(So much for succinct,
lol ... and I was even trying to be this time!
)
In my better moments, I aspire to live in such a way as I believe a true follower of Christ should live,
specifically, as an active altruist, a person of good character and high morals, and as a wielder of the force of Goodwill. Other times, I give embodiment to perhaps the other extreme in our dual human nature. But most of the time I can be found wandering the samsara somewhere in between. Thus I hesitate to presume to claim the honor of “being a Christian,” so I will comment
in due proportion:
I agree with you, path_of_one, regarding the infallible, 100% truth part and the Bible. I would go on to say that other, more accurate, and more recent writings exist, of greater value & relevance for some people when it comes to the spiritual journey. The Bible sufficiently serves for some, while for others, the Koran, Kabbalah/Zohar, Adi Granth, Pali Canon, Zend Avesta, or Bhagavad Gita (Mahabharata) are more helpful and appropriate. Plenty of people derive Wisdom, guidance, inspiration, meaning, and a sense/call to Purpose in Life
from each of these sources. Acknowledging this does not make me any less Christian, for in my better moments (referenced above), I am not confused, misled, or uncertain about the presence of Truth in
each of these writings.
Thus, allegory, metaphor & myth being present in the Bible, as in most (all?) of these other writings, is a good and necessary thing. This helps to reach people who would otherwise be clueless (pretty much all of us). That said, I am not one of these people who simply believes stories like the Creation Myth, the tale of Jonah, and the episode with Noah’s Ark should be viewed as allegory. I would say that the deepest wisdom of the Holy Bible (and other Sacred Scriptures) is arrived at only when the proper keys of Symbology and Symbolism are applied. Is there anything “between the lines?”
You betcha.
Is this “hidden meaning” contrary to Christ’s Mission, the Living Testament which was his LIFE, and the chief message of the Bible,
The Sermon on the Mount? Umm, no. That’s just the point. The path of purity, aspiration and service (plus prayer/meditation, and study/contemplation), when pursued though the earliest stages, leads
naturally to the unfoldment of the abilities, and to the acquisition of the psycho-spiritual keys, which allow one to enter into closer Presence with
The Christ and His Church, with all the Mystical connotations and literal significances which go with that phrase.
I am convinced from my experience in life, that the Buddha’s final instructions to His pupils, is
not contradictory to Christ’s own instructions to His. Specifically, the Buddha says:
Seek ye for that which is permanent, and work out your salvation with diligence.
I would find myself in shock & horror to learn that the Divine Justice (which is the
antidote to wrath, and
never a synonym) that has always maintained the balance of this Universe … might
ever be supplanted by arbitrariness and unaccountability. We teach children to be accountable for their actions,
i.e. responsible for their own behavior, from the earliest age! And we reward or punish them along the way, but
not as a buildup for the
removal of their greatest Responsibility and Accountability of all – which is
for themselves, this being
granted to them as they move into adulthood. And
whether they like it or not (!), I might add.
Last I recall, it was my own
struggles to
accept Responsibility which produced the chaos & disorder in my life, and pushing it farther away does
not seem to be what God wants of me. He does not stand, beckoning me to abnegate that which forms the very
fiber of my Being!!! Rather, with relevance to this survey, He points to the last four statements and smiles, though reminding me that each statement
is as limiting as it is revealing.
But if words, beliefs,
even prayers count vitally in the buiding and development of character (hence Salvation, or Destiny) … then they are but a small percentage, where
actions determine our actual tomorrow. Faith demonstrates through
all of these, yet if there is no action, faith will not save the drowning man.
This is just how I see things, nothing more, nothing less.
In Love, Light, and mutual Respect,
taijasi
