The
Path of Discernment is a path of
Big Questions—the
questions of life and of how we live our faith.
This issue is
devoted to the principles that make up this path, both in a very
practical sense and at the spiritual level. How do we make the
decisions we do? What worldviews do we draw on to make these
decisions?
The physical realm
mirrors the spiritual realm, and never is it more apparent than on
the real life path of discernment.
This is a path that
we all travel, whether we like it or not. Life
calls us to answer in its echoing voice of lived experience and
situation again and again.
The Path of
Discernment, at the mission, is the first path that we
have begun to develop. As it is planned, the walking path consists
of various geographical features, but will also include some human
creations such as a labyrinth. Each possible way through the path
of discernment begins with a real life situation and possible
answers. Examples will touch on issues of:
boundaries
meekness
speaking out
humility
self-integrity
enabling
loving
your enemy
turning
the other cheek
addictions, and
more.
How we deal with
these issues depends on the worldview that we hold. For those of us
who have grown up in Christian families, scripturally-based values,
or what it means for us to be “Christ-like,” lies across a vast
chasm from the values espoused by contemporary psychological models.
For example, there are many situations in which Christian traditions
might call for forgiveness and aid to a person, where modern society
might advise protecting one’s self-interest and severing ties to an
unhealthy person in need. How do we reconcile these kinds of
fundamental differences when it comes to life’s big questions?
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