Most of what we assert about the church is based on fragmentary hints from Jesus

and two thousand years of tradition. / 2

It seems arrogant for any of use to suggest that we alone have most accurately
discerned the true intentions of Jesus. / 4

...

As the church has grown and evolved, it seems to me that our slavish devotion to
orthodoxy has not served us well. We have been hidebound when flexibility would
have been more fruitful, judgmental when compassion was needed. / 70
Eventually, I discovered other moral and spiritual codes were as beneficial as my
own; indeed some of them seemed to be superior to the opinions and experiences
of others. I realized one person or religion had the lock on truth, that the lines of
ultimate reality were not as sharply drawn as I had imagined them to be. I came to
this conclusion after observing that those persons whose worldviews were most
rigid were often the most unhappy. Ironically, the firmness of faith they thought
would bring them joy had a stifling effect, crippling their ability to respond cre-
atively when their life circumstances changed. / 71

But Roman tradition is not rational, it’s indoctrination. In its rush to codify the
faith, the church provided answers long before we knew what questions to ask. /
73

This aversion to modernity seems to be unique to theology . . . but take an ancient

doctrine, insist in originated with God, devise a ritual that reinforces it, wrap it in a
prayer, reward those who perpetuate it, and condemn to hell those who don’t, and
what you hve is a significant portion of today’s church. / 76
Grace, since it is not instinctive, begins with mindfulness and our deliberate inten-
tion to act with loving kindness when we could have justifiably done otherwise. /
81

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 hand . . .
time tends to make us gracious. It gives us the opportunity to view a given situa-
tion from other angles and perspectives. / 82

Too many times, the church has been the caboose on the train of moral progress,
at times a drag on grace and compassion. / 82

Fear and seriousness are almost always the enemies of grace. Fear seizes control
and demands complaince. Grace shares power and trusts others to make their
own moral decisions. Fear is somber, stern, and uninspiring; grace is cheerful, joy-
ful, and creative. Fear provides no room for error and is always in a hurry to have
its way. Grace is expansive and gives us the time and space to learn and grow. / 83

“Life isn’t as serious as my mind makes it out to be.” - Eckhart Tolle / 83