welcome to the story.

PART TWO (random thoughts and ideas from Tuesday morning's session) Make sure you read the last statement at the bottom. I think it is one worth considering and possibly one of the more influential things in shaping my theology. Again, I'm sure there are questions, and I'll be more than happy to answer them. God gives through relationships and not by just �dropping down� things to us. Through the �means� and not just a �mean�. On the road to the cross. The narrative of redemption. This frames our �judgments� of others. Not just words, but actions. There is enough ferment between Muslims and Christians to make the relationship strained. Because in most contexts, both Christians and Muslims, are the poorest of the poor and because of the unrest. Muslims DO have a radical otherness as it relates to our relationship between God and humanity, which is much different than the Christian approach of having God as a best friend/Santa Claus. There approach to Allah is one of �holiness� and �fear� which frames their relationship between their god. A hermeneutic of charity. In the plurality of truth, how do you make ethical decisions and ethical actions? Stance of humility. We have to act. We have to make decisions. We act as informed by the best reasoning we have. It is problematic when we assume we possess all of truth. The problem is we quit to be seekers of truth. Seeking always has with it humility. Where does the confidence come from? Or is there any? We are not absolute therefore we can only know in limited ways. Reflection mode and action mode. This is how I live because I think this it is the right way to live. Wager things for the truth. Yet in reflective mode, realizing that you can�t fully know. I am a Christian not because of what I hold but because I�m held. So I only know as I exist in God. You don�t have to believe in it intellectually. Or do you? You have to feel like you�re taken by the story. So it�s more pointing to something larger than yourself. A function of witness rather than a function of an expert guru. It�s not our advice. But the telling of a story. Sermon is a proclamation and a testament. As a communicator you point to the story and to the resources of the story. The proclamation is a proclamation of the gospel story. After the cross there is no retribution.