From: ibshambat@gmail.com   
      
   I am not going to lie. I am conflicted. The conflict is between my commitment   
   to Jesus and my experience of – and respect for – other paths such as   
   Buddhism, Hinduism, paganism, metaphysics and psychology. I want to avail   
   myself of all the wisdom    
   that’s out there and figure out who is right and about what.   
      
   Now there are many people who get portrayed as being insane. In fact, it can   
   be easily shown that the bulk of humanity is insane. Different people believe   
   different and conflicting things; which means that even if one group is right,   
   everyone else is    
   insane. And that means: the majority of the population.   
      
   To make an original contribution, someone needs to think in original ways. And   
   people who think in original ways will always see someone saying that they are   
   insane. However as we see this extends to the bulk of the population and is   
   not limited to the    
   original thinkers.   
      
   When the bulk of the world is wrong, the only people who have a chance to be   
   right are people who think in ways external to that of their environment. Once   
   again, these people will always be seen by somebody as insane. In some cases   
   this will be a    
   truthful accusation, in other cases it won’t be. But what is also true is   
   that these people don’t own insanity, and that once again it is easily shown   
   that the bulk of the world is insane.   
      
   However, insane or not, some of these people also tend to have come into   
   possession of useful knowledge and useful wisdom. I have found wisdom in all   
   sorts of places where I didn’t expect it. I found it in American inner city   
   and rural Australia. I    
   found it in businessmen and military people. I even found it in children. When   
   I was talking about my daughter about yuckie people, she said that there are   
   no yuckie people. You wouldn’t expect such wisdom in a six-year-old child,   
   but I have found it    
   there.   
      
   The error of many religious people is thinking that the only wisdom is in the   
   Bible. In fact there is wisdom in many places, and in failing to avail   
   themselves of that wisdom they are impoverishing their understanding of the   
   world. The error of    
   scientific materialists is failing to avail themselves of the wisdom that is   
   in the world’s religions and spiritual paths. That likewise impoverishes   
   their understanding of the world. Both of the above are right about some   
   things; but in discounting    
   the rest of the world’s knowledge they make unavailable to themselves the   
   bulk of the world’s wisdom. And that hurts mostly themselves.   
      
   In my case, figuring out such things has been a lifelong quest. It has lead me   
   to many unexpected places. And while I have a serious relationship with Jesus   
   Christ, I also know that there have been wise people in history besides Jesus   
   Christ, and that    
   things stand to be learned from these people.   
      
   I would encourage people to pursue knowledge that isn’t a part of their   
   upbringing. There are two possible outcomes from this. One may decide that the   
   has been misinformed and hopefully lead the people of his upbringing toward   
   better understanding. Or    
   one may decide that he has been informed correctly and use the wisdom he’s   
   gathered in other paths to extend the mindset of his upbringing. In either   
   case the results are beneficial ones, and this is a process that can be useful   
   for many people.   
      
   Of course one side effect from that is the conflict and confusion I’ve been   
   speaking about. That can be unpleasant; however it’s better to be conflicted   
   than ignorant. We live in a world where everyone is influencing everyone else,   
   which means that    
   many people would be conflicted. However the more they persist in working   
   through such things, the greater becomes their wisdom and understanding. And   
   that is as good for them as it is good for the world.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)