Ok, I'll get off the Baptist Fundies, but I could not let that one pass. Painting them all with this wicked brush is totally unfair to some of the more gentle folk. It's no wonder this Delta Dude despises C&C. They've got his number and he knows it. I've read some things on this man's blog that I actually liked and agreed with. I don't mind that our Heavenly Father sees us as spiritual siblings, but he very much resents the fact that he may have to share Heaven with the likes of me. It reminds me of something else I read yesterday:

Bernie Glassman tells a story about a Zen Roshi who filled his zendo with developmentally challenged monks. Some objected, on the ground that such retarded people could never make progress. The Roshi replied, "but to God, we're all retarded."

The same man, a Lutheran pastor, went on to describe his theology:

1. Most of what God is or is up to is a mystery.
2. Take comfort in what your faith has given you to affirm.
3. The core virtue is humility.
4. You'll never know you've attained that core virtue, because if you do, you haven't.
5. You are extremely limited yet extrememly valuable. So is every created being. Recognizing this is the ground of love, a core virtue which can't exist without humility and vice versa.
6. Live, decide, and act according to #5.

I must admit, I've got a long way to go, too. The pilgrims I travel with are a colorful bunch.