In Search of Truth

I’ve been playing around with the Blog a bit, adding some links and experimenting with various templates. Those who don’t know me would say I simply have too much free time. Those who DO know me realize I simply seldom sleep. It’s an interesting diversion in the middle of the night.

So as I was cruising through various web sites having to do with faith/religion/spirituality I was amazed by the wide diversity of beliefs there are in the world.

I am often more intrigued with WHY people believe whatever it is they believe rather than examining the specifics of any particular dogma or doctrine.

Initially most of us believe whatever our family and/or culture exposed us to in a prominent way during our formative years. For some, that sticks throughout their life.

But then there are the rest of us who spend much of our lives searching, questioning, wondering what we can believe and struggling to figure out how that belief will influence the way we behave.

Once when I was a young girl, perhaps nine or ten or so, I had a dream that I was in an elevator. As the elevator went up and down to the various “floors” each one had a cardboard sign with a crayon printed label of some different religion. People came and went, carefully making sure they got off on the proper floor. But when I finally picked my exit point I entered a spacious room with many doors – each one leading to a different elevator exit. Every elevator door was marked a different denomination: Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Seventh Day Adventist, etc. yet they ALL eventually led to the very same room.

Logic seems to insist that varying churches with contradictory beliefs can’t both/all be true …. Surely someone is RIGHT and the other WRONG?? Or does that truly have to be the case? Is it at all possible that our differences in doctrinal views are more akin to the story of the Blind Men and the Elephant, because none of us have a complete universal view?

So many people get all hung up on believing they have the only CORRECT religion. My own faith also believes they have the cutting edge on truth. Somehow I always squirm at that, even though I have a deep testimony of the teachings.

Why can’t we all be more willing to embrace one another and acknowledge our commonalities, celebrating the divine image of God that resides within everyone’s spirit rather than forever building up walls of division separating “us” from “them”?