Springboard

I am going to use my last blog as a spring board to continue this discussion on religious legalism which essentially boils down to one word, judgmental. I am still exploring this, but I am getting frustrated with the group of people that declare someone as knowing God or not knowing God according to their list of requirements. As if anyone of us has the perfect ticket to heaven and understanding of God here on earth.
The older I get, the more I realize there is a lot out there and the less sure I am about what I know. We in the church talk a lot about God being big, great or amazing, and then when we are faced with another view on God where our beliefs might be challenged, we go running to quickly dismiss what we just saw. See my thinking is that if God is BIG and I am small I have a skewed view of God.
When we stand at the base of a huge mountain, we don't claim to be able to see all of it...same with God. So if I am standing on one side of the mountain and you on the other, we will both see something different...even though looking at the same mountain. So why not compare notes, discuss differences and accept that there may be more out there than I first thought? Would it be because then we would have to seriously look at our beliefs and throw some of them away? And the religious box could fall apart?
See I have always loved Paul, who was one of the first missionaries in Acts, in the Bible, to share about Jesus. He walked into a town full of all sorts of religious beliefs and started talking about 'the unknown God.' He didn't say 'oh by the way you are totally wrong and I am right,' no he said 'hey this is what I've been learning about God and I am excited to share it with you.'
I also really loved the book "The Shack" because it gave me a totally new perspective on God, and suggested that there are many routes to finding God, and that God is not above using anything to draw us to Himself. I think Christians have had so many conforming rules that its extremely difficult for God to be in relationship with the very people who He longs for and who He created to be like Him.
I don't think I can tell where anyone's spiritual journey is going, its hard enough keeping track of myself.