Theological statements - part 2

In this post I have considered the idea that theological statements are statements about God or man's position in front of God and that they cannot be applied to a group of people but only to an individual person. It seems like that bears a bit more explanation especially because I am so used to dealing with people as a "group" rather than as an individual. No group, no matter how homogeneous it is, has adherents that are identical in belief and conduct. There is just no way that a group of people that share the experience of a particular denomination, social sphere, skin color, or sex all think and act alike. We would like to wrap a bow around someone, judge them, pretend to know their motives and thoughts, based on who we see them hanging out with or even what they are contributing money to. For example, people assume, because I am registered with the Conservative party, that I voted for the current President, Donald Trump. I did not and will not in the next election. They are then surprised that I voted for Secretary Clinton in the last election and assume that I will vote for Vice President Biden in the next. I, in fact, did not and won't. We carry some assumptions when we identify with a particular group don't we?

Given the seemingly infinite amount of experiences one can have and the work of God in the lives of his people and those he is drawing to himself, why would I be surprised at this? "Oh you are one of them..." I often find myself thinking and immediately form judgments. Now I would like to think that I hold onto those judgments loosely and jettison them readily when they turn out to be something other than reality, but I know that I don't. I find my bigotry is too fine a covering for me. I don't ask enough questions that I do not know the answer to when I meet someone from this side of the river or that. I need to treat nuance as more of a friend and less of a burden. I need to dress more in gray and beige than black and red. Here is where I find my freedom and here is where I recommit to my sojourn.

I too often find myself seeking and embracing the definitive that leaves no room for a narrative that I do not expect; a surprise that I do not want. It is not as though, in seeking some sort of definitive, I find myself less in line with the truth. Not at all. In fact, I find that the definitive is what I am ultimately after. What takes me from the truth is the definitive that is not definite. The definitive that rests solely in me. Not God. Not you. Not her. Not him. But me.

The definitive that embraces theological truth without theological inquiry is the death of the image of God and the resurrection of my own. And my hellish visage whitewashes with a broad brush.