Does Religion Keep Missing the Target?

“Protestantism has the method of Jesus with His secret too much left out of mind; Catholicism has His secret with His method too much left out of mind; neither has His unerring balance, His intuition, His sweet reasonableness. But both have hold of a great truth, and get from it a great power.”

-- Matthew Arnold (1822-1888), poet and social critic

I love this quote (above) and will probably continue to use it throughout my posts as it reflects my view of how organized Christian religion continues to miss the target.  "His unerring balance, His intuition, His sweet reasonableness" are attributed to Jesus by Mr. Arnold.  However, I would offer that these attributes could be extended to Muhammad, Budah, and others, as well.  The caretakers of their legacy are the ones that leave much of our prophet's method "left out of mind."  It is finding this lost methodology that should occupy most of our lives.

Think about how glorious and peaceful life would be if we were to practice, in our own daily lives, the unerring balance, intuition, and sweet reasonableness of our prophets.  What if governments agreed to deal with each other in this way?  How would this play out in a "world court" comprised of all countries?  What if they agreed to abide by the rules of United Nations arbitration of a disagreement, knowing that refusal to abide by a U.N. finding would result in their country being totally shunned.  There will be no embargos, no sanctions, no threats, no freezing of assets.  No travel outside of your borders.  Your choice is to get with the program or go it alone.  Would this work?  Considering the U.N. is as dysfunctional as the U.S. Congress, I would have to say no.

Should we be concerned about the "soul" of a nation?  Does not the nation reflect the "soul" of the people?  If the Syrian government has its boot on the neck of the people, does the soul of Syria reflect the soul of the people?  Not necessarily.  This is why people in countries like this rise up in revolt.  When people control their nation then the soul of that nation directly reflects the soul people.

Right now the soul of Islam is a direct reflection of the soul of the heretics running roughshod over the faithful followers of the Qur'an.  Until the faithful choose to make an obvious stand against the heretics, in full view of the world, loud enough so there can be no denial, the world will continue to be at odds with where the true soul of Islam rests.  In cases such as this, we all need to be concerned about the soul of a nation.  Our nations define our planet, our peoples, faiths, and our beliefs.  When we lose a nation we lose a piece of who we are as a world.

I think we can start to practice this in our own daily lives.  There is nothing wrong with the premise, even an atheist should be able to get on board with it; unerring balance, intuition, and sweet reasonableness.

Soon, we may not first mention where we are from on earth.  We will more likely tell new beings we meet that we are humans from the planet Earth.  And maybe this is a good thing to remember anyway. We will always be humans first.  We have forgotten this fine point.  I am a human from Earth.  I hail from Washington in the United States of America.  I am Sicilian by heritage, and a Christian by faith.  We may not see eye to eye on every issue, and we are inherently different in race, faith, politics, gender, and sexual orientation.  We are human, it's what we do.  We are tolerant, reasonable, intuitive, and we possess an unerring balance.  However, if you mess with just one of us, you mess with all of us.  We all have hold of great truth and, if we need to, we can get from it great power.  So, our alien brethren, when you come to visit, do so in peace.

I guess the point here is Jesus really didn't hold onto a secret, He told us everything.  This was His mission.  I find it hard to believe He had a "method."  Most of the stories that make up His life are spontaneous moments.  I can't see spontaneity being a breeding ground for method unless one argues spontaneity was His method.  Or was His method lost to us, as Matthew Arnold might seem to be asking?  Was this lost method simply the unerring balance, intuition, and sweet reasonableness mentioned in Arnold's quote, above?  I have to repeat, I feel it is the finding of these tenets of Jesus' His lost methodology which should occupy our lives.

As for me, balance is easy; unerring balance, on the other hand, will be tough.  I like to joke that I'm seldom wrong but, to be unerring, at anything, is a slippery hog to hold onto.

I suppose, failing at unerring balance, I can always fall back on my sweet reasonableness.  After all, I am a fairly sweet guy.

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 an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those 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 learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with the United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world-renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as a chaplain at the regional medical center.