So, What did you Think?

For those of you who were able to attend the open forum on Sunday, you experienced quite a treat. For those of you who missed it, I apologize for this post. I normally try to write in such a way as to include everyone. So please bear with me on this one.

When I was in college I enrolled in a series of classes offered by the religious studies department. This were classes on Christianity, Judaism, The Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. For a kid who had spent his whole life in congregations in the LCMS I should have known better. But I went into these classes expecting the teachers to teach the truth of what I had learned growing up at home, in Sunday school and Confirmation. That was not the case. And it hit me quite hard. So much so that I went and spoke with my pastor about this. I didn't understand how the teachers of these classes could teach things that were not true. (One of the professors told the class that if we believed in any kind of god we were not thinking on an elevated level and were not worthy to talk to him).

What I did not fully understand at that point, was that my professors had a right to their opinions, even if they were wrong. Now, I don't want get caught up in a great debate on this one. The other thing I didn't realize is that for most of them, they were teaching religion from a purely human perspective. A couple of these professors taught me some great life lessons, and I am very much in debt to them.

My point is that sometimes we are going to hear from people that we do not agree with. So what do we do with this? Especially when the areas we disagree on are pretty big, like Jesus is God. While the answer is simple, it is not easy. And that is simply this we listen, love and respect. Chances are, when you bring in a Rabbi, to talk to a congregation, as happened here this past weekend, a few questions from complete strangers are not going to cause him to say, "You know, you are right. I've changed my mind." Our time with him is best spent listening, and learning and what believes and how he sees the world. Because there is a lot that we can learn from that. Does that mean we will agree with everything? No. But it means that an experience like that is very valuable and one that we should be grateful for.

He was more brave that I. Can you imagine going into a room full of people who see the world very differently and then be asked to defend your point of view and why you do not accept theirs?

Whatever your experience of Sunday was, know that we will have plenty of time to talk through the things that were brought up. So put together a list of questions, and we will add them to our topics. This will be sure to provide us with many interesting conversations in the future.

God's blessings and peace in Jesus be yours.

Sincerely,
Pastor CJ