Just a Few Not So Random Thoughts
The Naked Pastor posted these random thoughts the other day…
1. People don’t change their minds. Only rarely. Transformation is not a desirable option to our brains. It seems to require trauma, the threat of imminent death, to provoke real change of mind and bring about true transformation. Is it possible to enter death and be transformed while we are alive?
2. The greatest enemy of community is fantasy… visionary and wishful thinking. The lack of gratitude for what is, the unwillingness to appreciate what is, or the disdain for what is, erodes the fabric of community. Can we love unconditionally without coercion?
3. Our gross naiveté about the principalities and powers and their persistent desire and ability to enslave groups and individuals perpetuates the abuses institutions, including the church, are notorious for. Can all people be free?
4. Avoid naysayers as well as yes-men. You can always find complainers to agree with you. You can always find encouragers to agree with you. Can we find the courage to form our own minds independently, wisely, and compassionately?
I thought, hey… I like him. He’s is talking about deconversion in #1, because that’s what it was like for me to step away from faith. Constant bombardment with strange teachings in the Baptist church forced me to reevaluate the world we live in.
THEN, in #2 he nails it with typical religious thinking about the fantasy of a higher power vs. just appreciating this temporal gift of life on Earth, not just mine, but the whole human experience. We just got here (relatively speaking), and the Earth will be here long after we have faded to extinction. I already love unconditionally without coercion and don’t know how else you could.
#3… tell me about it.
And, regarding #4, don’t “seek approval” for your point of view. Establish it intellectually, with reason, and knowledge of the world and your fellow man. You don’t need other people to tell you what you should believe.
Holy crap, this dude’s batting 1000 in my book so far… but then came #5:
5. Listen to what the atheists are saying about the unprovability of God; discern the Christ-Principle in all things; have compassion for all beings. Is it possible to see all things as being reconciled?
Wha?! I rarely discuss the “unprovability of god”, but since you brought it up, what exactly is the evidence for God? If you look at the sum total of the things the Christian God gets credit for in the Bible, why would you WANT to believe in him? He wasn’t a good or just god. Jesus tried to correct all that, but please… look at the “miracles” he performed. His teachings were in line with to Mohammad, Confucius, Buddha, Plato, etc. (borrowed, ex post facto, by reasonable men writing down “history” many years later). Other than these writings, what evidence is there for god? For everyone good work, “divine” occurrence, or saved soul you can conjure, I can cite a dozen horrific, sad, disgusting things about the world that a good and just god would not allow… even a passive creator (with any “heart”) would not have created such a chaotic place.
Also, how would I find the “Christ-Principles in all things”?” As I understand it, the Principles of Christ are roughly, first, Faith in the Jesus Christ; second, Repentance… it really doesn’t matter after that because I get hung up on the FIRST one. I have faith that the human race has been duped for several millenia, for sure. With regard to “sin”, seriously, Catholics (et al), get a grip and just be good people… forget about all the EXTRA rules and regulations that the church has piled on. It’s not a “sin” to eat meat… ever. Weird.
How about we all just skip ahead to “have compassion for all beings”? I can get on board with that… why make it sound like I need belief as a crutch. See “The Golden Rule“.
The last sentence is stupid… no, we can’t reconcile all things, particularly mystical belief with intellectual reason. They are incompatible. Even less likely, reconcile your Christian mythology with a Islamic stranger an ocean away. Good luck.
However, abandon your fantastical beliefs, and then living with your fellow man, particularly the ones not like you, becomes much easier. I guess his thoughts were pretty random after all.
And the people replied…