Playing Nice

I ran into an "altercation" of sorts (BIG sorts) at another blog or two yesterday - a difference of view and opinion among Christians that tends to turn ugly really quickly, really regularly. It's made me sad.

But I can understand both perspectives. Those that are scared the other group is going too far off track, turning into something unChristian and generally diluting what God is all about. Doing things that appear pagan or eastern or so far out of the norm as to be evil. Conforming too closely to the World instead of transforming it. And that it's this group's job to bring them back to the straight and narrow, warn them of the error of their ways and make sure not too many others stray.

And on the other side of the fence are those who are trying to understand their culture in order to reclaim it, making space for different types of worship, tolerating what may previously not have been tolerated in order to find out what God is already up to, and exploring a deeper, newer faith in unconventional ways. Scary ways. Jump-in-the-deep-end-and-swim ways. Not necessarily off the straight and narrow at all - just on a different but parallel path toward God.

Which unforutnately results in a total clash of horns over what is right and what isn't. Some are adamant that they will not give up their stance, others are willing to at least hear the others out, and some are even open to discussing everything calmly - perhaps even changing their views if they see they're wrong.

But more often than not, it all ends up in a mish-mash of hurt, accusation, hard feelings and misunderstanding.

I wish it didn't. I wish we could all just play nicely, get along, realize that each of us is on a different journey, and some journeys simply look different to others. That none of us have the absolute copyright to Truth, and that perhaps we could be wrong.

But on this planet it will probably never happen.