I've had my own nose rubbed in my own judgments enough times that maybe I'm beginning to get it.
We are growing, but this is a dark and painful time.
Mr. Hicks? He's the quintessential religious extremist! Mr. Hicks claims to be against all religions but he makes an exception for his own. He's a front-seat-card-carrying-evangelizing subscriber to humankind's oldest religion: Judgment. (Exclusivity. Superiority.)
You can find a streak of judgment in every religion, even the "nonjudgmental" ones. For some religions, the judgment remains quite primitive and physical. In others, the judgment comes out as lofty, self-righteous pronouncements, or passive-aggressive actions and statements. In all religions as in all people, there's that streak of judgment. In Mr. Hicks' religion, it's the main theme.
Judgment. That really got a hold on him.
Maybe God used Mr. Hicks, like God used Judas, to make a point. There's a religious interpretation for you! You can't kill Jesus. You can't kill love.
We are slowly growing up. We are beginning to see that others can be different from us without threatening our precious identity (which changes with every generation anyway, but still we have to protect it, it's all so logical). We are learning that our hate becomes us, and we are learning that it is also true that our love becomes us.
What do I know? Not much. It's just that I've had my own nose rubbed in my own judgments enough times that maybe, just maybe, I'm beginning to get it. You can't fight judgment with judgment. You can't fight hatred with hatred. When we do that, we're just stirring the pot, going around in circles, driving ourselves crazy. The only way to "fight" the seeds of violence is with love.
I'm learning, and for that-thank you, thank you, thank you, God.
Mr. Hicks? He's the quintessential religious extremist! Mr. Hicks claims to be against all religions but he makes an exception for his own. He's a front-seat-card-carrying-evangelizing subscriber to humankind's oldest religion: Judgment. (Exclusivity. Superiority.)
You can find a streak of judgment in every religion, even the "nonjudgmental" ones. For some religions, the judgment remains quite primitive and physical. In others, the judgment comes out as lofty, self-righteous pronouncements, or passive-aggressive actions and statements. In all religions as in all people, there's that streak of judgment. In Mr. Hicks' religion, it's the main theme.
Judgment. That really got a hold on him.
Maybe God used Mr. Hicks, like God used Judas, to make a point. There's a religious interpretation for you! You can't kill Jesus. You can't kill love.
We are slowly growing up. We are beginning to see that others can be different from us without threatening our precious identity (which changes with every generation anyway, but still we have to protect it, it's all so logical). We are learning that our hate becomes us, and we are learning that it is also true that our love becomes us.
What do I know? Not much. It's just that I've had my own nose rubbed in my own judgments enough times that maybe, just maybe, I'm beginning to get it. You can't fight judgment with judgment. You can't fight hatred with hatred. When we do that, we're just stirring the pot, going around in circles, driving ourselves crazy. The only way to "fight" the seeds of violence is with love.
I'm learning, and for that-thank you, thank you, thank you, God.