Embedded Thinking

"Freedom is a life lived outside the straight jacket of fear and anxiety that controls most of us."  That quote is from Saving Jesus From the Church, by Robin Meyers. I bought the book because I liked the title. I also like the idea that we've trapped Jesus in our institutional and embedded thinking. The author's theology proved too liberal for me. However, one of my reading practices is to read some authors with whom I think I may disagree. I want to know how they think and explain their ideas. Too often we only give attention to those with whom we know we will agree. This is called "embedded thinking." It is the thinking, ideas, beliefs, etc. with which we grew up and which are mentally and emotionally safe. Perhaps it is our fear and anxiety that causes us to become controlled and trapped by our embedded thinking; maybe, we've even tried to trap Jesus by our embedded thinking into whom we want Him to be and say. Embedded thinking wants Jesus to be "safe."