" All religions must be tolerated for every man must get to heaven in his own way. " That statement is attributed to Epictetus a Greek Stoic philosopher. I would say to him, all religions must be tolerated, but not all behaviors. If your religious behavior causes harm to others that shouldn't be tolerated. Religion concerns the cause, nature and purpose of the universe. A supreme being may or may not be involved in all of that. So yes Epictetus, all religions must be tolerated, even when you don't agree with the premise of that religion. But man, man is generally concerned with the actions of their fellow man, philosophy is left for the fireside and a sip of wine. Our actions are often not directed on getting into heaven, but religion is used as the excuse for those actions. It is true the path to heaven, whatever you conceive that to be, is different for every one of us.
I think of that path as walking through the city. Everything you could want or need can be found in the city. The city is also associated with sin and temptation. Cities are full of distractions. As you walk along you can decide to window shop, go inside and buy, or even set up shop for yourself. It is those choices that lie between us and heaven. It is dangerous to walk alone, but following the crowd can be equally as damming. We must choose our path carefully. As for me I'm still on that journey, not having set up shop, selling any particular product. I have been window shopping for years now, occasionally making a purchase. I've done this for so long I'm feeling qualified to be a tour guide! Yes, I know the city all too well, with it's dark alleys and misdirection. Maybe that stems from my youth when I grew up in the country. When going to the city I was keenly aware of my surroundings as I expect a city person would be in the forest. Is it fear or reasonable caution? I prefer to think of it as prudence.
What has this to do with the path the heaven? Epictetus said every man must get to heaven in his own way. That means each of us are individuals and have different requirements. You can't walk the same path as I, or I yours. We have to decide what is more important, the journey or the destination? The journey concerns the immediate, the destination with the result. Choice and consequence. My advice is try not to get distracted by the journey. Remember the destination. We are only here for a short time, but we think of the next stop as forever. Can we really know that? Death certainly appears permanent. No one has ever returned from that state to inform us otherwise. So, that leaves us with the journey, how we get there. Each of us have to get there in our own way. We do have to be concerned with our actions as that is what others will judge us by. Philosophy is all well and good but it doesn't get anything accomplished. Talking about it ain't doing it. All faith must be recognized, all religions tolerated, but not all behaviors!
The purpose of religion is to temper our behavior. It is intended to create harmony among men. If we all believed the same thing there would be no argument. Problem is, we don't. Yes there are three major religions in the world today. At their essence they all teach the same lessons. The basic belief is the same. It is only in the actions taken that we disagree. Those actions are decided by man, not by God or some other force. That is the free will given to man or inherit in human nature if you prefer that line of thinking. So remember when on this journey to shop wisely. Do not be distracted by the journey, remember the destination. Help your fellow travelers to the best of your abilities. Yes you should point out the bad " places " and the " bad " choices. " You should be a guide. What point is there in traveling if you don't share the journey? Behaviors are learned, teach them. Remember when we all got along? We all believed just about the same thing. Behaviors were taught and lessons learned. We accepted what was expected. Get back to that and we will find peace once more.
I think of that path as walking through the city. Everything you could want or need can be found in the city. The city is also associated with sin and temptation. Cities are full of distractions. As you walk along you can decide to window shop, go inside and buy, or even set up shop for yourself. It is those choices that lie between us and heaven. It is dangerous to walk alone, but following the crowd can be equally as damming. We must choose our path carefully. As for me I'm still on that journey, not having set up shop, selling any particular product. I have been window shopping for years now, occasionally making a purchase. I've done this for so long I'm feeling qualified to be a tour guide! Yes, I know the city all too well, with it's dark alleys and misdirection. Maybe that stems from my youth when I grew up in the country. When going to the city I was keenly aware of my surroundings as I expect a city person would be in the forest. Is it fear or reasonable caution? I prefer to think of it as prudence.
What has this to do with the path the heaven? Epictetus said every man must get to heaven in his own way. That means each of us are individuals and have different requirements. You can't walk the same path as I, or I yours. We have to decide what is more important, the journey or the destination? The journey concerns the immediate, the destination with the result. Choice and consequence. My advice is try not to get distracted by the journey. Remember the destination. We are only here for a short time, but we think of the next stop as forever. Can we really know that? Death certainly appears permanent. No one has ever returned from that state to inform us otherwise. So, that leaves us with the journey, how we get there. Each of us have to get there in our own way. We do have to be concerned with our actions as that is what others will judge us by. Philosophy is all well and good but it doesn't get anything accomplished. Talking about it ain't doing it. All faith must be recognized, all religions tolerated, but not all behaviors!
The purpose of religion is to temper our behavior. It is intended to create harmony among men. If we all believed the same thing there would be no argument. Problem is, we don't. Yes there are three major religions in the world today. At their essence they all teach the same lessons. The basic belief is the same. It is only in the actions taken that we disagree. Those actions are decided by man, not by God or some other force. That is the free will given to man or inherit in human nature if you prefer that line of thinking. So remember when on this journey to shop wisely. Do not be distracted by the journey, remember the destination. Help your fellow travelers to the best of your abilities. Yes you should point out the bad " places " and the " bad " choices. " You should be a guide. What point is there in traveling if you don't share the journey? Behaviors are learned, teach them. Remember when we all got along? We all believed just about the same thing. Behaviors were taught and lessons learned. We accepted what was expected. Get back to that and we will find peace once more.
No comments:
Post a Comment