXY, but ORTHOPRAXY!
Faith is about trusting God and following Him, Her It, and developing an intimacy wherein we attempt to be as much ONE with the Creator as possible. But who and where are our models that can help us with the image- that lifestyle?