The White Parasol » Judging before engaging

Prejudice is a word

edb — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:26:33 +0000

Let not prejudice blind us to truth and universal law.
Might we come back and be that which we have hated? So that then we will understand (literally stand under) that hate and that prejudice.
Can we let it all go? Give it up? Can we bid it farewell and give it to the light of Christ or the universe or whichever spiritual guidance you follow? Can it be taken away from us?

Then it could be finished couldn’t it?

Defending the Catholic Church

edb — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 14:41:46 +0000

Blaming the Church for its supposed stance on world issues is a popular and ageless pastime. And who can blame us? But that is not altogether fair. Catholic means universal and its Church is part of a political and spiritual tool on earth. It easily can be blamed for not allowing, by decree, certain acts which seem controversial and old-fashioned in contemporary terms, where individuality and freedoms rule.

To take the stance on contraception, it seems that we can blame the Church for the over-population we perceive, resulting in poverty and misery for want of a simple answer: contraception. But this assumes a logical process of thought whereby everything has a direct answer. In political and poverty terms it is argued that contraception is the answer. Seems simplistic does that.

The Church has a wider role than merely reacting to issues on a simplistic basis. The issue of “allowing” a ruling according to the needs of the political aspects on earth is not about the Church responding to the world view of the problem. It is about the wider issues of life in relation to the greater journey. If it were so simple as to get the Church to directly react to a world problem on the political stage, then its position as a wider body of contemplation in line with higher aspirations in the world spiritual sphere would change intrinsically. If the Church decreed that contraception was the answer to solving or containing world poverty, then that would imply that it was the proper answer for now and always complete in itself. If enlightenment and world peace are subject to simple decrees, then the Church merely becomes a tool for application of the perceived world answer to a perceived world problem.

Whether we agree or disagree with a stance is irrelevant; it is whether we can appreciate a wider view. The Church has a political role on earth as it is looked to to offer guidance in the way we live in relation to political governance. It could easily conform or change to whichever political views preside in any age. But its purpose is to provide a balance and to rise above narrow world political notions of what is right or wrong.

What if we perceive the argument to be more related to the way we treat each other, the level of respect we hold for each other in terms of equality of respect – do we really respect others as we respect ourselves? Then education and development is the answer, not a mechanical response to the symptom – which is what absolute promotion of contraception against poverty assumes.

Within any organisation, be it political or Church orientated, there will be corruption and narrow perceptions based on personal, national or international drivers. Where the Church has been found lacking in suppressing its own ills, as in the dreadful cases of abuse of children, it should be made known and exposed for what it is. This goes in inside as well as outside of the Church, as it might in any institution. And all corruption when it is exposed shows a successful development of being enlightened and facing the truth. If that happens within the Church then it shows that the Church is continuing to develop, that it is now enabled to expose the truth as it should – as within so without in the world. We can liken it to our own individual journeys whereby we come to terms with facets of ourselves instead of continuing to deny them, pretending that we are already totally good and in no need of development.

To view an entire institution and its ideals against all of the problems in the world, and how it affects them within the narrow confines of given decrees and without knowing anything else about its reason for being, is not appropriate. Within the Church, as within any family or organisation, there is conflict, disagreement, politics and strife; it is human and has failings. Its ideals will remain to be striven for and its conscience and understanding will continue to develop and evolve. The Church provides us with vehicles of attaining learning, discipleship and developing – ultimately to take responsibility for ourselves and to consider issues with pity, rather than follow an absolute rule book. Whatever we gain from a Church will be based on our own intent and seeking.

As an individual member of a Church, you might choose to agree or disagree with certain facets, according to your own point of view and your own development. You might choose for contraception at a personal level, which is allowed in your life according to your conscience and according to the freedoms you might enjoy in society, but it shouldn’t preclude you from being part of a Church whose ultimate stance on contraception appears to be directly against your choice. In a relatively developed society which embraces many facets outside of church thinking, we have many more choices than those where rules have to be adhered to for the sake of the rules. The development of societies is based on wider thinking and wider freedoms of choice, usually afforded us when the society is rich enough economically to support wider education and knowledge.

I am with St. Matthew’s Crowd, Thank God

edb — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:40:59 +0000

I am with the sinners. Straight up, might as well face it. That is, to be aware of being a sinner and that being saved has nothing to do with how good we judge that we are, or can become. In the gospels: MAT 10, 9-13 MRK 3, 15-17 LUKE 5, 27-32 Matthew (also known as Levi) the tax collector was an outcast in his own community and he frequented with other outcasts (sinners). He knew that he did not live in the ways of God; neither do I.

But it is not something that you can gain overnight, it takes time and discipleship and, anyway, there will be the element of not having that completeness – we remain imperfect – even if we spend all of our lives trying; if we ever judge ourselves to be what Christ asked us to be, then we have already failed because we do not have the God given right to judge ourselves or anyone else on earth. And that means anyone from any family, village, city, race, nation or religion.

Matthew felt that he was an outcast because he had done wrong in the eyes of other Jews and they judged him to be a sinner; I feel this way but I also am guilty of judging others. And Matthew did that too. The others – who judged him -were sinners too but they didn’t judge themselves that way, yet they judged Matthew and his crowd. At a behavioural level we judge people and let ourselves off the hook with our comparisons. Christ saw Matthew’s self-honesty.

Herein lies the truth then. It is in becoming knowledgeable that we are living without God in our Spirit , we are aware of some of our flaws, so we can begin not to judge others. This truth is liberating to ourself and to others. To put it into practice though takes time and patience with oneself. Yet, herein is the path, the way.

There is absolutely no religion, including Christianity, that requires anyone to “defend” it. By forcing views or forcing arms we pretend it is our defence of something Holy, but it isn’t. All we have to do is live it out. Live it. Instead of telling everyone else what to “do”, we become our own best teacher and pupil and save everyone else from hearing our boring views of the world including our damning judgements.

By doing this, we become aware of our own block to God and thereby are given a lifeline and a life time to heal the disconnections. That’s it. We do not need to turn into the Christ or even into a Saint, or into even an orthodox Holy person. We simply are required to look within, to try hard to be honest with ourselves and to allow the honesty and its truth to work within. There is no need to judge anyone else according to our behaviours and our opinions – upon whose prejudices indeed, do we base our opinions? Picking out the plank in our own eye, is preferable indeed to seeking to pick out the splinters in others eyes. We have more than enough for a lifetime’s work in attending to ourselves.

So Saint Matthew gives all of us the hope of personal honesty, truth and the beginning of becoming non-judgemental. To judge is to sin and yet we do it all the time and make our excuses. But still, when we become aware of what we are doing , then we are becoming honest with ourselves. That is a great act of the beginning of healing and wholeness. Even though we may still fall a thousand times a day by finding ourselves judging again, but that we are aware that we do this, is part of the healing process. To be aware. To be honest with ourselves and not to pretend that we are good or Holier than thou or him or her.

In this then, I feel a unity with Saint Matthew; I can be a right mess; highly misguided; fallen; in denial; pretending to try to be “good” in my own judgement; defending my behaviour by comparing it with others. But still enabled to find my way, however many times I might make another right mess of it. Just being aware is an enlightenment. A small flicker of light that might now be enabled to grow.

So I’m with the sinners. On fear of death? No. On accepting life as it is. Yes, and a right bloody mess I am too!

The Immigrant

edb — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:32:09 +0000

Well, they have no right here do they?
They are taking our jobs, our social security, our houses, our
schools, our communities.
They cause us all the problems of a country which is too full: crime,
lack of resources.
Well, the thing is that we are not seeing clearly.
We are looking for someone to blame for the hurt and anger inside of
us, of you, of me.
The hurt and anger inside comes from our conditioning, our prejudices.
Therefore, we cannot see clearly and we cannot understand.
People will move, migrate to another place if they believe that they
can achieve a better quality of life for themselves and their
families. They are merely seeking to improve their lot. As we do, we
seek to improve our lot.
Occidental values mean that we expect a high standard of living,
by earning a lot of money and paying lower taxes.
We want this high standard of living so the Home Office and the
Foreign Office must act accordingly or we will not vote “them” in
again.
The Home Office must flex its muscles and put emphasis on excluding immigrants.
The Foreign Office must make sure that we get the trade and industry
needed to support our lifestyles. To do this, national interest takes
precedence over environmental issues and over the injustices enacted
on the peoples of other countries.
So the Foreign Office declares war on a people whose resources or land
is required; there is death, destruction, devastation, dissidents and
then there are lots of refugees.
Some of whom become immigrants.