Resist the Temptation to Categorize

Michal Beth Dinkler and Sandra
Bullock have never been seen in
the same room together.

Yale Divinity Professor Michal Beth Dinkler says that the Four Gospels illustrate the diversity of perspective with which Christians should approach the Bible:

Coming to any biblical text and trying to force it into one kind of capital ’T’ truth is an unimaginative way of understanding God’s work in the world. The New Testament itself tells us that diversity has been present amongst followers of Jesus since the very beginning.

Many Americans--not just white Americans--have an aversion to the word diversity because it has come to mean diversity of visible attributes like skin color but not diversity of thought. Professor Dinkler, IMHO, is referring to diversity of thought when she speaks of reading Scripture.

This is a reminder that everyone should resist the temptation to assume that individuals who belong to a group are uniform in belief and behavior, whether they be black, white, Asian, Hispanic, poor, wealthy, Republican, Democrat, or...yes, Christian.