See the big lump of connections on the bottom left? Those are between my Grebel (i.e. religious) friends, and the rest are my non-Grebel (predominantly non-religious) friends.The conflict derives I think from two sources. One is a kind of disconnect between my religious and non-religious friends, who generally know about each other, but don't actually know each other. The other source of conflict is that I can hear truth in the statements made by each group about the other, and am struck by a sense of how great it would be if each group were open to understanding how they are viewed by the other. Yet, I'm frustrated by being at a loss to see a workable way for this to happen. My impression is that were each group open to hearing and understanding the views of those outside their circle, then they would both benefit. Not only that, but the tendency for this conflict to manifest negatively would be reduced. Knowing the strengths of the other, not necessarily even by actively getting to know each other but simply recognizing that there's opportunity to learn from the other, could be a way to build bridges in our community and in turn benefit each of us as individuals.
2 comments:
I want to respond to this post, but I can't figure out how to summarize my thoughts in a seemly lengthed comment. We'll have to talk about this sometime. Bottom line is: why stop short of actively getting to know one another? Why not invite friends from both groups to a monthly (or whatever) "Philosophy with Ted" evening. I'd be up for that.
-A
Thank you A&M, and thanks for reading my blog periodically. I really appreciate your comments.
One of my "non-religious" friends had proposed a math discussion night (on the same night as house church.) There could be an opportunity for dialogue here. It's a creative suggestion.
Post a Comment