Listening to an evangelical preacher talk about "righteous indignation" provoked some thoughts. It made me think about listening in humility and its relation to Truth. Now, perhaps there is a place somewhere for "righteous indignation" a la Jesus clearing the temple, but my problem with what this guy was talking about was that it reeked of arrogance. Righteous indignation requires a very high degree of certainty that what you are attacking is evil, even that your manner of attack is appropriate. And I think that is the thing that makes me nervous about fundamentalists on the right, and activists on the left, that it seems the Truth is less important than clinging to your position, which often seems to be more about where you are from (personal experiences influencing tastes and opinions) than what you have actually endeavoured to learn.

Once again, clarity likely requires that this be a more thought out discussion than just a blog entry, but if you are tracking with me, one more thought. The Truth about anything is usually impossible to know with absolute certainty, but at least getting closer to that absolute certainty requires a high degree of humility. Interesting then that humility is a virtue Jesus points us to. It requires us to listen carefully to both sides, and to be deliberate about doing so. "The wisdom that comes from heaven... shows no partiality..." I think that links in directly with Jesus telling us of a time when true worshippers would worship in spirit and truth. I think the truth side of that directs believers to be vigilant about finding honest truths, both big and small. Listening well, asking loads of questions, and a continual openness to learning seem to be part of the path to learning Love, which is worship.