None of us is a better person than Adolf Hitler or Charles Manson? That's not too encouraging.
First, we are talking about the divine (God) here, and not your personal opinion of Hitler or Manson. Why would the Divine feel a need to favor or (Love) one person over the other, no matter what they choose to do?
Even career criminals are viewed the same by the divine; the very same love is offered to them that is offered to those who live in the light. This cannot be denied no matter how much one tries to do so. We can justify ourselves until blue in the face, or we can condemn ourselves until we weep, but these are self created states, and they bear no light on how the divine views its creation. Any man, woman, or child can reach spiritual freedom once they realize that none are better than another, and that the divine extends the same grace upon the sinner and saint alike. One’s state of being is solely dependent upon one’s willingness to change.
The Christ man:
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
Jesus suggested that all are the same in the eyes of the father, and we are to love even our enemies. A pure love is unconditional; and this is the kind of love God has for his creation...All of it, including Manson and Hitler.
To what extent should we "accept" or "embrace" Adolf Hitler? What does this mean?
Lets be realistic, you aren't going to embrace a serial killer like you might a minster, but what you can do is have compassion for a lost individual. Understanding that we are all the same, and equal as human beings is the first step to accepting the faults in self. When you Judge others based on thier faults, you haven't accepted that you sin as well. Even Jesus forgave the adulterous woman, the theives who died with him, and those who murdered him. "Forgive them father for they know not what they do"
All are equal, and by embracing those who are different in the sense that you embrace the person and not their actions will lead you to better accept your own faults. Inner peace is the main goal, and we simply cannot feel that peace when we view others in a negative. We cannot experience this peace or freedom if we view ourselves in a negative. In order to attain freedom and peace within, we must first come to accept ourselves, and our neighbors as being equal. We are extensions of the divine, we are divine, and we are but pieces of the divine. Together we help make the whole, and the whole becomes off balance without the view of equality. Every time we view another in a negative, we throw ourselves off balance, and it effects us on a spiritual level. Think about how many times you have let another person disturb your peace. Now, imagine if you viewed them as equals; what do you think you would have felt?
This strikes me as an exaggeration. There are many practices that might promote inner peace.
Love is more than a mere feeling. It is also more than action. Love is an essence on which we base this philosophy. Love has powers that, when utilized, can heal any spiritual ailment. It leads us towards union with the divine, as the divine’s very essence is Love. When we embrace this “Spirit” we begin to awaken to our inner strength. We become confident, bold, peaceful, and strong. Love is not mushy, or weak, nor is it always gentle, or kind. Love is a lion that can move mountains on a spiritual level. When one embraces love, they are in fact embracing the divine. There is no greater force in this universe than love, and this is the foundation of our third principle.
Jealousy, anger, bitterness, disgust, greed, selfishness, pride, hate, slothfulness, wrath, lust, envy, intolerance and every other spiritual negative can be conquered through love. These are the spirits that hinder one’s inner peace, the goal is to rid ourselves of these negatives. The truth is that we are in control every moment of our lives when it comes to our spiritual state of being. We choose to become angry, we choose to become jealous, we choose to envy, we choose hate, and if we can choose to embrace these negatives, then we can also choose to embrace love and rid our being from them. This is a simple truth, but many refuse to realize the reality of this truth. We are in control, and to deny this fact is to deny one’s responsibility for self.
Try it for yourself, mate and you'll understand it better. Love heals all spiritual ailments, it promotes inner peace, love IS the answer for a spiritually fulfilling life. Love IS the Divine, or God!
So lack of faith is not a flaw, and yet may be a flaw?
No it's not a flaw, we can all experience the divine through love, but not all will recognize it as being divine, therefor no faith is not a flaw, only lack of personal experience, or view of God.
Again, this sounds like an exaggeration. Love is great and all, but it isn't everything.
That's where you are mistaken, perhaps you don't know God as love, or the Christ man as love, love is everything and more...It is the divine!
I agree here. But I'm not sure why you think this.
Because I view it to be a truth
This is certainly true. However, how does this square with #4?
How do you mean?
I'm all for balance and fulfillment. But I'm not certain that one can have one without the other. It seems to me that these are intertwined.
You can't have one w/o the other, that's the point...
James
Do those sublingual B12's work? I've been wanting to try them for years, lol!