Theological (Philosophical?) 3 of 3..."The Greyscale"

Greyscales seem to not be born, but made. The natural tendency of humanity is to emerge into this world deeply founded in the world of absolutes or postmodernism. This new human then spends his life doing one of four things. 
 1.       Ignoring the idea of morality and refusing to engage in the problems of his race. 
 2.       Growing deeper and deeper in the conviction of their ideology. 
 3.       Growing deeper in his ideology until a critical moment passes that causes them to suddenly reverse their perception of morality. 
4.       Growing deeper in his ideology until the recognition that neither his ideology nor the opposite can fully explain the breadth of Good and Evil and that a suitable compromise is needed.

Those that come to realization number four find themselves living the life of the Greyscale.

The Greyscale is an interesting creature that tends to confuse both the Black/Whites and the Greys. Without being hypocritical, the Greyscale has the capacity to simultaneously agree with and refute both sides simultaneously. Although this seems like the defining trait of any so-so politician, in reality, it is a trait that appears to be fairly rare.

The Greyscale looks at morality in terms of both the absolute and the unknowable. To the Greyscale, Good and Evil are facts of life and absolute truth is undeniable, but at the same time he recognizes that most of life exists on a morality continuum that allows for morally neutral to exist. In addition, the Greyscale allows himself to make decisions based on concepts of common good or utilitarianism without ignoring critical tenants of faith. The ability of the Greyscale to combine absolutes with situational morality provides a very wide base with which to support this ideology.

Black/Whites cry foul at this ideology, distraught at the idea of a world where absolute truth doesn’t answer every question.  Greys find themselves equally offended at the proposed existence of absolutes, fearful that their existence lends to the possibility that they could be imposed on others. However, these groups fail to recognize that they are the ones that birthed the Greyscale. Due to their inability to address the issue of the innate moral law felt by most people breathing or the problem of the contradictions easily perceived in the world of absolutes, the Black/White and Greys find themselves pushing their own into the middle ground of the Greyscale.

Within this ideology, the Greyscale is able to reconcile his faith with the problem that is Evil. Belief in God is possible in a fallen world. I’ve found myself believing more and more strongly in the Greyscale perspective. Growing up, I was painfully familiar with the Black/Whites of the world, and as a result of this experience, very nearly snapped myself over to a solid Grey. The Black/Whites have a powerful tendency to scar those that approach too closely, but the Greys have the nagging capacity for apathy that fails to answer many of existence’s crucial questions.

In this middle ground, a Jesus who scathes the hypocritical religious types with burning sarcasm yet turns to the crying prostitute with immense compassion makes sense. A Jesus who destroys the Old Covenant system of “do nots” and precise ritual in favor of building a faith based on self-sacrificial love and the command to care for our neighbors becomes a Savior worth following. It is in this worldview that love, hope, and truth are set as absolute good and suffering, oppression, and pain are true evil. It is also this worldview that allows life more morally confusing topics to find their place in the in-betweens. Our challenge as humanity is to recognize our position on this continuum and find the place where Truth exists as well as our response to its presence.