# Chapter 131

“Some truths are hard to accept. If you believe only what you like in the histories, and reject what you don’t want to believe, it is not the truth you seek, but a confirmation of your own opinions. You will never find truth that way.” Wheeler

This is what I have missed most about my mother these last 15 years or so, with her struggle with Alzheimer’s and then she passed away three years ago. She had a special ability to tell the truth, and in such a way that it was impossible to ignore. She could shed light on any dark subject with a clarity that compelled you toward the right actions. If you choose to stick your head in the sand and sleep away her insights, then you inevitably paid the price for that foolishness further down the road. I could write a whole book just about my follies of not listening to my mother.

We are people who love to pick and choose which truths we want to accept and take on, and not only in the histories, but especially in our religions. One of my Muslim neighbors here in Eastern Europe is war-mongering all the time and he gets that from the Koran. My other Muslim neighbor is the consummate peace-maker and he gets that from the Koran. You see what I mean? I think Christians are far worse (or better) at doing this. 30 years of working in the church has convinced me that we use and focus on about 4-5% of the scriptures and ignore the rest.

Why else are we obsessed with homosexuals, but entirely and completely totally ignore gluttony within the church?