Fearless Wonder

Growing up Adventist I got the impression you were not supposed to look into other religions too deeply, lest you put yourself at risk for "falling away." One highschool Bible study teacher went so far as to say that he never sought widsom anywhere except for the Bible and EGW. Well that is all fine and dandy if our faith is the "correct" one. But what if someone grows up Muslim. They may, depending on their circumstances (I know not all Muslims have a conservative upbringing), have even harsher restrictions placed upon them to keep them from learning about other faiths. How can we expect them to come to our "precious truth" when we warn our own against looking into other religions. I just don't see how anyone is supposed to know anything for certain unless they are willing to look outside of what they have always been taught... BUT THEN... There are SOOOOOOO many different religions, philosophies, ideas, etc to look into it seems their is no realist...

I was helping out in Kindergarten Sabbath School today. The teacher was telling the story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector. It occurred to me what a unique lesson is found in Zacchaeus. I think most of us can accept that we need to love the lame, the poor, the blind, and the needy. It's not that hard to have sympathy for them. However it's much harder for us to love the greedy "tax collectors" of this world. Loving people who purposefully cheat us and who cause injustice seems nearly impossible. So I started thinking, "What if I view people's vices as another form of disability or poverty?" I guess that is the way Jesus saw the greed of Zacchaeus. I mean you wouldn't get angry at a blind person for not being able to see. Is is possible to view the hate, injustice, greed, wickedness etc we see in others in the same light as physical or material disadvantages. I know when I tried to give up actively hating George Bush it was pretty dang hard. ...

So I discovered something which I probably should have known...My stick-to-itivesness is lacking no matter what faith I try to practice. After several nights of meditation I just sort of stopped for no apparent reason. I also stopped reading and researching Buddhism and writing in this blog. So apparently my lack of determination isn't limited to my practice of Christianity. I suppose I should have known this...but I held out hope that it was God's fault, not mine, for not endowing me with the ability to prayer regularily and have devotions. This way I could avoid the blame for my spiritual failings. Now I see that my failures are clearly my own fault...but also that I have the power to change this. I don't have to wait around for God to bless me with desire. I just have to pick up and try again when I fail. I can use this knowledge no matter what faith I decide to practice.