In response to a recent post, a friend recommended that I check out another new book. I am early in the reading of this book, but I have already found a number of passages that make it difficult for me to quit reading. The book, by Philip Gulley, is If the Church Were Christian: Rediscovering the Values of Jesus*. Following are some excerpts that I hope will intrigue the readers of this blog to purchase and read – there is much to stimulate our continuing conversation.
Jesus, caught between grace and religious law, chose mercy over right belief . . . the balance between law and grace might well be the start of religious wisdom, discerning when rules must be followed, and when they must be laid aside so a greater good can be accomplished. (75)
Valuing gracious behavior over right belief begins with awareness, our willingness to temporarily suspend a good thing (doctrine) so we can be faithful to a better thing (grace). Grace, since it is not instinctive, begins with mindfulness and our deliberate intention to act with loving kindness when we could have justifiably done otherwise. (76)
So often, decisions made in haste don’t allow proper time for our better angels to lend their voices. Bias and ignorance are always the first to raise their hands. Our first reactions are often strident, unthoughtful, and even uncaring, springing from our prejudices and prejudgments, untempered by consideration and compassion. Time tends to make us gracious. It gives us the opportunity to view a given situation from other angles and perspectives. (77)
I am really looking forward to the coming pages of Gulley’s work – I hope that you will join me in the conversation.
tmitchellmusic 