Banky For President

Howdy! I’m back.  Let’s get back to work, shall we?

Open Source Spirituality is a collaboration of ideas that  educates “seekers”  by giving them a process for seeking truth.  It is a way of looking at the world with a critical eye,  but the process is only as strong as the contributions made by other seekers.   People should know how to question long-held beliefs because only then will those beliefs be truly worth believing.  The most precious metals in the world are made into very beautiful things but only after they are forged in hot fire.

Let the hot fire of ideas govern your beliefs.

Before we begin, understand one thing.  I’m not trying to convince you, in this post at least, that “god” doesn’t exist.  You can figure that out for yourself.  This is merely a process you can use to apply before you accept something as a belief.

Off we go:

2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)

“God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power”

Assuming we are reading or hearing this passage for the very first time we can use our previously defined process to put to the test whether or not it should become a belief.

First off, we recognize that everything should be questioned before we deem something worthy to become a belief.  Its not good enough to accept as truth something someone says or has written.  We must recognize that we are smart people and if common sense is a gift from “god,” like compassion or intelligence, then we must apply common sense where it is warranted.  And because beliefs define us to the core of our being, there should be an element of common sense applied.

Secondly, to do that, the purported belief should make sense to you.  If you derive from the passage in Thessalonians that God will reward his followers and punish the non-followers, and you decide to hold that as a belief, it should be because it makes sense to you at some level.

Thirdly, does this belief reflect the best qualities humanity has to offer?  How do you deal with people who feel differently than you?  Do you tolerate those who feel differently?  Is it right or just to punish those who feel differently than you?    Shouldn’t the ultimate authority we refer to as “god” reflect the best qualities in us?  Aren’t they gifts from “god” as well?

Fourthly, if this purported belief doesn’t reflect how you think a challenge should be met, you should reject it as a belief.  Ask yourself what kind of person behaves in such a fashion as to punishing those who feel differently:  Stalin, Saddam Hussein, Hitler?  Is that reflective of your image of “god?”  Does this sound “just” to you?

Lastly, we understand that though we are wise, we don’t know everything.  Is there anything else we can derive from this lesson?  is there something we missed in the initial summation? The beauty of seeking is that you can continue to apply this process ad infinitum until you have the truth you seek.

Thoughts?

In spite of what is commonly thought, I argue that people really like to talk about religion.  It’s the listening part people have a problem with.  As such, two-way conversations are rarely possible, because it involves more “common understanding” and less “preaching.”  Conversations allows for your thinking to be challenged, and if there is one part of our lives we typically don’t want challenged, it would be our religious beliefs.

Prepare to be challenged.

I don’t believe in God, but I don’t cede a spiritual life to those that do.  Walking a spiritual path is a priority for me, and as such, I’ve arrived at some answers I am going to share with you.  It’s very possible I have some of the answers wrong, and as such, I’d like to hear why.  You see, it’s not important that I’m right.  It’s more important to get it right or at the very least, get closer to the “truth,” whatever that may be.

So, like Beck, let’s break it down:

1. You should question everyone and everything before you call it a belief.

The buddhists have a saying, “If you see the Buddha on the side of the road, kill him” which is meant to suggest no one can tell you what to believe.  You have to figure it out for yourself.   If something doesn’t make sense, you should question it and preferably question him/her.  If their ultimate response is that the answer can be found in a holy book or God told them, how is that good enough for you to base a belief on?   The Gospel of John tells the story of Doubting Thomas as a way to illustrate it is bad to question God.  If God is all great and powerful, can’t he/she/it withstand a question from one of his followers? But, Banky, that’s what faith is all about! Hold onto that thought.

2. You should be able to validate for yourself whatever is claimed.

You should not HAVE to take someone’s word that something is true.  For whatever is claimed, you should be given the right to “try it on” and determine for yourself whether it makes sense.  For instance, if someone told you “21 + 21 = 57,” you should be able to validate whether or not this is true.  In other words, if you have a spiritual belief, it should be grounded in some reality you can relate to.  If it doesn’t, you are free to ask questions until satisfied with whether or not a solution can be offered, rejected, or tabled later for further thinking.  Which leads us to:

3. Whatever is spirtual should be reflective of the best that humanity has to offer.

Think of those you admire.  What qualities do they possess?  Do they generally seem happy?  What is it about them that make them appear happy? What characteristics do they exhibit?  Do they exhibit:

• Jealousy
• Insecurity
• Anger
• Hatred
• Greed
• Insensitivity

We’re all human, but in general, these aren’t characteristics of healthy, happy people.  If God exhibits these qualities and, in fact, these qualities are celebrated in a particular religion, a red flag should go off in your head.

4. If your answer doesn’t reflect a positive answer to any of the above, you should probably reject the belief and continue seeking.

At this point, something smells rotten to you. Don’t ignore that smell.  If the thought stinks, it can affect your other thoughts.  Let go of your “stinkin thinkin” and seek for a better smelling answer.

5. You don’t know everything. Repeat the process if necessary.

There are things in life you will never understand.  Part of being enlightened is knowing you aren’t.  Trust your instincts though.  Have the confidence that you can make these decisions.  Let go and move on.

Next, Part II: The process in action and I’ll address “faith.”

There are two conversations I love to have with people, one on politics and the other on religion.  There’s something to be said for those uncomfortable moments in life where you’re not quite sure if you’re going to tear someone’s head off for feeling differently or give someone a hug because you’ve found common ground. 

Spirituality is my focus today, inspired by a Catholic believer by the name of Logtar.  He posts about his search for truth and how he has landed in Catholicism, a religion he grew up believing.  Not surprisingly, religion is intricately tied to where you live.  For instance, if you grew up in America, it’s quite likely you were baptised Christian.  In India, it’s quite likely that you are Hindu, Thailand, a Buddhist, and so on.  So one can surmise that our search for truth is typically one of convenience or comfort.  And one can further surmise that our search for truth is dependent upon what our parents told us.

I have come to understand that our times of greatest clarity and understanding comes right after we’ve been challenged.  If sprituality is the fire of our lives, than those uncomfortable challenging moments are the gasoline.  And rather than avoid those moments and take comfort in just what we know, why not dive head first into the unknown, all the while knowing that you will emerge different and more evolved on the other side?

Being an Athiest, a Catholic, Presbyterian or Hindu is not the pinnacle of enlightenment. It is merely a stepping stone to the truth that is inevitably out there waiting to be discovered. And isn’t discovery exciting?  It’s the same reason we stay to the end of a movie when we know the ending ahead of time (Titanic anyone?).  It’s discovering “how” it ends that makes all the difference.

Life is more than a movie (even Star Wars, peeps).  And its exponentially more exciting discovering the answers for yourself, especially when you contribute to the end of the story with each passing day.