My Final Journal Entry

An ancient fable relates the tale of a group of blind men upon their first encounter with an elephant. Having heard of an elephant before but not knowing anything about them, these men are given the opportunity to feel the creature in order to know what it is. In this story (which has been told by countless people groups on multiple continents for over a thousand years) a string of 3 to 6 blind men each approach the elephant one at a time, grabbing different parts of the animal.

One, having felt the side of the animal, claims with certainty that an elephant is some form of wall. Another adamantly disagrees with him claiming the elephant is some kind of tree, having wrapped his arms around the animal's leg. A third chimes in stating that it must be some form of farming equipment, like a plow. He, of course, had felt the tusk. Yet another still claims they are all fools stating this is nothing more than a kind of snake, all the while wrestling with the elephants trunk.

Term in Review: 5 biggest lessons learned

I needed this post.

I had a lot of fun choosing my 5 most entertaining posts for last week's Term in Review, but I needed to work through this week's post. It was medicine for my soul.

Recently, I mentioned my lack of excitement about returning to the States, and as that time has quickly approached, I have found myself running a gamut of emotions. Sometimes it is the dread of returning to the world from which I came and being disappointed with what I find. At other moments it is hurt at leaving a life created here, saying goodbye to friends and people who have now become family.

But sifting through this next portion of my Term in Review, I finally found a little perspective.

On Moralism

The following is a reaction to a post by Dr. Ray Van Neste on his blog, Oversight of Souls. Read that post first.

I came to Africa to share the gospel with moralists. In reality, I believe that term embodies the worldview of the people here.

These people are a very religious people. They believe in one, almighty God who is in control of everything. They believe in a holy book that tells them how to live. However, this holy book is merely a big list of morals. From cover to cover, it lays out long lists of sins and long lists of noble deeds.

These people live their life trying to do the good things in the book and avoid the bad things. That is the extent of their spiritual existence, following rules. To be moral, as defined by their holy book, is the ultimate aim of their religion.

However, it must be said that you do not have to cross an ocean to find someone with this worldview. As a matter of fact, they may be sitting on your pew next Sunday.