Primitive Christianity Revived, Again
Taken from D. Elton Trueblood's "The Validity of Christian Mission": Religious experience turns sour if it stands alone, and the man who worships only the God within ends by worshipping himself....
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I hate to start a discussion where nobody discusses!
Hmmm, the Trueblood quote... "God within" and "God without" aren't separate realities. Different concepts, different modes of seeking & finding.... but there's one 'What-Is.'
It just might be that too many contemporary minds are uneasy about God having and using power in the 'external' world? Thinking of God as 'only-within' saves them from the recognition that God is not subjective, not subject to their manipulations or their ideas about 'what I want to believe.'
But then they're left with an image of God as being helpless to save them. Hence, unnecessary fears and judgments about the (admittedly) scary state of the world. All to keep from having to trust the One who by definition is good... only not 'good' the way we think the word 'Good' should mean.
We do have to recognize that God can take us for some very rough rides. Meaningful, yes, and for our true good -- but potentially rough.
Depending on God's guidance... so well as I'm able to -- I'm still a fool. I can still 'ask' without waiting long enough to receive the answer I need rather than the one I'd assumed. But as I can trust God to break through my thick head when it's necessary, that's still the safest mistake I can make!
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