Hope in the Face of Terror?

 

One would pray for much hope in the face of worldwide terrorism, and we find it if we look.  The problem stems from the fact that we have to look for it when it should be slapping us in the face as soundly as the terrorism it would contradict.

"Hundreds of Norwegian Muslims have formed a human shield around a Synagogue in the country’s capital as a symbol of solidarity with the city’s Jewish community.

Over 1,000 Muslims chanted “No to anti-Semitism, no to Islamophobia” as they formed what they called a “ring of peace” around the Jewish place of worship."

Not many have heard this story from February of 2015.  Go to this link, Ring of Peace, and educate yourself.

I have had the distasteful pleasure of confronting two gentlemen of late, one I know quite well and the other a total stranger.  Both have an attitude toward Islam that the only good Muslim is a dead one.  I would like to hand each of them a machete and a five year old Muslim child.  I will stand there with a pistol and wait for them to strike, at which time I will shoot them, per their beliefs, for becoming what they fear most.  Would they understand why they, also, would have to be shot?  When do we cross the line from civilized, to being as bad, or worse, as what we fight against?

Iman Siddiqi is a second year political science major student at University of California, Irvine.  This is an excerpt from his article in the campus newspaper New University.  You can read the entire article at this link, and I do hope you will:  A message of Hope in the Face of Terror.

"Islam emphasizes the importance of human life. The Qur’an equates killing a single person to killing all of mankind. Muslim jurists throughout the world consider the violation of public safety to be a violation of God’s right (Haq Allah), which is a severe crime under Islamic principles of justice.

In September 2014, Muslim scholars from around the world gathered to publish a detailed open letter to ISIS leader Al-Baghdadi and his followers condemning the actions of the militant group and refuting the group’s entire ideology, with extensive citations from the Qur’an, the teachings of Prophet Muhammad and Islamic history. The letter did not receive mainstream media coverage, but can be downloaded in several languages online."

We are but human animals.  You can educate us, ordain us, steep us in peaceful religious faiths and spiritual philosophies, and still we find the capacity to destroy that which we build.  What other creature on this world has the capacity to feel lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride, and actually justify feeling them - all at the same time?  We can, and it is not something to brag about.  

So how do we bring ourselves to justify hatred against our fellow man?  Muhammad Asad wrote, Origins of Poisoning of the Western Mind Against Islam.  In his opening paragraph he asks, "When it comes to Islam – Western equanimity is almost invariably disturbed by an emotional bias. Is it perhaps, I sometimes wonder, because the values of Islam are close enough to those of the West to constitute a potential challenge to many Western concepts of spiritual and social life?"  

I don't think so.  But I do think his short discussion on the origins of this poisoning of our minds against Islam has some merit.  I have included the link, above, for those wishing to read his page long article.

Is there hope, for us, in the face of this terror?  Is there hope for Islam to rise with us against the enemy at our gates?  Each of us needs to reacquaint ourselves with morality.  Each of us needs to look deep into the eyes on the face of innocence and ask if we are truly capable of some heinous, bloody, act of insane violence against a small defenseless child.  Does our God, does Allah, really excuse these acts of violence against the innocence and beauty in the world our God created for us?  If, sadly, your answer is yes, we will probably meet you on a future field of battle.  

We have met the enemy, and it is us. 

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path." 

My Sunday Thought for November 29, 2015: Your Path

How do you a thing into one piece?

What is the Way?  Ordinary mind is the Way.  If you try to direct yourself toward it, you go away from it.  Thus it is with Zen, thus it is with life.

You must free your mind to let your body create.

This Sunday Thought is just that - a thought.  Like most thoughts I have, I need to consider it makes little sense to anyone but me.  I have been admonished by several readers for stating things too confusing for young people to understand.  Personally, I think if we hadn't "grown up" we'd be able to understand so much more.  Most of us, it seems, would certainly be happier.

I get messages from people talking about their struggle to find their particular path in life.  They seem amazed when I laugh and inform them they are searching for something they already have.  They want to find love, not realizing simply initiating the search was proof they already have.  They want to be happy, not knowing they already are.  They want to find God, not realizing God is already with them.  

The minute we took our first breath we were already placed upon our path.  With life we were endowed with all we would ever need to make the most of it.  We spend most of our time trying to find what we haven't lost, and not nearly enough time recognizing we already have it.  Our minds are filled with greed, ambition, jealousy, basically the seven deadly sins.  We need to free our minds to allow ourselves to create.  Consider the adage, "Only the blind man truly sees."  

Your path, the Way, is not something you can know or not know - it just is.  It is confusing for many to be told, the Way that can be described is not the eternal Way.  How do you describe the indescribable? 

  

What we see is only our perception of what we know, and what we know is so very insignificant to what is.  

Take a moment this weekend to empty your mind of all the elephant shit that clutters it, and consider the path you are on.  Empty your mind of all the greed, ambition, jealousy, and such.  For a moment in time, allow yourself to just be.  You might learn something.  You might not.  

It is what it is.

How do you cut a thing into one piece?  Consider a terrorist that would cut a child a five year old child in half for not renouncing her faith.  Who is stronger, the terrorist with the sword or the child's with her faith?  The terrorist knows how to cut something in two, yet is lost as to how to cut something into one.  Are we only that which we perceive, or are we more?

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."

Thanksgiving 2015: Share Your Appreciation Day

When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways - either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength. Thanks to the teachings of Buddha, I have been able to take this second way.

-- Dalai Lama

What are you thankful for?  Oh, let's get past the bullshit we know everyone wants to hear.  What are you, unselfishly and truly, thankful for? I'm thankful my family has their health.  I'm so thankful my kids and grandkids are healthy and doing well for themselves.  I'm thankful to still have my father to be an occasional 85 year old pain in my ass.  I know it's only because he loves me.  I'm thankful I still have my mom to worry over me, which she makes a point of doing at every turn, God bless her.  I am thankful my family has their health.  I am thankful I have been there when people have needed me, and I am thankful to have known my wife.

Selfishly, we tend to be thankful for our lifestyle, our loves, and the food on the table.  Our real thanks should go to those which make life worth living - those around us; family, friends, and those we don't yet know.  The checker at the supermarket, the guy dumping your trash, the bag lady standing on the corner or sleeping under the overpass, all of these add color to the canvas of our lives.  

We tend to focus on the pretty flowers, in God's painting, and ignore the background which give it meaning; the backstory that makes the subject pop out at us.  What is the point of interest in the photo, above?  Is it the beggar or the multitude too busy with their own selfishness to pay the poor more than a cursory glance?  Is it the drabness of the poor clothing and blanket in contrast to the surroundings and the reds and blues of the passerby, or is it the guilt we feel by just looking at it?  

Guilt is a strong emotion which, though denial, drives the selfishness in most of us.  We look at the poor that inhabit our streets and think to ourselves, "Not my circus, not my monkey," when we know full well it is our circus and we are the clowns running it.  These poor exist because we allow it, we nurture it, and then we ignore or ridicule it.  It is a sad cycle of sociological sado-masochism we cannot seem to break.

So, what am I thankful for, selfishly?  I'm thankful I'm not the beggar.  I'm thankful I was given an upbringing which instilled in me the strength to carry on in the face of adversity; the strength to carry on when all seems lost.  I'm thankful for loving friends that have helped me when I have fallen.  I am thankful for those that serve to keep us safe so we may continue to enjoy the fruits of our labor.  I am thankful for my God and my faith in something greater than myself.  

I am selfishly thankful to be allowed another chance, each morning, to excel at whatever task, or challenge, God throws my way.

Take this season to reflect on what you are truly thankful for, and then think about those that don't have a pot to piss in.  Think about those that own nothing of any value to be selfish about.  I have seen the poorest of the poor, on the street, take the offering of a stranger and share it with their lot; an act, the mere idea of which, for all we have, would escape many of us.  Maybe it is time we consider sharing half our sandwich.  Maybe it's time to squat down and take the beggar by the hand, look them in the eye and tell them you see them, they are not invisible to you; they do not disappear into the background of the life God painted for you.

This season just don't say thank you for your service to those that risk their all to keep us safe and secure.  And thank more than just our military members.  Thank also the police, the firemen, and all those first responders who risk their lives when called.  This season, learn to shake their hand and give them a hug.  God knows they deserve it, and they deserve to hear it before they die in service to us.

This season, if you are thankful for someone, let them know it by telling them and explaining why?  Your reason will mean so much more than just the thanks for a job well done, and you might learn more about yourself for the effort.

“We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move. 

We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want. 

We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable. 

We work with being,
but non-being is what we use.”

-- Lao Tzu

This season learn to recognize that, sometimes, it is what you don't have that makes life worth living.  Sometimes it is what we don't see that is our true blessing, what we don't hear that has the greatest meaning.  Sometimes, what we do with the empty space inside will make our lives, and the lives of those around us, worth living.  Maybe we should spend more time focusing on this empty space inside.

I wish for all of my readers, the happiest of the Thanksgiving season.  God bless all of us, and God bless these United States!

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."

My Sunday Thought for November 22, 2015: The Face of Heresy?

Murdering Sociopathic Terrorist: Abdelhamid Abaaoud

I was brought up by my father to call a spade a spade.  You can call the queen of hearts a spade if you want to, but everyone else around the table will think you're an idiot and take you to the cleaners.  This is pretty much what the heretical leadership of the Islamic State is banking on with the free world; we give them legitimacy, call them something kinder and gentler, and they dazzle our inept leadership with sleight of hand by having us looking over there when they are over here.  We have been "fighting" them since 9/11, and we're still calling the spade a heart.  Is this the face of Islamic heresy?  Or, is this is the face of the new Islam?

One would think, for all Muslims, worldwide, the mere fact that an insane, sociopathic, murdering heretic is holding the holy Qur'an for a photo op would be cause for Islam-wide condemnation.  Hell, just drawing an image of Muhammad causes Islam-wide outrage, but this?  Not so much.  I have to ask myself why.

I have known Muslims, I have a copy of the Qur'an, and I try to listen to as many Muslim terrorist naysayers as the media may allow, of which there are very few... in this country.  I am comfortable with the peaceful face of true Islam.  I am comfortable with my knowledge that Islam is not about the actions of these cowards which dare to call themselves men.  Islam is not about cutting five year old children in half, raping women, burning captives alive in cages, cutting of heads and murdering the innocent.  Islam in general, on the other hand, would seem to be very comfortable accepting this terrible new face that presents itself as their voice for the faithful, and I have to ask myself why.

Is this cowardice truly the new face of Islam?  This new face is one of a religion that, now, authorizes lying about their faith and murdering innocence, in order to forward a heretical agenda to destroy anything they find contrary to their beliefs for any particular day.  If they wake up on the wrong side of the bed one morning and decide all facial hair is an affront to Allah, half of their own faithful might die before faces can be shaved.  This is the insanity that now seems to rule the faith.  

To say they are fighting the western infidel is to discount the murder of their fellow Muslims who refuse to follow this new Caliphate, and maybe this is why we hear so little "peaceful" Muslim dissent.  Perhaps the dissenters are afraid of the cowardly hidden traitors to Islam which pray next to them in the mosque.  Perhaps the peaceful faithful of true Islam fear for their safety and that of their family.  After all, many have wives and daughters to be raped, and tender children to be sliced and diced, all in the name of Allah.  But, then, this is the new face of Islam, right?

I wonder how these terrorists would be able to justify their actions if Muhammad (pbuh) had actually stated that being a man is all about not raping, not murdering, not stealing and not lying.  You know, all those things Allah does not represent.

I will continue to speak out for Islam, even though I hear so little from "peaceful" Islam, about these actions of a minority of misguided heretics.  I continue to have faith in a loving Allah, a loving God, to condemn these atrocities against innocence.  I believe this because it would be too unbelievable to think any God would condone this kind of insanity, and for the rest of the world to buy into the fact that all of Islam is to blame, would be doing a disservice to Islam and to our own Abrahamic faith.  We must rise above condemnation and face the enemy at hand until such a time that we see the balance of Islam also, truly, embraces this new heresy.

There are still those of us wishing to see the Islamic face of peace and love.  We must have faith that such people still exist in the Muslim world.  Unfortunately, these faithful will have to take up sword against the Islamic State, and reject them as mainstream Islam.  They must do this boldly and loudly, for the entire world to see and understand.  If Islam cannot, or will not do this, I fear for the safety of all Muslims, the Islamic faith, and the world as we know it.

Let us pray this Sunday, and every day, for peace and love, for tolerance and understanding, and for solidarity against this evil, against all evil, infecting our world.  We must learn to live together, to stand together, or together we will fall.

Bless us all, bless France, and bless these United States of America.  Amen.

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."

Terror Attacks in Paris

“France, because it was freely, cowardly attacked, will be merciless against the terrorists.  France will triumph over barbarism.”

-- French President François Hollande

Where change is the only constant in the universe, evil seems to be the change when we allow history to repeat.  We never learn the lesson of an immediate and overwhelmingly terrible response to absolute evil.  Again, as in wars past, we find ourselves at the tipping point, shoulder to shoulder with our allies, discovering that band aid solution to a bloody, suppurating, cancer is not an answer.  How many Britons had to die before we woke up?  How many Jews had to die before the world finally got a clue?  How many Christians are dying now?  How many innocent are required to be thrown on the sacrificial alter of incompetence before the world finally turns around to face the evil at their back? 

France represents over 400 readers of, The Path.  This makes them my third largest readership and, because of this large following, I felt it prudent to voice my anger and sadness.  My tears and prayer are with you all.  Know that I spend last night in the company of many friends, at a local shop, and all of our attention was riveted on what was happening in Paris.  We, also, have suffered this loss on a much larger, but no less horrific, scale; evil is evil.

I await a condemnation of this act, as we did after 9/11, from the Imams of peaceful Islam.  Malcolm X, American Muslim minister, once said, "If you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the problem."  We await action by the Islam of "peace."  I would also like to remind everyone of another of Malcolm's quotes, "Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery."

We also need to be mindful that our media and press no longer operate under the misguided reporting of facts and truth.  When they can't bend the story to meet the current political ideal, they opt to lie by omission.  Do not wait to hear anything from the peaceful Islamic factions.  I have come to learn that what is reported from them by the media in Europe, and throughout the rest of the world outside of our country, is censored as it sifts its way through that sieve of questionable reliability we call the U.S. press.  It would seem, at times, the press is controlled by our own government under the guise of trying to protect us by forwarding their own agenda.  We should all be outraged.

What we all need to remember is not to condemn all of Islam for the actions of heretical factions.  They do not represent Muhammad (pbwh), Allah, or the Qur'an (depending on your interpretation), any more than the Westboro Baptist Church is a representation of a loving Jesus, God, or the Bible (depending on your interpretation).  Both of these great works of scripture come under much fire for their many misinterpretations, and why not?  Neither one can be attributed to the person or people claiming authorship, and the apostolic leadership of both, immediately following the death of their respective prophets, began preaching their own interpretation of the Word.  So, I ask everyone to show restraint in their condemnation of an entire people for the actions of insane, murderous, heretical, sociopathic factions hell bent on the total destruction of our world, and of their own.  We must always strive to live together in peace, even though it may require a firm hand to guarantee that peace.

Vive la France!  The world is with you.  No matter the name we use choose to call God, there is only one God and we pray, in the name of peace, that God protects us all!

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."

My Sunday Thought for September 15, 2015: By Any Other Name

"Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptiz’d;

Henceforth I never will be Romeo."

-- Romeo to Juliet

Higher education is a good thing, providing you get a rounded education. What we have been doing since I was a kid is cutting back budgets so we only teach the necessities, and very little of that. One of the problems I see with the "trade school" approach to education, where you cut out the fine arts, you end up with higher degrees void of common sense or emotion; a educational degree which, more times than not, miss the point which an eighty year old retired grocery checker, mother of four, and grandmother of ten, would pick up on while sorting field peas and watching Jeopardy on TV, primarily because she has lived life.  We hope this slack will be taken up by the doting parents.  Parenting?  Yeah, right.  That's a crap shoot, kind of like education, you can win or lose - and the house usually wins.

Ira Rosofsky Ph.D., wrote an article called, Was Shakespeare Wrong?--Would A Rose By Any Other Name Smell As Sweet? Juliet Capulet was wrong about the rose.  The title is way too long for the point I thought it missed.  In the opening lines Dr. Rosofsky says, "Shakespeare-or more precisely, Juliet--was wrong in declaring, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet... Names have power. They are not like shirts you can change without changing you."

While his point, I'm sure, is academically valid, his example, unfortunately, would seem to be a reflection of a focused education, not a rounded one and, sadly, if so, not unexpected.

Ira, Ira, Ira... it's Shakespeare, dear fellow.  More importantly, it is romantic!  I'm not sure Ira was ever made to sit through the entire play, and hopeless romantics would pay good money to be bored to tears by the balance of the play just to see and hear the romantic repartee.  You know... the conversation or speech characterized by quick, witty comments or replies?  In this case, the romantic ones that make women swoon and a men have to run out to buy roses.  Some people, however, just don't get it.

They miss the romance of Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet on the bow of the Titanic, his hands on her waist and her arms out, a sense of flying, as she leaned forward over the rail.  Or Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in Ghost as she turns clay on the potting wheel and turned on most of America, and Swayze, in a seriously romantic scene.  A truly romantic moment does not require nudity, or sex, it requires a great story, with great lines, and a director which understands romance.

What is in a name?  Nothing.  God or Allah, one and the same.  Oh, the faithful will demand there are arguments against it, but in your heart there is no difference other than the scripture and agenda the religious leadership would try to push.  By any other name, there is but one God.  The name you choose is of little matter, that ship sailed when the we stopped being able to pronounce the old tongue.  I think God would reflect Romeo's sentiment, "Call me but love..."

I think people look upon the world differently when they are brought up to appreciate the arts.  And, when I say appreciate, I don't mean put on a Floral shirt, shorts, sandals, and your ball cap to go see the ballet.  Yes, everyone does it.  To truly appreciate art you need to dress appropriately.  Show some respect to the actors, dancers, and artists.  Show some respect to yourself and those around you.  Be a damned romantic, dress up, buy your loved one flowers and a great dinner, and then go see a play together.  Bring money so you can buy drinks at intermission, cheapskate.  It is all about romance.

Shakespeare wasn't wrong.  He knew how to spin a yarn and provide entertainment.  He knew something of the ways of the heart.  It is something you find when you learn to open your mind to art, music, drama, and love.  It is something you learn when you turn off your computer, leave your office, close your textbook, and go sit in a field of flowers on a quiet spring day, especially if you share it with someone special.  No, Shakespeare wasn't wrong, Doc.  You should have read the play. 

He was alive!

Take a bit of time this weekend to enjoy other people, read a good book, watch a classic drama, or just listen to some music.  Enjoy as much of this in person and live if possible.  Purchase tickets for a play, opera, musical, or concert.  It can be your local community theater.  Let us all try to get out with our loved ones, and the children, to enjoy the arts!  Most importantly, learn what your schools are teaching your kids, or grandkids.  You might find the teachers are as upset as you'll be.  Fight for rounded educations.  Fight for the arts, because... not all kids can play sports.  If the schools won't find the money, or the time, there is a lot to be said for good parenting.  Look into it.  Your kids will benefit from your attention.

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."

The Congregation: Clarifying "Religious" Tolerance

tolerance
[tol-er-uh ns]

1. a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, beliefs, practices, racial or ethnic origins, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry.
2. a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions, beliefs, and practices that differ from one's own. 
3. interest in and concern for ideas, opinions, practices, etc., foreign to one's own; a liberal, undogmatic viewpoint. 
4. the act or capacity of enduring; endurance: My tolerance of noise is limited.

I blame my own lack of forethought when choosing an appropriate name for the Congregation for Religious Tolerance.  I think this lack of forethought was largely due to my lack of patience for the overabundance of religious hypocrisy I was being bombarded with at the time.  If I had taken a moment to consider all options, and maybe even bounce the ideas off a few free thinkers, I may have seen my error.  My patience is a quality for which I am constantly called to task over.

My philosophical intent was to include all things peacefully spiritual for which we sense intolerance toward others.  As you can see by the accepted definitions, "religious" excludes "spiritual," whereas "spiritual" would seem to include "religious."

re·li·gious

adjective

1. relating to or believing in a religion.

spir·it·u·al

adjective

1. of, relating to, or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things.

synonyms: nonmaterial, incorporeal, intangible

I find nothing wrong with people being religiously spiritual, any more than I can see them being spiritually religious. I think the two terms, for those folk serious about their beliefs, can and should be philosophically inclusive. I simply don't see how you can have one without the other and be taken seriously, and being taken seriously is what the Congregation is all about.  It was formed to promote tolerance for any peaceful spiritual or religious belief which promotes the raising of the human spirit and soul to a higher state of awareness for the betterment of mankind and the world on which we live, or will live, and creates a more tolerant, understanding attitude for the multitude of diversely peaceful cultures we come in contact with.  

However, I am enough of a realist to understand I might be wrong.  I also understand there will always be those in the wings for which this idea of inclusiveness for these terms will be unacceptable, especially among those members of the LPO; the League of the Perpetually Offended.  They will find it unacceptable for the simple reason that it has been given voice, by someone other than themselves, or the mere fact that it promotes peaceful understanding.  With what is currently happening in our world, I cannot stress the term peaceful enough when discussing religious and spiritual philosophy.  We witness today what a massive threat to innocence lack of such peaceful thought and intent can be.  

I have gone to a fellow minister for which I have some respect, a member of the pagan ministry, and asked for her interpretation of the terms.  She believes, as I had also originally assumed, "it is 'understood' by those in ministries."  So, for now, I will leave the title for the Congregation as is, and ensure those of a spiritual nature are clearly included in the description, mission statement, and philosophy.  

Being a realist, however, I await the perpetually offended.

Note:  I have included, here, a list of posts I have written since the beginning of the congregation blog, "The Path," which deal with my views on the Congregation for Religious Tolerance, and the terms spiritual, religious, and tolerance.  Having written 486 posts, this list surely isn't all inclusive seeing as how these particular subjects are the blog's reason for existence.  I have included these few as a source of reference for my mindset in creating the Congregation, should you have an interest in learning more about it.  Thank you for your readership, and I hope you will continue to visit and grow with me as we travel our personal paths.  Your constructive comments, messages, and email are, as always, welcomed.

• Religious Tolerance: My View
• Congregation for Religious Tolerance
• The Congregation for Religious Tolerance
• Tolerance: Spiritual or Religious?
• Why a Congregation for Religious Tolerance?
• A Worldwide Congregation
• My Thoughts on Religious Tolerance
• The Congregation for Religious Tolerance - One Year Anniversary
• The Congregation for Religious Tolerance (Updated 10/17/2014)
• Tolerance or Respect?

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."

Vanity and Pride

Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves; vanity, to what we would have others think of us.

-- Jane Austen (1775-1817), novelist

So, after reading Austen's quote (above), whatchya thinkin now?  Still concerned about shopping in the "plus sized" section at Walmart?  Where your health is concerned, weight is probably a good thing to worry about.    I've been witness to several of larger friends, acquaintances, and coworkers, go the route from obesity to high blood pressure and cholesterol, to diabetes and the inevitable heart attack, stroke, or just plain dying in their sleep.  Most of us suffer from these same issues without the weight, but, if we're all treading water in the same deep lake, why do some feel it appropriate to bring along their fifty pound pack?

I wrote a post about obesity a couple of years back which rapidly became, and still ranks among, one of my most read pieces.  It received rave reviews from my readers and almost got me banned from the monastery website for using the word "sexy."  If you'd like to read this post, please follow this link to "So, Sexy Is In? "

What would you have others think of you, and does what they think really matter?  Well, if you're ashamed to be seen as a fat person, which would be vanity.  If you're afraid they laughing at you behind your back, that would be them just being rude and thoughtless.  But, what if their comments aren't humorous?  What if it's just their selfish concern for your welfare, and what the party of life would be like without you in it?  And, what if you're happy with who and what you are?  What if you really are an outgoing, fun loving, friendly, life of the party?  I think you might ask yourself, now who's being selfish?

It's not vanity to feel you have a right to be beautiful. Women are taught to feel we're not good enough, that we must live up to someone else's standards. But my aim is to cherish myself as I am.

-- Elle Macpherson, model and actress

This post started out as a comment on Facebook.  I posted the picture, above, and commented, "Not often do I take a decent pic, as evidenced here, but it does play to personality. One should not be too careful of the photos they choose. People get used to seeing a false reflection of the true self, and can be more disappointed when they meet in person and realized you had no faith in them to accept you for what, and who, you truly are."

I followed with these two photos and comments, "Point in case would be that I'm wearing a ladies hat with a flower on it... and a red dress, for the NOLA Red Dress Run."  I end by stating, "You really have to be secure with who you are, and not worry too much about what others may think. What would the fun be in that?" 

What prompted me to elaborate on the Facebook post was my comment, "You really have to be secure with who you are, and not worry too much about what others may think."  I must add a proviso to this statement, in that I would worry about what others think, if they are worried about my health and welfare, especially if they happen to be friends or family.  If you're not going to listen to your friends or family, then who?

If you just don't give a fig about what anyone thinks, and you are truly happy with who and what you are, what the rest of us  we are left with is the sincere hope you are that outgoing, fun loving, friendly, life of the party!  At least, in this way, we can also be selfish by enjoying all of you while you're here.

Vanity and pride are much overrated, although I think Jane Austen was only half right.  A person may be proud without being vain, but you cannot be vain without being proud.  But, wait!  Pride is listed as the seventh deadly sins, remember?  It ranks behind lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, and envy.  That is, unless you go by the substantially longer list in Galatians 5:19-21.  Ready?  

Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, "and such like".  Just so there's no confusion, let's combine them into one, comprehensive list:  Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, murders, drunkenness, revellings, "and such like".  I think we can all see the point of several on the list, especially uncleanness, which I'm hoping means you should bathe frequently.  The balance of the list kind of redefines fun, doesn't it?  But these are from the apostle Paul, who wasn't one of the original twelve Apostles of Christ, having been born years after His death.  I can only think Paul was not a party animal, or much fun to be around, period.  He is, after all, said to be the author of half the books in the New Testament.  

You learn something new every day.

The truest characters of ignorance are vanity and pride and arrogance.

Samuel Butler (1835-1902), poet

One thousand years before Christ, or Paul, King Solomon gave a much different list of "six things the Lord hateth, and seven that are an abomination unto Him."  This list makes a bit more sense:

- A proud look
- A lying tongue
- Hands that shed innocent blood
- A heart that devises wicked plots
- Feet that are swift to run into mischief
- A deceitful witness that uttereth lies
- Him that soweth discord among brethren

This list reads more like the Ten Commandments.  Pride still made this list as a proud look; not the feeling of pride, the outward appearance of it.  In other words, better to be humble in your pridefulness.  This sounds like sage advice. Samuel Butler was wrong in his quote, above.  I think it would have been more valid to state, "The truest character of ignorance is arrogance in your vanity and pride."  What harm is vanity and pride as long as you exercise humility in it.  

Being humble does not exclude wanting to feel or look pretty, nor does it exclude being happy in your accomplishments.  Bragging rights does violate the humility clause, though.  Humility allows happiness; it breeds happiness.  It revels in the love of self and others, and looking clean and presentable... just for you, if for no other reason.  Most importantly, it does not preclude you from being, or becoming, the most interesting person in the world like, Pope Francis, the Dalai Lama, Mother Theresa, or the Dos Equis man.  Okay, the Dos Equis guy isn't all that humble, but he is touted as being the most interesting man in the world.

The woman who appeals to a man's vanity may stimulate him, the woman who appeals to his heart may attract him, but it is the woman who appeals to his imagination who gets him.

-- Helen Rowland (1875-1950), journalist, humorist

The Helen Rowland quote holds true, whether for man or woman.  Appealing to a person's imagination can be a bit of enticing bait for attracting that special someone.  Although, I still think cleanliness and a nice outfit can't be overstressed.  I recommend a black fedora with a garish red flower decorating the brim, and maybe a red dress.  

Then again, maybe not, it might be "event dependent."

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."

On Love... Just a Thought, or Two

When I was just a child, I was fortunate to have the experience of animals, in particular, cats and dogs. There is something about the love of an animal that prepares you for the love of people, and teaches you a love of self. Of course, this is something we experience as a child, and immediately forget when we are thrown into the trash compactor of societal reality where we must put "childish ways" behind us. 

Many of us might recognize this verse from 1 Corinthians 13:11-13. I always thought I knew what it meant; now I'm not so sure. I think it might be a slam on our forgetting the innocence God endowed us with as children.

"When I was a child, my speech, feelings, and thinking were all those of a child; now that I am an adult, I have no more use for childish ways. What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face-to-face. What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete - as complete as God's knowledge of me. Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love."

When we think about what the rest of scripture tells us, the larger picture if you will, innocence shall inherit the earth. "When I was a child, my speech, feelings, and thinking were all those of a child," and how much more innocent is that? Yet, as we become adults, we "grow up" and "have no more use for childish ways." Society, since before the days of Christ, has browbeaten the innocence out of us to make room for the big bear of guilt and sin that is everything we have come to expect from adulthood. It is no wonder "what we see now is like a dim image in a mirror."  Who is the person staring back at us, and do they seem happy with what they see? Do we all use the same mirror? Do we use our reflection to judge others?

"What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete - as complete as God's knowledge of me." So, assuming we have attained the Kingdom of Heaven when we die, we can expect to have the knowledge of the universe? With everything we have done, or not done, in our short lives, of which God has complete knowledge of, we still expect God to give us carte blanche with universal knowledge, the knowledge of everything? The verse admits, and rightly so, we know little of anything. It is no wonder we have faith in God and hope the Almighty will clue us in down the road - after death.

Maybe it would have been better to hold onto those innocent trappings of our childhood or, at the very least, continue to question whether this letter, allegedly penned around 54 A.D., to the church of God at Corinth, should be ascribed to Paul the Apostle.  He wasn't, after all, one of the Twelve Apostles of Christ.  If he is the author of this, and the other 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament, should we not remember he was born five years after the death of Christ?  Doesn't this make the entire Bible suspect, or is it a matter of faith?

I suppose I have digressed.

Once we have faith, and we have vested ourselves in hope, there is only one tangible we are truly left with - love. Love is an emotion we can vest ourselves in for the present. Faith and hope are only involved if we are uncertain of another's feeling toward us; if we are uncertain the love we feel toward another is equally reciprocated.  If we are uncertain of love, is it love?

“Sometimes it’s a form of love just to talk to somebody that you have nothing in common with and still be fascinated by their presence.”

-- David Byrne

What we tend to ignore is that love does not have to be equally reciprocated; hell, it doesn't have to be returned to us in kind at all. There are so many degrees, definitions, of love, it oft times seems to require a university doctorate just to make sense of it all. I think this general lack of understanding might be the root of all broken hearts. Author Anaïs Nin (1903-1977) explains loss of love thus:

“Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don’t know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings.”

I offer that Ms. Nin might be wrong. I offer that she, like most of us, did not understand the emotion at all. Personally, I don't think true love dies. I think she is right that many of us don't know how to replenish its source and that it definitely suffers from our blindness, errors, betrayals, illness and wounds. I also think she hits the nail on the head when she indicates that all or any of these failings can cause love to wither, tarnish, and grow wearisome.

But we need to keep our eye on the ball here. The first thing we need to understand and admit is that true love never dies. The love that can be turned off, like a switch, was never really love at all. This seems to be a game people play, by accident or design, which hurts those around them.  There are some people I dislike, possibly even hate, for what I allowed them to put me through.  I thought they loved me, even though it was clear, even to all around me, this was not the case.  After all was said and done, I still love them, because that is who I am.  Am I stupid?  Maybe, but I feel our capacity to love, even these few, is a reflection of our character and of who we are.  Do you trifle with other people's emotions, play games with their feelings, use them for your own selfish ends, or are you a person of good character?  If you have good character, you cannot turn love off.

Some say my love is like chalk;
I can write it on and erase it
Whenever I choose.
Well, they're wrong.
I use crayons.

 So, if your love is true, but your partner leaves anyway, I think there are several, fairly obvious, conclusions. Love is not at fault, people are. Who, then, is at fault for the failing? Maybe both of you; people make mistakes. If the love you both have defined together is solid, then you will work your way through these failings together. If it isn't solid, then perhaps your definition of the love you feel toward one another was in error. This doesn't mean love dies; it simply changes, possibly into what it should have been in the first place - a close, loving, friendship that will last a lifetime.  But this will require both parties to own their failings and work together toward a better outcome.

“Sometimes love means letting go when you want to hold on tighter.”

-- Melissa Marr

Relationships fall apart constantly, and everyone involved is at fault. Each party needs to accept their piece of the blame. If you feel you did nothing wrong, you might need to ask yourself why you allowed this person to hurt you. Knowingly, or not, you allowed this person to be responsible for some aspect of your happiness. Their mistake may have been in accepting that responsibility. They might be able to make you happy just by being around them, but they are never responsible for you being happy, only you can own this. Owning your own happiness is a primary failing for most of us, owning this failing is another.  If we are not capable of owning our failures, we risk being left, alone on the dock, when the love boat sails.

"Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend."

-- Martin Luther King

Love does not always transform an enemy into a friend. Let's face it, what are the chances the insane, heretical, sociopathic, murderers that are ISIS will be won over by our love for them? That just won't happen. I struggled with my marriage for years, but when you're up against forces bent on total destruction, and you are too stupid to recognize it, sometimes failure is inevitable and you find yourself living an uneasy peace. After a while, the dust of the financial and emotional devastation, caused by the divorce bomb, clears. It took me years after the messy divorce to realize I never stopped loving her. Oh, I have disliked her for all she put our family through, until she apologizes for her part, I probably always will.  But how do you stop loving someone you invested over 20 years of your life in, your spouse and the parent of your children? They might find it easy to stop loving, and this would be their failing. It doesn't have to be yours. I constantly tell my children to wish her well for me.  I don't have to like her to love her, and this is a lesson few of us understand.

It is said, we are communal creatures. We require each other to exist. If anything can wither and die it might be our spirit, without the support and love of those around us. Hopefully we are able to surround ourselves with friends and family - loved ones all. We do this, thinking we understand what our emotions are telling us. Hopefully we are intelligent enough not to let our emotions betray us. Above all else, we need to understand that whether we succeed in life or not, our failings are our own, no one else's. To try and not fail requires that we start with a firm foundation of knowing who we are, the limits of our capabilities, and when to ask for help from those we love. But, knowing yourself begins with loving yourself. We might discover that loving ourselves requires a bit of that biblical faith and hope.

"You are worthy of love...

You deserve to know a deep, world-spinning love that transcends life.

But, most importantly, you owe yourself real love

that smile back at you from the mirror."

-- Nicole Carpenter

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."