Explorers and Pilgrimsby William B. Lindley
Freethought is a funny thing. Sometimes we may be far away from the old issues of Jesus, Noah's flood, the pagan origins of Christmas, the mischief of people who want to get church and state in bed together, and so forth. A long way away from all that. And then we run across something and say, "Gee, I'm glad I'm a freethinker!" Here's an example. In the Christian Century of Dec. 1, 1993, on p. 1203, is an article, "Good News," by Gretchen Wolff Pritchard, minister of Christian culture at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in New Haven, Connecticut. An excerpt from that article: "...images of city and temple are crucial to the spirituality of Israel and to the New Testament. They do not, however, represent spiritual fulfillment for many adult Americans. We tend to assume that God is found in journeying, exploration and nature.... But the Biblical themes are clear: though God's people wander, the wandering is painful, and its only purpose is to bring us to the Promised Land. We are pilgrims and exiles, not tourists or explorers.... The brave adult attempt to persuade ourselves that it is better to travel hopefully than to arrive is... an acquired taste, and not really good for us." Contrast this with Truth Seeker's columnist on thinking, Gerald Angelo Cirrincione, in his column of vol. 121 #1, "Thinking is for You." He writes: "The purposes of thinking are two-fold: to solve and to explore. Both are important.... Exploring is looking for something that hasn't been specifically asked for. It notices something that has been overlooked. It has an element of surprise. You spontaneously notice a pattern or unexpectedly get an idea: you see things differently. Exploring is oriented toward the future: it begins." Americans, children, and freethinkers love to explore. They are open to adventure, to new ideas. Their spiritual quest, if you choose to call it that, is open-ended. It doesn't call for closure, for security, for an end. Christians are apparently different. Gee, I'm glad I'm a freethinker!
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