| Spiritual Topic |
Standard Explanation via Jesus the Christ’s Ministry |
An Other Spirituality Version (No Gloss, or Sugar-coating Christ) |
| Major Biblical Quotations
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| “...Ask, and it shall be given you...” | “...Seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” God wants people to be assertive, as well as prosperous. |
There’s a slight issue here, although Christianity has a tendency to create “turn the other cheek” sheep, and this quote, Luke ll:9, addresses this to some degree. |
| “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” | Anyone who has never sinned, should cast the first stone condemning a sinner. This is where Jesus, with his divine grace, saves an adulterous woman from a mob. |
Twice in the linked Biblical passage, Christ bends over and writes in the sand. Who writes on the ground to compose their thinking? Who would channel God in such a manner? God is found in the sand? Did Christ do this for dramatic effect? Jesus was a bit of a showman? (A side note: if Jesus was actually without sin, he should have thrown the first stone.) |
| “To every thing there is a season... A time to be born, and a time to die... A time to kill, and a time to heal...” | From those words in Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3, comes the lyrics for the Sixties anthem by the Byrds, Turn, turn, turn. The verses demonstrate that for every hatred shown by a few leaders, it is recompensed by the kindness of millions of other men and women. There are cycles to hostilities. |
The only qualm one might have with this Bible passage is the necessity for cycles, or seasons of hatred, that somehow murder on a national scale, or war, can be justified. With today’s advanced channels for dialog, and the wisdom of millennia, Mankind will learn enough to know that killing is only unbridled nihilism, that is, pure destruction, and that it helps no one. |
| The Power of Faith |
Psalms, Chapter 23: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want ... I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me ...” This may be fine until you realize that you’re handing over your fate to the ether. Isn’t faith stronger when placed with yourself in concert with all Creation, the people surrounding you? |
As soon as you hand over your free will to the ether, you could lose control over your fate. Instead, join with all Creation, with the rest of humanity, and with the benevolence evident in Creation’s aggregate bonhomie, or goodwill. Don’t keep with what is above; but dwell on resouces beside us. |
| Corinthians, Chapter 13 | “...And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity...” The first two concern your needs. The last, charity, concerns your kindness to the rest of this Earth at large, and how, or if, those needs are met. |
Charity is for others, faith and hope are for ourselves.
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| Eye for an eye versus turn the other cheek. |
An eye for an eye suggests passivity towards aggression, which might work when it shows how hateful an aggressor actually is. If someone wants an argument, and has a chip on their shoulder, it might be best to do nothing, to show the agressor how out of line he is from a peaceful norm. |
Turning the other check may be impracticle in some situations. For instance, if someone constantly bullies you, and you continually turn the other cheek, you’ll continue to be bullied. |
| Rejecting Materialism |
Priests take oaths of poverty, renounce creature comforts, and live with very little luxury. Because it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle... |
We have all the material resources to make almost every last person on Earth happy and healthy, but our distribution system is plagued by greed. Someday we will coordinate the logistics of manufacture and distribution with the goal of satisfying World demand. World economics demands that everyone deserves anything they get, including absolute necessities. Either we make food, goods, medicine, and adequate housing, available to everyone, or we perpetuate suffering to perpetuity. |
| Reciprocity when Judging Adversaries |
“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven...” |
When you pump up your ego by knocking someone else, you lose a degree of your innocence — you become complicit in unwholesome spirituality. When you hate, you are denying yourself peace. Giving love fills our hearts with joy; denying others love, denies that same feeling to ourselves. |
| Forgiveness | Forgive them, they know not what they do. |
They should have known better, yet so far you’ve been paying for their ignorance. One day there may be the possibility that they will finally see the light. Until then, we can try to let it go or forget their trespass. |
| ...Love one another... |
Christ’s main message for his flock, repeated thirteen times in the New Testament, was “Love one another.” This might be rewritten as: “Love those who deserve your love.” Today’s Christianity puts plenty of qualifiations on that love. The Vatican contends that gay people are not following the teachings of their Messiah. Christians often hold the conviction, even backed by their ancient, hate-reinforcing document, the Bible, that gays and lesbians are fundamentally flawed. |
Love is love, it is not within one’s powers to decide whom they find attractive. What gives one group of people the right to decide who others can love? |
| Dangling a hook to maintain Church attendance, or Heaven is a wonderful prize |
“Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Follow the path of Jesus, and you will live forever, so says John 3:16. |
Is Christ offering the reward of a hereafter for living a spiritual life, or because it serves as a lure to stay a Christian involved in his church? This particular quote is difficult to some (like me), because it implies that going to heaven, is contingent on being a church-goer. |
