Hold it tightly just not too tightly.

Hold it tightly just not too tightly.

"When people care deeply about the same things, when they share what the existentialist theologian Paul Tillich called 'ultimate concerns', they are sometimes incredibly sensitive to different shades of opinion. Different opinions may lead to murderous hatred, so that my greatest enemy is not the alien conqueror coming over the horizon with bloody tears carved into his cheeks, but a brother or sister I rub shoulders within the congregation. "Sometimes, too, members of a congregation will try to ban beliefs - as had the Emperor Augustus - not because they believe them to be false, but because they believe them to be true." - p. 312 (from the book secret history of the World excerpts).

This decision of a quote from Paul Tillich raises some very real points. How do we treat people who believe similarly to us when they choose to disagree on a point, we find vastly important. It matters not as much when we disagree on topics that do not touch on our core beliefs. As it appears that we have a greater ability to shrug off disagreement or have a greater ability to entertain their opinion.

If I hold a position gently it is very easy to permit it to be influenced. But if I hold a position as bedrock to my core belief system, I expect I would accept no adjustment to that belief. Then any attack on that belief would feel like an attack on me.

This observation by Paul Tillich is enlightening not just for being able to put into words what he observed but also was able to recognize a true issue. The inability of a belief to defend itself. If I am not able or willing to permit a belief I hold to be scrutinized, why not? Honestly, why? Any belief I hold must be able to withstand honest and critical scrutiny.

If you choose to believe in Big Foot that is your right, but why do you choose to believe? In the same way, if I choose to believe in God, that too is my right but again why have I chosen to hold this belief? Our bedrock must actually be made out of rock, not sand. Our core beliefs must actually be able to withstand evaluation, and a reflexive hate of someone who questions or holds a slightly different shade of belief is evidence that we too must hold some questions regarding our core beliefs.

I expect we do not fear having conversations on topics that we hold true confidence in.

Have a blessed day and smile!