Sam Ruby: I asked for some light … in return what I got was heat.
Although this was a technical (and completely secular) discussion, for some reason it reminds me of something I learned when I was considering becoming a Quaker a few years ago. (My father is still a Quaker, so he can correct me if I get this wrong.)
Quakers believe that each of us has a God-given piece of the truth inside us, something George Fox called the “Inner Light“. The fact that no one person has the entire truth is why Quakers get together for meeting, to piece together everyone’s perspective and arrive at a greater understanding. Of course, this only works if everyone allows their light to shine freely; a common problem in meeting is that one person has their own agenda which is not motivated by the quest for understanding or truth, and they side-track the meeting. (Rule-of-thumb #1 of Quaker meeting: “After 5 minutes, it’s not God talking.”)
Keep this in mind the next time you ask for some light and get burned instead.
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