If I may make a serious statement about religion, I would like at least to make the point that in earliest Christianity the notion that we are in charge of making the world, through wars, etc was stood on its head by the notion that humility was the greatest of virtues, and that our highest priority is to care for "the least of these." A…
If I may make a serious statement about religion, I would like at least to make the point that in earliest Christianity the notion that we are in charge of making the world, through wars, etc was stood on its head by the notion that humility was the greatest of virtues, and that our highest priority is to care for "the least of these." Also that suffering and sacrifice can themselves be part and parcel of redemption and even an inexplicable joy. Whatever has been made of that in various forms since, that stands as the basic teaching of its ancient roots. And that is more akin to Walter's "let's just step back a bit" than one might at first understand
There seem to be many contradictions within Christianity and, I think, that has mitigated extremes. On an individual basis, it seems to me that in the past - because of our roots in Christianity (?) - we have accepted ourselves as imperfect. Today, we say we are imperfect, but don't actually believe it. When I watch movies from the 50s and even into the 00s, there are strong relationships between people that wouldn't get within a mile of each other in today's culture.
And, not in a moral way but in an manner that accepts imperfections and even contradiction, perhaps our drifting away from Christianity is the cause of our cultural disintegration.
Buffalo Springfield said it perfectly in "For What It's Worth": "nobody's right if everybody's wrong" and "singing songs and carrying signs, mostly say hooray for our side".
If I may make a serious statement about religion, I would like at least to make the point that in earliest Christianity the notion that we are in charge of making the world, through wars, etc was stood on its head by the notion that humility was the greatest of virtues, and that our highest priority is to care for "the least of these." Also that suffering and sacrifice can themselves be part and parcel of redemption and even an inexplicable joy. Whatever has been made of that in various forms since, that stands as the basic teaching of its ancient roots. And that is more akin to Walter's "let's just step back a bit" than one might at first understand
There seem to be many contradictions within Christianity and, I think, that has mitigated extremes. On an individual basis, it seems to me that in the past - because of our roots in Christianity (?) - we have accepted ourselves as imperfect. Today, we say we are imperfect, but don't actually believe it. When I watch movies from the 50s and even into the 00s, there are strong relationships between people that wouldn't get within a mile of each other in today's culture.
And, not in a moral way but in an manner that accepts imperfections and even contradiction, perhaps our drifting away from Christianity is the cause of our cultural disintegration.
Buffalo Springfield said it perfectly in "For What It's Worth": "nobody's right if everybody's wrong" and "singing songs and carrying signs, mostly say hooray for our side".
Great song!!
Some might say the battle is between worship and idolatry