@kellyjay saidWalking a spiritual path, to me, is NOT about:
The thing is if Jesus is who scriptures say He is, He is the only Spiritual path to God that is accepted by God. That would mean our choices are not so much who has the most popular belief, the most well respected, the one that pushes us to perform to the highest standards, instead who accepts God's gift that we cannot earn. That also dispels who is the most moral, the least sinful, and so on, since none of us are good enough.
Thank you for your kind words still.
* competing with other belief systems
* gaining the approval or respect of other people (or avoiding disrespect or disapproval)
* having a false sense of being "better" than other people or beliefs
What it IS about is finding a way of making sense of where I am, where I am going, and what I am here to do on this earth while I am here. It is also about helping me be my best self more often.
@kellyjay said...the one that pushes us to perform to the highest standards, instead who accepts God's gift that we cannot earn. That also dispels who is the most moral, the least sinful, and so on, since none of us are good enough.
The thing is if Jesus is who scriptures say He is, He is the only Spiritual path to God that is accepted by God. That would mean our choices are not so much who has the most popular belief, the most well respected, the one that pushes us to perform to the highest standards, instead who accepts God's gift that we cannot earn. That also dispels who is the most moral, the least sinful, and so on, since none of us are good enough.
Thank you for your kind words still.
Doesn't your spiritual path - i.e your God figure - push you to perform to the highest standards, to be as morally sound as you can, and to be as least "sinful" as you can? To suggest that those aspirations and obligations are dispelled by the fact you say "none of us is good enough" sounds distinctly like a cop-out.
@bigdoggproblem saidDo you think that whatever path we choose matters, that it matters in any way that is beyond our own likes and dislikes?
Walking a spiritual path, to me, is NOT about:
* competing with other belief systems
* gaining the approval or respect of other people (or avoiding disrespect or disapproval)
* having a false sense of being "better" than other people or beliefs
What it IS about is finding a way of making sense of where I am, where I am going, and what I am here to do on this earth while I am here. It is also about helping me be my best self more often.
@bigdoggproblem saidI just wanted to be clear and not put words into your mouth. You are the only judge of your own path?
You should already know the answer to that from what I wrote.
@kellyjay saidTo say "I am the only judge" is to say that there is no other wisdom other people can offer; I do not say that.
I just wanted to be clear and not put words into your mouth. You are the only judge of your own path?
Instead I would say "I am the ultimate selector". I examine various philosophies; I take on board what I can use, and leave the rest.
I do appreciate people that I trust bringing things to my attention; sometimes, I'm not acting quite the way I should, and I might not see it on my own.
@bigdoggproblem saidI am not sure that there is a difference in your distinction since it still boils down just you.
To say "I am the only judge" is to say that there is no other wisdom other people can offer; I do not say that.
Instead I would say "I am the ultimate selector". I examine various philosophies; I take on board what I can use, and leave the rest.
I do appreciate people that I trust bringing things to my attention; sometimes, I'm not acting quite the way I should, and I might not see it on my own.
@kellyjay saidI am not the only one who judges my "path". My children do too. So does my wife. And her family. There's my family too although they are far away. Then there are my closest friends.
You are the only judge of your own path?
And then other less close but still important and influential [and influenced] friends. There are my neighbours and other people in my community. There are my work colleagues and clients and people I employ [or outsource to]. There are people who rely upon me and others I rely on.
On a broader scale, there is the society and culture I live in, with its values and norms and laws.
The people mentioned earlier on this list are undoubtedly relatively more important.
I use my moral compass to navigate my actions and interactions with all these people, just as you use your moral compass to judge yourself, judge others, and react to being judged.
I am certainly not the only one who judges my "path". Far from it.
@kellyjay saidThe nature and exercise of your moral compass, regardless of what has shaped it - your religious beliefs, for example - "boils down" to you, too. It's the same for all of us, regardless of whether or not we subscribe to this ideology or that ideology.
I am not sure that there is a difference in your distinction since it still boils down just you.
@kellyjay saidWhat FMF said.
I am not sure that there is a difference in your distinction since it still boils down just you.
Everyone's path "boils down [to them]". Some recognize this; others don't. Some know it in the back of their head, but don't like to be reminded of it.
@bigdoggproblem saidTrue, but it remains we are making choices and if we are ultimately the only one that matters in this, who cares what is liked or disliked? Where it would matter is if, in the end, we give an account to someone else. We are alone or not.
What FMF said.
Everyone's path "boils down [to them]". Some recognize this; others don't. Some know it in the back of their head, but don't like to be reminded of it.
@kellyjay saidIf you have difficulty acting as a moral agent without relying heavily on religious narratives and doctrines, and if you feel you will somehow "give an account to someone else" ~ where "someone else", for you, is a supernatural being, and the time you "give an account" is after you die ~ then I welcome it if it means you treat others in a morally sound way. But you cannot everybody to buy into this "supernatural being" and "after you die" speculation when they apply their moral compasses. Different strokes for different folks.
True, but it remains we are making choices and if we are ultimately the only one that matters in this, who cares what is liked or disliked? Where it would matter is if, in the end, we give an account to someone else. We are alone or not.