Progress, Not Perfection

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13 NRSV H. Richard Niebuhr states that there are five ways in which we come to believe: 1. Things that are taken for granted There are things that are accepted for fact which we do not try to dispute, the example Niebuhr gives is that the sun rises in the east, and sets in the west. This is something that is known that we often don't think critically about. 2. The authority of others Other people tell us a lot of the information that we know. Our mother or father tells us not to sit too close to the TV or it will hurt our eyes and we accept their authority on the matter. 3. Through experience Through trying things and failing or succeeding, we learn truths about life. For example, when you put off doing your chores and then cannot hang out with your friends later in the w