Where To Draw The Line

Last week’s post about my brother’s Awanas Club got me thinking about how we choose to describe our religious identities. The generally accepted categories usually run along the lines of “Judaism”, “Christianity”, “Islam” etc – but it’s been my observation that these descriptions do almost nothing for me in terms of identifying whom I will experience as my spiritual kith & kin, versus whom I will find to be on a completely different page than me.

My inclination is to take a giant pink eraser and scrub away the commonly accepted dividing lines, and then, if lines still do need to exist (and perhaps they don’t), I would suggest drawing them elsewhere.

It would be far more useful for me to know who is interested in championing unity, who believes their spiritual witnessing must take place through the heart as well as the intellect, who judges first by their own discernment and moral compass and not by what a religious leader tells them is right or highest, who prefers to consult directly with the Source (whatever they name it) without intermediary & who may seek guidance in this but does not make idols out of their leaders, who can witness the Source at work when made manifest in different forms at different times for different people… Versus those who, well, have the opposite priorities.

I’m coming to believe this is the real distinction between people of faith, and although I am conscious of the need to be humble and trust that each person is called to witness their Creator in the way the Creator chooses for them, frankly I am fearful of the consequences the latter mentality can (however inadvertently) bring about… And if I am going to be honest, I also have to admit I think it is the former approach that’s going to be responsible for bringing real healing and progress into the world.

The question then becomes, how should I be with those people who fall into the latter camp, in a way that is respectful of their beliefs and free of my own ego, but which also opens the door to another way of experiencing faith? This is tricky ground here. I also think it was the real issue at play in last week’s Awanas moment, and sorting it out will potentially change the way I react to my mother’s spiritual path and values, hopefully for the better.

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