**
"Breakdowns in human relationships, heresy, and schism do not really spring from different beliefs and opinions...[but] from pride, arrogance, or other sins; from our failure to accept, from our distrust, intolerance, and self-righteousness."
Emilianos Timiadis
**
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Well, what sort of trouble do you have with it?
It took me a long time to come to this same conclusion. Not that there's no such thing as honest disagreement, but when it causes a breakdown of human relationships, yes, sin is always involved. And when, in the Church, it causes heresy and schism, yes, sin is always involved. I note that the New Testament writers never speak of heretics without mentioning their egregious sins, usually pride and avarice.
Thank you, Anastasia.
The author seems to be saying that everyone who doesn't assent to, say, the Creeds, is a jerk. That people CAN'T have honest disagreements. This is certainly not what I see when I look around--on the contrary, I see all kinds of people with varying opinions, some of which I very strongly disagree with AT THE SAME TIME I can see that the people who hold those opinions are quite ethical and authentic, loving human beings.
Anonymous God-blogger
It took me a while to wrap my head around the quote but I agree with it too. Let's take your example: everyone has to agree with the creeds or their a jerk (well, at least their sinful).
The reason one has to agree with the creeds is not because of an arbitrary decision on the part of a 380 plus old guys in a smokey back room, it's rather that the creed agrees with the same thing we're called to agree with: the truth (or reality).
Because of this I don't have to defend the Creed -- it is what it is -- all I can do is (1) try to conform to the truth and (2) do it in such a way that it is attractive to other people and not off-putting.
So people can have honest disagreements, but the reason they're honest disagreements is that (1) each one of us is affected by sin in general, so our view of the world is distorted, even if ever so slightly, and (2) our view of the world is finite, and sometimes we try to come to conclusions about things that are beyond us.
This doesn't mean that we're being hard-hearted or a jerk about our disagreements, it means we're bound by the Fall and our limitations. Even though our perceptions of reality can be contradictory, reality itself can never contradict itself. The truth in its fundamental essence can never contradict itself. We may never perceive it at that fundamental essence, but that's because of (1) our sin and (2) our finity.
And when that's too overwhelming, we need to just step back from the precipice and have a cup of tea.
Thank you, Jim! I like your analysis!
...I like it because it takes the pressure off being "right" about stuff...
Post a Comment