Gray! It is the new Blue! No, I'm kidding, though Gray and Blue are two of my favorite colors to wear; blue during the summer, and gray during the winter. I have a gray jacket and hoodie I wear all the time. Most think I just pick the colors I wear randomly, but the truth is, every day I pick a shirt appropriate to the initial mood of the day. [not true, there is not a creative bone in this body]
Gray and all that this color insinuates has me a bit contemplative right now. I read a book. It read a book about Gray. Justice will not, and cannot, be done in this post to the totality of thought found in Adam Hamilton's "Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White" frankly because, for one, I don't have too much by way of reflection, and secondly, I can offer very few thought provoking criticisms to the whole since I am in some serious Gray water myself. When you're in gray, everything you think seems gray, and you begin to feel that you cannot speak with any genuine sense of authority. However, what I must try to convey, and will not finish without trying, is that when Gray becomes a category along side of Black and White haven't you really only created another category so that the Gray becomes either the new Black or the New White or simply the third color in the scheme of opinions? So, now it's only a bit more complicated, another factor in the equation, another party to please, another cog in the wheel, if you will. There is Black, White, and now Gray and soon someone will write a book entitled "Seeing Dark Gray (but not too Dark of a Gray) in a World of Black, White, and Gray Opinions. Trifles, I know, but perhaps there is some weight to the gray thought.
Any way, I don't know why I criticize the title, because, frankly, I enjoyed the book. Adam Hamilton is able to speak softly and gently so that you are compelled to listen, yet he does not write so as to tickle your ears, rather he speaks from the heart, and I will listen to anyone who speaks from the heart, whether gently or rashly. If it's from the heart, it deserves to be heard.
His style and formula is simple. What the author does is to set up the typical dichotomy between differing opinions on a matter within the realms of Religious, Moral, and Political issues and then offer a Third Way of understanding the issue, a way of understanding that tries to integrate the best of both worlds and cut out the worst as well. Hence, the "gray" refers to a somewhat muddled position that considers both sides, yet has its own legitimate opinion; one worth considering. The issues are not Gray by virtue of their impossibility, but by virtue of our limitation; our limitation to understand all of the issues involved, and make a legitimate truth claim. We are quick to make truth claims and often fail to take into consideration the presuppositions and conditioning behind our statements.
Take for example the chapter dealing with the issue of homosexuality in the Church. Reading this chapter was worth the purchase of the book in my opinion (you may think otherwise), only because I have never heard such a balanced treatment of the issue where grace and humility act as guide in the discussion, and where love wins in the end. Like Patrick says, "Love wins." We (Evangelicals) make all sorts of judgments about the practice of homosexuality, but until the issue really hits home, when your sister or your cousin or your uncle or you father "comes out of the closet", you are truly unable to make legitimate statements about the choice of the lifestyle (is it even a choice? I don't know, I am not able to discern with honest discretion).
Where I appreciate the book is the heart to honestly, openly, and truthfully deal with sensitive issues. In most Churches the people are straining out gnats and swallowing camels over non-issue issues. Pre-trib or Mid-trib or Post-trib? Keep straining your gnats. Hymns or Choruses? Straining gnats. Contemporary or Traditional? Strain that gnat! Adam Hamilton writes well. He places words delicately so as not to excite rash backlashes from the Fundy's as they are prone, and yet he treats "liberals" with understanding so as to include their "kind" in the conversation. He is even clear to communicate that some of his views presented in the book may change over time. I find this wise given the fact that "Grayness" indicates a dynamic rather than static relationship between knowledge and faith.
Nonetheless, the book is not without fault. I noticed at one point he is quick to treat Jesus' language of hell as metaphorical and hyperbolic, but when he deals with Jesus' language of heaven he is happy with keeping the literal hermeneutic. I find that a bit self-serving. You will too. The chapter on abortion is helpful, but I find that it fails to speak strongly where strong words should be spoken. Love wins, and love is never satisfied to simply find "gray" when the matter is a reality of life or death. Maybe that's my own opinion, but I feel that I am pretty "gray" in a lot of areas, but being for "life" is not one of them. I guess if I were in the situation, I might be a bit more understanding.
Any way, read the book if you want to revisit sensitive issues and rethink them with a balanced approach. The third way is comfortable not knowing fully, but seeing through a "glass darkly" as our finiteness demands. The third way is the way of love and compassion, of discerning and listening, of being slow to speak and quick to hear, of telling truth with grace, yet understanding your truth might need refining.
[Warning: If you believe you have all of the answers of life's complexities figures out, you will not need to read this book. Please save yourself the coin, the time, and the trouble. That's sarcasm. Please forgive my non-humility. I never said I was perfect.]
Gray and all that this color insinuates has me a bit contemplative right now. I read a book. It read a book about Gray. Justice will not, and cannot, be done in this post to the totality of thought found in Adam Hamilton's "Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White" frankly because, for one, I don't have too much by way of reflection, and secondly, I can offer very few thought provoking criticisms to the whole since I am in some serious Gray water myself. When you're in gray, everything you think seems gray, and you begin to feel that you cannot speak with any genuine sense of authority. However, what I must try to convey, and will not finish without trying, is that when Gray becomes a category along side of Black and White haven't you really only created another category so that the Gray becomes either the new Black or the New White or simply the third color in the scheme of opinions? So, now it's only a bit more complicated, another factor in the equation, another party to please, another cog in the wheel, if you will. There is Black, White, and now Gray and soon someone will write a book entitled "Seeing Dark Gray (but not too Dark of a Gray) in a World of Black, White, and Gray Opinions. Trifles, I know, but perhaps there is some weight to the gray thought.
Any way, I don't know why I criticize the title, because, frankly, I enjoyed the book. Adam Hamilton is able to speak softly and gently so that you are compelled to listen, yet he does not write so as to tickle your ears, rather he speaks from the heart, and I will listen to anyone who speaks from the heart, whether gently or rashly. If it's from the heart, it deserves to be heard.
His style and formula is simple. What the author does is to set up the typical dichotomy between differing opinions on a matter within the realms of Religious, Moral, and Political issues and then offer a Third Way of understanding the issue, a way of understanding that tries to integrate the best of both worlds and cut out the worst as well. Hence, the "gray" refers to a somewhat muddled position that considers both sides, yet has its own legitimate opinion; one worth considering. The issues are not Gray by virtue of their impossibility, but by virtue of our limitation; our limitation to understand all of the issues involved, and make a legitimate truth claim. We are quick to make truth claims and often fail to take into consideration the presuppositions and conditioning behind our statements.
Take for example the chapter dealing with the issue of homosexuality in the Church. Reading this chapter was worth the purchase of the book in my opinion (you may think otherwise), only because I have never heard such a balanced treatment of the issue where grace and humility act as guide in the discussion, and where love wins in the end. Like Patrick says, "Love wins." We (Evangelicals) make all sorts of judgments about the practice of homosexuality, but until the issue really hits home, when your sister or your cousin or your uncle or you father "comes out of the closet", you are truly unable to make legitimate statements about the choice of the lifestyle (is it even a choice? I don't know, I am not able to discern with honest discretion).
Where I appreciate the book is the heart to honestly, openly, and truthfully deal with sensitive issues. In most Churches the people are straining out gnats and swallowing camels over non-issue issues. Pre-trib or Mid-trib or Post-trib? Keep straining your gnats. Hymns or Choruses? Straining gnats. Contemporary or Traditional? Strain that gnat! Adam Hamilton writes well. He places words delicately so as not to excite rash backlashes from the Fundy's as they are prone, and yet he treats "liberals" with understanding so as to include their "kind" in the conversation. He is even clear to communicate that some of his views presented in the book may change over time. I find this wise given the fact that "Grayness" indicates a dynamic rather than static relationship between knowledge and faith.
Nonetheless, the book is not without fault. I noticed at one point he is quick to treat Jesus' language of hell as metaphorical and hyperbolic, but when he deals with Jesus' language of heaven he is happy with keeping the literal hermeneutic. I find that a bit self-serving. You will too. The chapter on abortion is helpful, but I find that it fails to speak strongly where strong words should be spoken. Love wins, and love is never satisfied to simply find "gray" when the matter is a reality of life or death. Maybe that's my own opinion, but I feel that I am pretty "gray" in a lot of areas, but being for "life" is not one of them. I guess if I were in the situation, I might be a bit more understanding.
Any way, read the book if you want to revisit sensitive issues and rethink them with a balanced approach. The third way is comfortable not knowing fully, but seeing through a "glass darkly" as our finiteness demands. The third way is the way of love and compassion, of discerning and listening, of being slow to speak and quick to hear, of telling truth with grace, yet understanding your truth might need refining.
[Warning: If you believe you have all of the answers of life's complexities figures out, you will not need to read this book. Please save yourself the coin, the time, and the trouble. That's sarcasm. Please forgive my non-humility. I never said I was perfect.]