“The Mystic, the Evangelical and the Fundamentalist” - Author Unknown
CATEGORIES
- Awakening 2
- Awareness 2
- Being Human 1
- Bible 2
- Buddhism 8
- Christianity 4
- Compassion 1
- Consciousness 5
- Ecumenicalism 1
- Egotism 1
- Enlightenment 2
- Fear 3
- God 7
- Grace 1
- Heart 1
- Heaven 1
- Keith Basar 2
- Koans 1
- Listening 1
- Love 10
- Meaning of Life 1
- Mysticism 5
- Native American 1
- Parables 1
- Philosophy 2
- Poetry 62
- Relationships 1
- Religion 3
- Spiritual Teacher 13
- Spirituality 16
- Suffering 2
- Taoism 26
- Theology 3
- Truth 1
- Wisdom 3
- Wisdom Stories 80
- Wisdom Story 31
- Zen 29
There is an old anecdote in which a mystic, an evangelical pastor and a fundamentalist preacher die on the same day and awake to find themselves by the pearly gates. Upon reaching the gates they are promptly greeted by Peter, who informs them that before entering heaven they must be interviewed by Jesus concerning the state of their doctrine. The first to be called forward is the mystic, who is quietly ushered into a room. Five hours later the mystic reappears with a smile, saying, ‘I thought I had got it all wrong.’ Then Peter signals to the evangelical pastor, who stands up and enters the room. After a full day has passed the pastor reappears with a frown and says to himself, ‘How could I have been so foolish!’ Finally Peter asks the fundamentalist to follow him. The fundamentalist picks up his well-worn Bible and walks into the room. A few days pass with no sign of the preacher, then finally the door swings open and Jesus himself appears, exclaiming, ‘How could I have got it all so wrong!’
SOURCE: ‘How (Not) To Speak of God by Peter Rollins (Paraclete Press, 2006), page 21
