Many people are confused by the plethora of conflicting religious views so often offered with unbending authoritarianism. It is proper to beware of religious spokespersons who are absolutely certain about everything and who leave no room for the essential element of mystery in the human quest to know God. It is often difficult to know who is right and who is wrong in the noisy den of competition for support in public religion. But there is a way to avoid having to struggle with these two slippery labels of who is right and who is wrong. Just make sure you are on your journey the journey for which you came into the world. While it is true there are people who can help us with our spiritual journey, you are probably the best authority on what you need. No one can make that journey for you, no matter how much they love you.

We would do well to avoid bumper-sticker religion. This simplistic approach to the complicated problems of people and society may sound good, but it fails the test of reality. To try to make everyone alike is to attempt to avoid the pain and the "heavy-lifting" of careful thought and respectful consideration of the differences with which God made us and sent us into the world. We are on different journeys.

Celebrating and living our unique journey does not mean that we cannot blend important parts of our lives with others and walk with them in a higher unity. When Jesus prayed that his disciples might be one in John 17, it was a prayer for a unity of love, not ideas. We do not achieve unity by persuading everyone to be like us nor by finding the lowest common theological denominator. Our common loyalty is not to a set of human-made theological propositions (and all theological propositions are of human construct). Our common loyalty is to Christ.