Nonsensical Ramblings of Mark

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.

It seems to me that, in these days, I am more aware of theological statements than I ever have been. Now, theological statements are statements about God, or man's relationship to God, that are purported to be true. So, for example, when I say "I am a sinner" I am making a theological statement. I am defining my position before God. I am also saying something about God as well. But more on that later. Or maybe not. At any rate, there are a lot of theological statements that are being bandied about and I want to set my mind on trying to make some sense of it all. When I move from the "is" to the "ought" I am making a theological statement. in other words, I can with my eyes and ears observe someone taking a candy bar from a store and not paying for it. Where I am from we call that stealing and I can see someone stealing. That is a experiential statement and can be verified or proven false through observation. Now, when I say "I ought not to steal,&

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring love. Where there is offense, let me bring pardon. Where there is discord, let me bring union. Where there is error, let me bring truth. Where there is doubt, let me bring faith. Where there is despair, let me bring hope. Where there is darkness, let me bring your light. Where there is sadness, let me bring joy. O Master, let me not seek as much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love, For it is in giving that one receives, it is in self-forgetting that one finds, it is in pardoning that one is pardoned, it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.