hether that feeling take the form of the unutterable anguish of modern life or of the experience of grace. Indeed, a full and, as it were, wise understanding of religious differences must involve serious encounter, as well as evaluation and explanation.
In that regard, the utility of this study may be inferred from what the Gestalt psychologist Frederick Perls says about the benefits of psychotherapy: "[We] simply consider the organism as a system that is in balance and that has to function properly. . . . And I believe that this is the great thing to understand: that awareness per se--by and of itself--can be curative" (Perls 17; emphasis in original). By the same token, awareness of denominational difference and sameness, as well as the spirit in which denominational outreach is achieved, can serve as both a lesson in spiritual tolerance and--at least for those who desire and long to remain in the faith--a caution against spiritual laziness.
Spiritual and ritual tolerance can be attributed to Methodism as a matter of doctrine, although doctrinal rig
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