One upmanship

I was reading my email this morning, most of it is from a dog list of which I am a member. Every now and then, there is a discussion about other breeders and their practices. Statements condemning the practices of some breeders usually force people who own dogs from those breeders to feel as if their dogs are substandard. It is kind of sad when an owner is excited about the quality and tempremant of their pup and someone rains on their show with such accusations against the breeder.

I can understand where some of those who are quick to condemn are coming from. They deeply love the breed that their dogs represent and wish to keep the temperament and beauty that is standard in that breed for years and years to come. The problem is, many "good" breeders have used the same lines to breed their dogs for so long that the animals actually become inbred. Long dormant recessive genesare waiting to be stirred up suddenly become dominant. This inbreeding causes the to animals suffer from the very genetic and temperametal disorders that the breeders have been trying to avoid. Unkknowingly, while trying to make the perfect perfect breed, these well meaning people have cut the gene pool down to a small one with the very same problems they were once trying to avoid.

There is a dilemma here of course. A poodle is definitely a distinctive animal. Their curly hair, square body, long legs, deep chest, pointed snout and long ears make them distinctly poodles. Breeding too far from the breed standard will definitely begin to make dogs that are no longer poodles. So while there may be reasons to allow more open breeding within poodle lines, going too far away from the standard will produce an animal that in essence becomes something other than a poodle.

The same kind of thing happens with people of faith. While discussing faith, people with certain theologies will condemn others with different beliefs making them feel substandard in their own faith. Even as these people have good intentions about keeping faith pure, they end up insisting on certain practices concerning their faith that become a stumbling block for those who are trying to be faithful. In doing so, the very faith they are trying to protect becomes corrupt rather than life giving.

Here too there is a dilemma. Christian faith is defined by some very common beliefs...things like an understanding of the mystery of the Trinity, the incarnation of Jesus, the obedience of Christ even to death, the resurrection of Christ and his ascension into heaven, the proclamation of this God given gift given with the hope that all of creation might one day be made right with God. When we wander too far off the beaten track with our theology, we end up with something that becomes less than Christian.

I sometimes wonder what the implication of "going too far" is for either of these scenarios. Allowing the breeding of a diverse number of poodles will end up with a breed that is very diverse but in the end will end up with a breed whose only commonality is that they are dogs. Accepting and welcoming views other than traditional faith will end up with people of faith whose theology is so diverse that the only thing left in common at all is that they are people.

Good thing? Bad thing? I suppose some would disagree on the answer to this quesiton. For me, I enjoy the individuality of the poodle and do not want to see it stray so far from the poodle line that it will no longer be recognized as a poodle.

As for faith, the basic tenets of Christian faith seem to make the most sense to me as the story of God and God's people has unfolded throughout time. In a world that is empowered by the sin of self and selfishnessm reliance on our own capabilities seems to be what feeds this selfish tenedency. Instead, we need a people set apart who trust in the hope of God's salvation. They are not here to condemn others, but to do God's work, proclaiming the gift of God's son so that all might be reconciled to God. It is these people who are called to selflessly serve God's creation in love. I don't want to see our faith stray so far from the Christian beliefs that it will no longer be recognized as Christian but neither do I want it to be so narrow that millions of people will never be able to relate to the gift of God's perfect love.