As many folks have realized and observed about me--I have a compulsion to follow the evidence, the facts, the probabilities, the plausibilities wherever they might lead.
That was reinforced when my boss in my B.A. program job as Acting Director of the University Library Special Collections Dept exhorted me fairly sternly to not be derisive of flaky groups who were first and most accurate about who Hitler was, what he would and who he would become.
Yes, I have clear biases and they show through plenty.
However, I'm also quite fair-minded--often to a fault and my own hurt. I like to give almost anyone and almost any plausible idea a fair hearing.
I consider the evidence.
I consider the logic.
I consider what I've learned in life already that might bear on the issues and topic.
I consider the character and believability of the sources.
I certainly consider how God's Word might bear on the topic, the actors, the sequence of the events etc.
And, even when I've formed fairly firm convictions and assumptions about the facts and evidence, I still try and keep the channels of information open to see if anything significant might alter the picture convincingly.
I also consider my own track record in successfully (or not) grok-ing similar situations, issues, topics, organizations, decisions, movements etc.
Given my personality and very atypical ways and thought processes--it is fairly common that most groups--even conservative evangelical groups--will have a problem with one or more aspects of my personality or one or more aspects of my conclusions etc.
However, a shocking number of those skeptical sorts who have been very angry with me over what I asserted to the; over my predictions, etc.--have come back to me 5, 10, 15 years later and volunteered that I was almost 100% accurate--and that in spite of their anger over what I said--it still ended up bringing life to them in their path through their days and years.
Certainly lots of people never admit the least bit of error on their part. They just slink away and try to hide their shame for their arrogance and missing reality by such a wide margin.
Being Quix has never been an easy role. But God has never been very sympathetic when I used to whine about the hard row to hoe. He just increasingly emphatically insisted that HE had made me the way I was (DNA etc), conditioning, designated parents etc. FOR HIS PURPOSES--and that I'd told Him repeatedly to use me as He saw fit--sooooooo He wanted me to get on down the road doing as He instructed and to be thankful in all things and certainly to quit grousing and whining.
AT this point in life, I'm mostly cool with that. It can still be lonely at times. Yet, I have more close friends scattered across 3 continents than most folks I know.
But the most important thing is knowing that--to a significant degree, I've at least earnestly attempted to do as I understood God wanted me to do.
The post following this one appears to be more confirmation of some of what Mark Taylor said about the RCC. There's actually a ton of solid information available. Malachi Martin--a former Vatican official produced a LOT of evidence and shocking assertions before his death.
Anyway--prayerfully consider . . . as usual, spit out the bones and ask God to confirm what HE wants you to hold as true or mostly true.
There's a LOT of stuff still in my "tentative, plausible" category.
