I Am The Way
One of the things that has always troubled me about fundamentalist and classical Christianity is the statement that we are all sinners. The problem I have is that it is often said with the implication that we are fundamentally flawed and unacceptable, possibly even evil. Of course when you look at the usage of the word sinner it is clear that the scriptures mean the more classical interpretation of sinner as 'missed the mark'. I interpret that as saying that while we are fundamentally perfect already (as we are God's creation), we are not yet mature or complete, we still have negative tendencies which we need to deal with (as in the previous discussion about satan). More like at arrow that is still on the way to the target rather than an arrow which will never reach the mark. That interpretation is particularly useful as it allows a different interpretation of 'I am the way'. Christ can then be considered as 'the mark' or goal / target of our development. It is often said in many spiritual traditions that it is impossible to find our way without a guide. I imagine us wandering around a huge plain blind and trying to find a single point (perfection). Clearly without sight or some kind of guide we would wander for almost forever. However, our spiritual perfection is even more complex as there are so many different feelings and tendencies that we need to master. It would be like trying to find a single point in a multi-dimensional space rather than the simpler problem of a plain (just two dimensions, but what if there were four, six, or a dozen dimensions to consider). So, Christ's message that 'I am the way' can be considered as a short hand for 'be like me', 'follow my example' (which is a common theme in the Bible). Certainly trying to be as loving and compassionate as Christ is a wonderful practice. Click here to see the next rambling tale.This page was last updated on October 25, 2010