When I was a student at Asbury College back in the '60's, there was a relic of the past not far from our campus. It was a Shaker Community. This Christian sect basically disbanded after the Civil War and by the time of my college days, the community buildings had been restored and it was becoming a tourist attraction. They were called Shakers because of their ecstatic dancing during worship. They embraced communal living, pacifism, and celibacy. The communities were created as family units, but without natural reproduction, it was difficult to survive as a community.
Those who say it does not matter what you believe so long as you believe something could learn a lesson from this extinct sect of the Christian movement. It has always seemed that an important thing to do with any embraced belief is to see where it will take us if carried to its logical conclusion. A long time ago I came to a place which positioned me against capital punishment because I realized that I could not go to a prison and personally pull a switch that would take another life. For me to expect someone else to do what I could not do was a place I could not stand.
It may not always be easy for us to ask ourselves where it is that our theological beliefs or the beliefs of our value system would carry us if we carried them to their logical, and perhaps, extreme conclusion, but it has served me as a guide along the way. We all need some compass to help us stay on the course we want to travel. John Wesley did this when he taught that good doctrine is based on Scripture, experience, reason, and tradition. Maybe he would not mind if this old worn out Methodist preacher added one more thing from a life time of living.
Those who say it does not matter what you believe so long as you believe something could learn a lesson from this extinct sect of the Christian movement. It has always seemed that an important thing to do with any embraced belief is to see where it will take us if carried to its logical conclusion. A long time ago I came to a place which positioned me against capital punishment because I realized that I could not go to a prison and personally pull a switch that would take another life. For me to expect someone else to do what I could not do was a place I could not stand.
It may not always be easy for us to ask ourselves where it is that our theological beliefs or the beliefs of our value system would carry us if we carried them to their logical, and perhaps, extreme conclusion, but it has served me as a guide along the way. We all need some compass to help us stay on the course we want to travel. John Wesley did this when he taught that good doctrine is based on Scripture, experience, reason, and tradition. Maybe he would not mind if this old worn out Methodist preacher added one more thing from a life time of living.
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