Sharing my response to a lost but seeking soul on another site who views religion as slavery. Absolutely, religion can be, is, a slave-master. I detest religion, but I affirm the personage and teachings of Jesus, which were then, and are now, radical and revolutionary and transformative, but only if applied, and the problem is very few every apply them. If religion is slavery, and it is, Jesus is freedom because He, His teachings, set(s) people free---from a host of things, but, at base, Jesus and other teachers, Buddha for example or Eckhardt Tolle, urge us to relinquish/conquer/banish/diminish/surrender/abnegate Ego/Self. When that happens, one is free indeed---of the Ego/Self, the little tyrant voice in our head always telling us more, more, more, when, in reality, things (nor fame, either, been there, done that, well more infamy than fame) satisfy or bring happiness. This is the core of Jesus teachings, and while I, a fallible and flawed human being, fall far short of the goal of living up to His teachings, I must remind myself that nobody can. Nobody is perfect. We all fail; we all do things of which we are ashamed and feel great guilt. Thats where grace comes in, but that is a discussion for another time. No idealistic thought system, such as Jesus taught and (for that matter) Marxism, is gonna prevail over human greed, gluttony, materialism, and self-centeredness. In fact, Christianity and Marxism are doomed to fail precisely because of their idealism and because they call on humankind to put aside Self/Ego and act totally contrary to base (and basic) human nature. Human beings are greedy, selfish, self-centered, which is why capitalism works. The grease that makes the capitalistic system go round: greedy self-interest. Yet, paradoxically, when capitalism appears to prevail, it fails because in their heart of hearts humans know that things dont satisfy or bring happiness (better than not having things, though!). Only relinquishment, dethroning, crucifying (the Christian term) Deified Ego/Self (YES! Most peoples god is nothing more nor less than themselves!) can bring happiness. With relinquishment comes peace. And joy. Happiness. Hope. Unconditional love. May you find peace and grace, and all that flows from utter surrender, and may they find you. I suspect that in time they will. Be blessed! Thanks for your very spot on comment!
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 01:52:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015