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In Reply to: Re: Anti-Israel does not equal anti-semitic posted by Joseph on August 01, 2003 at 14:06:45:
I think a key problem is that for decades many of us were more or less mindless. We flew on auto-pilot. We lived in a closed community where passive reception was valued as God's word was 'poured' into us. Yieldedness was the ultimate virtue. Critical thinking was a capital offence.
Since leaving, I have found that I have had to gradually deconstruct every aspect of my belief system. Take it apart and ask myself what I believe and why. Many of my views have changed and are changing. I am in every way a work in progress, and I still have lots of gray areas, but at least I feel I am somewhat mindful now. I think about these issues and I have some sort of rationale for my values and beliefs. This has been very refreshing.(But I must admit,sometimes I just want to be told what to do ,what to think! Someone rescue me!)
So my biblical advice is "Flee mindlessness!" Reflect on what you beleive and why.It can be painful, but it's better than the alternative.
Mindlessness is actually a universal problem. Socrates encountered it continually when he wandered the streets of Athens asking people "Why?" People did not know why they believed what they did.
