complicit?

The Germans, the Japanese and others from time to time have had
to acknowledge that their ancestors were wrong about some things.
Many Americans have acknowledged the sin of slavery; but if they
had persisted in old errors they would have been complicit in the
sins of their fathers. Many people have had to reject the ideas
of their parents. St.Paul recognized when he came to Christ that
he had been wrong; and no one had ever been more convinced of the
rightness of his position. There is a serious difference between
being dogmatic and believing certain dogmas. Rome insisted on its
views and then the Reformers were just as adamant regarding theirs.
And the Germans during the war had belt buckles that read, "Gott mit
uns"- God is on our side! Rheinhold Niebuhr, in his "The Nature And
Destiny Of Man", vols.I&II, stresses the paradoxes of man's attempt
to find infallibility in his understanding and interpretations of
history and reality. Interestingly he relates "original sin" to this
tendency. It is this refusal to admit finiteness and limitedness in
our knowledge that is at the root of so much personal and historical
turmoil and suffering. Then of course, God does not automatically
step in and correct our bad theology. Oliver Cromwell, in a time when
England was facing impending destruction from "conflicting religious
absolutes", said, "By the bowels of Christ, remember that you may be
mistaken". p.239 Niebuhr. We have a moral responsibility to deal with
the possible errors of our ancestors. The results of their mistakes
have sometimes been terrible! I have already indicated some. It is not
wrong to believe something. But it is wrong never to question your
beliefs; and especially so when the results of those beliefs may have
caused harm to anyone. God holds us responsible for our indifference;
presumption is not a very Christ-like attitude. Worse, it may well be
demonic. Don't be afraid to keep an open mind.