Whatever works for you...

It is a very fashionable thing to view religion as beyond any evaluation, with the causal phrase, "Whatever works for you..."

Now, I would like to make it clear that I am a staunch advocate of openness, and that those people who outwardly judge or even subtly judge should move on to more productive and loving activities. But there are two great dangers to dismissing another religion so casually.

The first is that you may legitimize evil behavior! Just because an attitude of violence moves out of religious grounds does not make it justified. Of course, the morality question gets very difficult when dealing across faiths. But even still, an emotional barometer usually gives a basic sense of a warped value system.

But perhaps more dangerous than the admission of evil is the apathy toward good. "Whatever works for you..." can be rephrased, "Go see God wherever you can." Here's the thing. If they really do see God there, and God really happens to be there, then why can't you?

It is the great pleasure of my life to seek God always. Why would I systematically write off many divine experiences by blithely attributing them to someone else's world? Shouldn't I strive to see God there as well?

Look for the presence of God in all things whole, and see the moving power of God's plan in all things broken.