the open mind

"A closed mind kills marriages and human relations; it deadens feelings and sensitivities; it makes for a church that lives in a thousand and one tunnels, with no communication and no exit. if we maintain the open-mindedness of children, we challenge fixed ideas and established structures, including our own. We listen to people in other denominations and religions. We don’t find demons in those we disagree with. We don’t cozy up to people who mouth our jargon. if we are open, we rarely resort to either/or--either creation or evolution, liberty or law, sacred or secular, Beethoven or Madonna. We focus on both/and, fully aware that God's truth cannot be imprisoned in a small definition. of course the open mind does not accept everything indiscriminately--Marxism and capitalism, Christianity and atheism, love and lust, Moet Chandon and vinegar. It does not absorb all propositions equally like a sponge, nor is it as soft. But the open mind realises that reality, truth and Jesus Christ are incredibly open-ended." -Brennan Manning

(As a side note for those of you who are unfamiliar with Manning, let me explain. He is a Korean War Veteran. He was formally a Franciscan preist, who went through several years of Rehab for alcoholism, and has now choosen to devot his life to ministering to the less fortunate in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is real, honest, and transparent with his life and his struggles.)