- Nov 10, 2013
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Faith is selecting an item from your grocer's meat section and living to tell about it. When you trust the butcher to follow meat handling safety regulations, you have faith. You have no knowledge unless you either witness the butcher handling the meat, or you do it yourself.
In the new testament narratives we see people who are "witnesses" to an event that has completely changed the course of history. What that event was is anyone's guess, but to simply brush it off as "fairy tales" or inconsequential is to spotlight one's ignorance of history.
Beyond playing guessing games, the narratives themselves provide clues to those who cherish their powers of observation rather than those who would prefer to worship the observations of others. I am not only referring to those who have delivered to us the doctrines of the Christian denominations, but also to those who have provided their own dogmatic assumptions to the more recent religious manifestations of those devoted to Science, Reason, atheism, skepticism, and agnosticism.
The vast majority of which have not only never cracked open a bible, but even those who have, have done it with an eye to dismiss rather than to see what it actually says. An open mind isn't likely to come to any quick conclusions.
We live in an imperfect world, which should suggest to some the possibility of perfection. After all, even though prefixes appear prior to the words they preface, the root word isn't referred to as a root for nothing. So while our observations do not provide us with examples of perfection, our minds necessarily require them to make sense of what we do observe.
When we are then informed that the kingdom cannot be discerned through observation, the reasons for this should become apparent almost immediately. Science readily admits that our powers of observation are fallible which can have drastic and incalculable ramifications on our ability to interpret what we observe. The results will inevitably lead to false conclusions, therefore the senses cannot be the faculty to lead one to the kingdom, truth, or Ultimate reality.
Just as important, given the fact that observations are so untrustworthy, it should come as no surprise that the kingdom cannot be placed in a position of subjugation to them. The kingdom cannot be subjected to observation.
There's yet another problem when dealing with knowledge in that it is obtained through the faculty of the intellect, and by employing the intellect as the arbiter of truth claims, we are necessarily placing it as a mediator between us and reality. The problem is in not noticing that reality is primary and the intellect can only reflect upon reality through abstract constructions, symbols, etc.
By definition, symbols are not what they signify, and never can be. Therefore, by placing the intellect as a go between us and reality we can only mediate reality through symbols and abstract constructions of our own minds. None of these are real.
When we place the intellect in a position of such high regard, we make it primary. On some level, our understanding has become fundamental, it "stands under" reality. This is completely absurd. There can be nothing more fundamental than reality. Therefore the primary mediator to reality must be reality (itself).
There can be nothing more direct or immediate than reality. The problem is that it is only on rare occasions that we encounter anyone who is able to immediately mediate reality. Why? Because to do so is to become instantly aware that consciousness cannot be localized or defined. In other words, we become acutely aware that our identities are nothing more than abstract constructions of our own minds which most of the time are the medium through which we mediate reality. There is nothing immediate about them so when they vanish, there is only immediate undifferentiated reality.
This could aptly be called a "no-brainer". There is nothing to figure out because it is all blatantly apparent TO the senses rather than through the senses.
This was the original purpose of religion[from L. religare], namely to "bind back" to the origin; to return to reality. It was originally a vehicle to turn off the "self" or ego; a way to show the identity that it isn't real. Today, religions have become nothing more than old cars sitting on blocks with empty engine compartments that will never go anywhere. We can only sit in them and dream of a day when we will be able to install an engine and take it somewhere better than this shed its sitting in.
The identity isn't anything more than an idea; a silly idea. When the identity is abolished, this is referred to as Nirvana, liberation, the kingdom, enlightenment, realization etc., but the simple fact is that one doesn't really have to dig all that far down to discover this reality because on some level, we already are aware of this existential fact. The problem is that we are too wrapped up in ourselves to let go. We like our things. We insist on possessing these bodies like only a demon can.
In the new testament narratives we see people who are "witnesses" to an event that has completely changed the course of history. What that event was is anyone's guess, but to simply brush it off as "fairy tales" or inconsequential is to spotlight one's ignorance of history.
Beyond playing guessing games, the narratives themselves provide clues to those who cherish their powers of observation rather than those who would prefer to worship the observations of others. I am not only referring to those who have delivered to us the doctrines of the Christian denominations, but also to those who have provided their own dogmatic assumptions to the more recent religious manifestations of those devoted to Science, Reason, atheism, skepticism, and agnosticism.
The vast majority of which have not only never cracked open a bible, but even those who have, have done it with an eye to dismiss rather than to see what it actually says. An open mind isn't likely to come to any quick conclusions.
We live in an imperfect world, which should suggest to some the possibility of perfection. After all, even though prefixes appear prior to the words they preface, the root word isn't referred to as a root for nothing. So while our observations do not provide us with examples of perfection, our minds necessarily require them to make sense of what we do observe.
When we are then informed that the kingdom cannot be discerned through observation, the reasons for this should become apparent almost immediately. Science readily admits that our powers of observation are fallible which can have drastic and incalculable ramifications on our ability to interpret what we observe. The results will inevitably lead to false conclusions, therefore the senses cannot be the faculty to lead one to the kingdom, truth, or Ultimate reality.
Just as important, given the fact that observations are so untrustworthy, it should come as no surprise that the kingdom cannot be placed in a position of subjugation to them. The kingdom cannot be subjected to observation.
There's yet another problem when dealing with knowledge in that it is obtained through the faculty of the intellect, and by employing the intellect as the arbiter of truth claims, we are necessarily placing it as a mediator between us and reality. The problem is in not noticing that reality is primary and the intellect can only reflect upon reality through abstract constructions, symbols, etc.
By definition, symbols are not what they signify, and never can be. Therefore, by placing the intellect as a go between us and reality we can only mediate reality through symbols and abstract constructions of our own minds. None of these are real.
When we place the intellect in a position of such high regard, we make it primary. On some level, our understanding has become fundamental, it "stands under" reality. This is completely absurd. There can be nothing more fundamental than reality. Therefore the primary mediator to reality must be reality (itself).
There can be nothing more direct or immediate than reality. The problem is that it is only on rare occasions that we encounter anyone who is able to immediately mediate reality. Why? Because to do so is to become instantly aware that consciousness cannot be localized or defined. In other words, we become acutely aware that our identities are nothing more than abstract constructions of our own minds which most of the time are the medium through which we mediate reality. There is nothing immediate about them so when they vanish, there is only immediate undifferentiated reality.
This could aptly be called a "no-brainer". There is nothing to figure out because it is all blatantly apparent TO the senses rather than through the senses.
This was the original purpose of religion[from L. religare], namely to "bind back" to the origin; to return to reality. It was originally a vehicle to turn off the "self" or ego; a way to show the identity that it isn't real. Today, religions have become nothing more than old cars sitting on blocks with empty engine compartments that will never go anywhere. We can only sit in them and dream of a day when we will be able to install an engine and take it somewhere better than this shed its sitting in.
The identity isn't anything more than an idea; a silly idea. When the identity is abolished, this is referred to as Nirvana, liberation, the kingdom, enlightenment, realization etc., but the simple fact is that one doesn't really have to dig all that far down to discover this reality because on some level, we already are aware of this existential fact. The problem is that we are too wrapped up in ourselves to let go. We like our things. We insist on possessing these bodies like only a demon can.
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