Humans are amazing and complicated and intelligently designed with some serious room for user error. It seems we are all critics and feel quite justified in our criticism of others because we are masters of manipulation --especially in creating justifications. It is convenient to have a Bible with so much left to interpretation… we all suddenly are at peace with our sweeping creative license.
I am typically unimpressed with anyone who uses the Bible to back up his or her argument of how another should live. We all know how to pick cherries. That’s not to say I think the Bible shouldn’t be revered or that I don’t believe in its power… I do. But I believe it is intended for personal use. Make it your rulebook and use it purposefully in how you are living your life.
I am skeptical of people, their motives and their agendas. This has nothing to do with God. Humans are fallible even in their pursuit of God, their use of religion and their treatment of their brothers and sisters in Christ. We all think we know how others should live. If you were suddenly put in charge of another’s life today, do you honestly think you could live it better? You couldn’t because we can only be ourselves. We are all intricately pieced to be unique.
In his essay on ethical egoism, I believe James Rachels explains it best:
▪ "Each of us is intimately familiar with our own individual wants and needs. Moreover, each of us is uniquely placed to pursue those wants and needs effectively. At the same time, we know the desires and needs of others only imperfectly, and we are not well situated to pursue them. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that if we set out to be 'our brother's keeper,' we would often bungle the job and end up doing more mischief than good."
▪ To pursue actively the interests of others is to be officious. We should mind our own business and allow others to mind theirs.
▪ To give charity to someone is to degrade him, implying as it does that he is reliant on such munificence and quite unable to look out for himself. "That," reckons Rachels, "is why the recipients of 'charity' are so often resentful rather than appreciative.”
At any given moment I am thinking about much. I’m thinking about my children. I’m thinking about food. I’m thinking about my loved ones, my friends, people I miss. I’m thinking about favorite moments. I’m thinking of comfort and discomfort. I’m thinking of ideas and plans to better myself and my life.
I am not thinking of how I could live your life better or what you should do to live your life better according to me or any chosen philosophy, religion or flight of whimsy I am currently subscribing to for my own life. If I were, there is much I should/could attend to that would be left neglected.
Agree 99 percent.
ReplyDeleteIf people took care of their own issues, we'd all be much better off.
(That Rachels quote, by the way, is a good summary of conservative political philosophy).
“Religious abstractions are the products of man’s mind, not of supernatural revelation” Rand said it best. I was encouraged by your flirtations with atheism in the beginning of this post, then cringed to see you step back into mysticism when you said you believed in the bible's “power”. Personally, I believe the bible is the ultimate how-to manual on the enslavement and manipulation of others (is that what you meant by power!?); but i havent read the quran yet. By invoking God says this or God created that, we demean and demoralize ourselves and others, and make this the ultimate trump card in explaining totally irrational, destructive behavior. Allah says believe or die, and since its God, we must obey. That’s bullshit today the same as it was bullshit when Christians did the EXACT SAME THING 500 years ago. We should put aside the bible like we did the Egyptian book of the dead, which detailed how to get to and live in the afterworld through rituals and mysticism; and Christians laugh at THAT.
ReplyDeleteOk, so I have to admit I am confused.. You say, "It is convenient to have a Bible with so much left to interpretation… we all suddenly are at peace with our sweeping creative license." and then follow it with your belief in the Bible being for personal use. wouldn't that be "Cherry Picking" 101? If everyone's life is their own and no one else could live it as you do (to which I agree somewhat) then the Bible being personal to each person would have to be interpretive to each individual~ which would then make God a liar~ After all, if my interpretation of the truth is valid for me but not for you then all rules would have to apply for all people, hence making everyone right~ and therefore wrong~ all of the time.
ReplyDeletePhilippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”
Dear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I apologize for any confusion you may have felt after reading my post. Please. allow me to take this opportunity to clear this up for you.
First of all, I am in no way implying that God is a liar. I write not to debate about the character of God or the truth in His word, I write to state my opinion about how people misuse God's revered word to backup their own criticisms and judgements of others with the Holy word of God as if they spoke it themselves. To me this reduces the verse to mere passive-aggressive name calling.
It is my opinion that God did not intend His word to be used as a book of insults. My belief is that the Bible is better served as a guide to personal growth and enlightenment. It is a perfect source for achieving a better way of life for yourself and to then reflect that outwardly to your fellow man... not by throwing around verse to make others feel convicted in their lives.
You actually illustrate this perfectly with the Bible verse you chose to end your comment with. Was this just a random verse you felt like sharing? Or, was this a way to make a point or state your opinion about me or my post without saying it outright in your own words?
Respectfully,
CW
The verse I chose wasn't to judge you~ it was to remind you that we all should think of others better than we do. We are all too quick to judge other people and the funny thing with is that we are really only hurting ourselves. Holding back our blessings and promises because we are holding onto the mud and muck of life. We assume that this one is badmouthing and judging us~ when in reality they don't give a shit about you or what you are doing. And we carry that hurt and anger around and the offending person has no clue that you are upset... Point in case. My brother was angry with me for 10 years~ hurt and angry about something he says I said when we were kids... I had no idea I had ever said it... Just in reading your post it could be assumed someone has said something that offends you. Quit being "offended". As Christians we need to quit taking offense to so many things without feeling like someone might get their feelings hurt. God knows with all of the political correctness in the world today we are overly sensitive to EVERYthing... The trees have feelings... whatever. Chances are that you are upset at what you perceived someone wrongly spoke or judged you about... Who cares? You don't know me yet you question whether or not I am judging you because I dare say you are the very thing in which you claim to stand against. The thing you need to remember is that if we all weren't human and never made mistakes, we really wouldn't need the Bible and all of its instructions anyway. In all seriousness how much of the Bible do you really read and apply to your life? And you don't need to answer to me~ because it isn't my place to know. I am responsible for me and what I am called in this life to do and be... but i do know I personally don't nearly as much as I need to or should. And for that matter maybe if all us were to read the instruction manual a little more often the clock on the VCR would work better... i.e. our lives. We wouldn't be the screwed up society we are~ scared, angry, unloved children starving all over the world, people killing each other~ hating each other and for what... to get their point across? Half the time when we look back on situations where we fought with someone or were angry with them we can't even remember why~ unless we are hanging onto it with dear life... and again, you have to wonder why? Why do we stay angry? Life is too short~ Just let go and Let God... Give that junk over to Him and leave the judgmental people to Him. Besides who are we to judge whether or not someone is misusing the Bible anyway?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: Do I need reminding? ... that is quite an assumption...
ReplyDelete