My Sunday Thought for 04102016: Faith Without Ego

"When some 'learned' people tell me they're right, my first blush is to think, 'They're full of shit.'  But, then, my mind has always worked differently than people around me.  My idea of 'outside the box' was somewhere around the Pleiades star cluster, or walking some lonely back road.  It didn't mean either of our thoughts were wrong, I was simply more tolerant of the possibility they might be.  For them, on the other hand, it seemed my opinion was never even worthy of their recognition, much less their consideration.  They probably were right, but my faith told me to watch out for what if they're not.  My mind always feels safer around the Pleiades cluster."

Have you ever considered who is right when it comes to God?  I mean, how hard can it be to choose?  We only have a few Christian sects to consider, right?  Well, not really.  According to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, the 2012 census numbering about 43,000 Christian denominations in 2012 will reach 55,000 by 2025 (see more at religioustolerance.org).  With these numbers rattling around in that spongy grey matter between your ears, I ask again, have you ever considered who is right when it comes to Christian religious faith?

Okay, now let's complicate the equation even more and throw in the all those non-Christian sects.  The World Christian Encyclopedia states there are 19 major world religions subdivided into 270 large religious groups, and keep in mind they only counted the major world religions.  Have you really ever considered who is right when it comes to faith and God?  What particular sect do you bow down to, if any, and what makes you think they are more right than all the rest?  Who is any of them, or you, to judge when even the various sects within those differing religions can't seem to agree?  Right?  Right would seem to be a matter of faith, but is our faith misplaced? 

The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind...

-- Romans 14:3-5

How does a one determine who is more righteous than another?  How does one determine who burns at the stake for their beliefs?  How does one determine which heathen culture needs to eradicated from the earth for the greater glory of a different belief system?  How do religious leaders of one of the three Abrahamic religions justify murder, rape, beheadings, and the killing of innocence for the greater glory of their God?  How does anyone make the determination that they are more right than all these others, when it comes to something no one can prove, and do it in the name of a "loving" deity?  Talk about your blatant blasphemy.  But, then, this is all just an opinion.

I have had an opportunity to talk with many clergy in my life, and when I say "talk" I am trying to be generous.  Most tried to win me over to their system of righteous salvation and ended up condemning me to hell for all eternity for not agreeing with their 1/43,000th take on things.  Hey, I've been damned by better than them, and with better odds, but who am I to judge.  And there's the rub - How do these people of faith minister to others about scripture while they evidence all the ego and lofty pride these same scriptures abhor? 

"So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ..."

-- Philippians 2:1-10

And yet, religious leaders, kings, and emperors throughout the ages have built huge, expensive, monuments, cathedrals, and shrines in praise of their deity while they allowed the minions of said deity to starve while they live in the lap of luxury.  The Bible decries this pride, and yet we still file into churches for prayer, and a good ego stroking, as though it was decreed by God in some text only the Vatican is privy to.  

"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you."

-- Matthew 6:5-6

This secret text is probably in those Vatican basement archives which none of the faithful are allowed to see. This alone should give most Christians pause. What could possibly be so secret except information that might shake the foundations of our faith? The better question might be, why does the Vatican thinks our faith is so fragile that it can be shaken? Maybe because they know our faith has been twisted to allow the Church to maintain control over the faithful, and keep the billions of dollars flowing in every year while the poor remain poor and the morally corrupt need salvation - at a price.

What the Vatican, and other world religious leaders, seem to always forget in the fog of pride and ego, their zeal to keep the masses bowing down to kiss the pope's Piscatory Ring, is a faith that goes beyond their petty desires and agenda. It is a faith which transcends religious denominations, is touched on by scripture, and is the easiest concept many of us will not ever understand.  By the way, just as an aside, that ring is 35 grams of pure gold which took eight artisans working 15 hours a day for two weeks to make. They say that it's an expensive piece of jewelry that can't be measured in money. I say that if, for purchasing one $13 Stella Artois, "Buy a Lady a Drink" chalice, Stella Artois will donate 5 years of clean drinking water to a woman in the developing world, this Piscatory ring is money poorly spent and an affront to any loving God. But, that's just me.  I guess it's all about what your pride and ego will allow you to give up... to attain salvation.

What does faith, corrupted with pride and ego, profit you?  It provokes arguments and produces misunderstanding while preventing intimacy and reconciliation, whereas if we accept our imperfections and recognize God's grace, we might just get to experience God's unconditional love.  Unconditional in the sense that God only cares about what you say and do, not some intercedent the Church would have you believing you need in order to find a faith you already have.  Pray to God by yourself, in privacy.  Give to the poor yourself, in humble anonymity.  There is no room for pride and ego in true faith, there is only faith.  History is rife with faithful which have performed veritable miracles simply by believing in themselves.  By having faith in themselves, they evidence a profound faith in a power greater than themselves and, in doing so they discover the truth of God's New Covenant, and a power greater than themselves.

How do we attain faith without ego or pride?  I think this is best explained with three paragraphs as a conclusion to this post.  The first two I found this in Biblical Covenants, by Paul Suckling:

Deuteronomy 5:29 shows us clearly that God knew human nature would fail. Man might have good intentions, but the ability to fulfill them wasn’t there. God prophesied through the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel that He would create a new heart in us and give us His Spirit and write His laws on our hearts and minds (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:24-28). 

This action, made possible through Christ’s sacrifice and grace, is the basis of the New Covenant—which is actually a renewed covenant. The essential change isn’t to the law, but to where the law is written. Having God’s good laws written on our hearts and minds through the Holy Spirit gives us the power and the motivation that Israel lacked (Hebrews 8:7-13). 

Let's look at the key two lines in his paragraphs:  "The essential change isn’t to the law, but to where the law is written. Having God’s good laws written on our hearts and minds through the Holy Spirit gives us the power and the motivation..."  It isn't scripture, the Bible, a cross, or some clergy in a "church" that gives us the power and the motivation.  God wrote it on our hearts and minds so we would have it always.

The third paragraph is from my recent post, Faith Is Not a Book:

"Faith isn't a feeling or an emotion, it isn't something tangible, and it isn't something you have to work for. Faith is simply a conscious choice. For those who believe in a power greater than themselves, faith is a choice to put all your trust in that power. For those believing in God, it is a choice to put all your trust in God, in your darkest hour, even if all looks lost. It is a choice to believe, and in that belief rests the faith that, even if you fail, you will be judged as having tried. It is an unwavering acknowledgment that, no matter what happens, good or bad, everything will be as it should be; as God intended it to be."

Have faith in yourself to rise above and, in doing so, you show a faith in God by being all God intended for you.  There is no greater praise for a Father than the success of a child.

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. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, 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.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.