Tuesday, November 29, 2005
T O L E R A N C E
And the Brotherhood of Man
Reading my 'Thanksgiving' post gives me pause.
In the post, I am grappling with modern Christianity and it's place in the intellectual sphere.
Re-reading the entry though, I want to make clear on where I am coming from.
The individual and the community.
Concerning community, consider the following:
A droplet of water evaporates from the ocean and condenses in the cold atmosphere to form ice. As the droplet-ice falls from the sky, it becomes a snowflake. The snowflake returns to earth, now warmed, and returns to a droplet of water.
I believe this illustration sums up my feeling concerning human dignity. The humanity in all of us is the water in the illustration. The manifestation of the ice crystal and the snowflake is the religion or worldview we take on. But underlying each worldview and each religion, there is that common humanity that exists no matter what manifestations it takes. Political. Religious. Social and Personal. At the base is humanity, and I gladly share this humanity with those who don't subscribe to my particular worldview or religion.
Concerning the individual.
If a droplet of water can take at least three manifestations of existence, how much more can an individual?
Each of us seeking out our own salvation. Each of us as unique as a snowflake, yet common as water. The manifold colors of skin, hair and eyes. The multitudinal layers of memory, intelligence, imagination, belief and knowledge. All of this found in each and every individual.
So much to admire in ourselves. So much to learn from each other. So much for each of us to give to each other.
This is the tolerance I believe is called for in the world today. An understanding that we all suffer, we all rejoice, we all have the same basic existential needs.
To be tolerant is to be human, and not neccessarily vice versa. God help me to love those who are different than me. God help those who are different than me love me.
God Bless
And the Brotherhood of Man
Reading my 'Thanksgiving' post gives me pause.
In the post, I am grappling with modern Christianity and it's place in the intellectual sphere.
Re-reading the entry though, I want to make clear on where I am coming from.
The individual and the community.
Concerning community, consider the following:
A droplet of water evaporates from the ocean and condenses in the cold atmosphere to form ice. As the droplet-ice falls from the sky, it becomes a snowflake. The snowflake returns to earth, now warmed, and returns to a droplet of water.
I believe this illustration sums up my feeling concerning human dignity. The humanity in all of us is the water in the illustration. The manifestation of the ice crystal and the snowflake is the religion or worldview we take on. But underlying each worldview and each religion, there is that common humanity that exists no matter what manifestations it takes. Political. Religious. Social and Personal. At the base is humanity, and I gladly share this humanity with those who don't subscribe to my particular worldview or religion.
Concerning the individual.
If a droplet of water can take at least three manifestations of existence, how much more can an individual?
Each of us seeking out our own salvation. Each of us as unique as a snowflake, yet common as water. The manifold colors of skin, hair and eyes. The multitudinal layers of memory, intelligence, imagination, belief and knowledge. All of this found in each and every individual.
So much to admire in ourselves. So much to learn from each other. So much for each of us to give to each other.
This is the tolerance I believe is called for in the world today. An understanding that we all suffer, we all rejoice, we all have the same basic existential needs.
To be tolerant is to be human, and not neccessarily vice versa. God help me to love those who are different than me. God help those who are different than me love me.
God Bless
