TESTIMONY AND PRAYER
A
"Pilgrims" Progress...or lack thereof...
#2
CRISIS OF FAITH
(OR,
THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS)
AND
THE GOLDEN RULE
March 15, 2006
Typical
of the mindset of Addicts/Alcoholics everywhere (even those well
into Recovery) my Ego is having a problem adapting itself to the
rigors of mindful Christianity...and I am experiencing, already,
a crisis of faith...I have doubts...
Oh,
I still have a good relationship with Jesus ("Jesse"
loves me, of this Truth I have no doubt...and I still think The
Dude was/is waaaaaaaay kool...), I'm just not sure about the
formal "Religion" part of it...church dogma never much
appealed to me in the past, and it still doesn't...
As
well, I am loathe to give up my belief in some of the Good
Teachings of other faiths...Buddhism, Taoism, Baha'i,
Confucionism, Wicca, Islam (to name just a few) have many tenets
and philosophies to which I remain powerfully and preferentially
drawn...as well, the historical politics of Fundamentalist
Christianity (most recently as manifest in the form of George W.
Bush - my own personal vision of The Devil Incarnate)
cause me much grief and confusion...
I
guess I could be an Eclectic without a Church for a while
...at
least until I sort it all through ...
I
take comfort in the thought that my heart wants to
believe in A Power Greater Than Myself and that even Jesus
Himself had (at least) one serious moment of doubt
Matthew
27:46
46And
about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli,
Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me?
I'm
working on clearing my head and my heart, and coming to terms
with my apparent inability to maintain a doubt-free continuum of
single faith...but, as I have been forewarned, by Christians,
persons of other faiths, even 12 Steppers, alike, once you come
out of the spiritual closet (so to speak) The Enemy makes you a
"Special Project..."
2
Corinthians 2:11
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us:
for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Well,
at least I can comfort myself, temporarily, with the thought
that at least The Devil thinks I'm "Special..." (no,
BAD! Lumpy - bad thinking...don't go there!!!)
In
the mean time, in between, I choose to fall back on the one
universally shared belief of almost all religions - the
Ethics of Reciprocity, or
The
Golden Rule
"Do
unto others and you would wish them to do unto you..."
And
since I've progressed in my Recovery to the point where (I
think, most of the time, anyway, pretty much) that I no longer
actively wish to do myself harm (although I do in many ways,
indeed, do myself harm), I may almost be on the right track with
that one...
"Every
religion emphasizes human improvement, love, respect for others,
sharing other people's suffering. On these lines every religion
ha(s) more or less the same viewpoint and the same goal."
--
The Dalai Lama
Pray
for me...and I'll pray for you...
Peace
Lumpy
Karma
|
|
IN
SEARCH OF THE UNIVERSAL GOLDEN RULE... |
 |
Bahá'í
World Faith:
 | "Ascribe not to any
soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed
to thee, and say not that which thou doest
not." "Blessed is he who
preferreth his brother before himself."
Baha'u'llah |
| "And if thine eyes be
turned towards justice, choose thou for thy
neighbour that which thou choosest for
thyself." Epistle to the Son of the
Wolf |
|
| |
Brahmanism:
"This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto
others which would cause you pain if done to
you". Mahabharata, 5:1517 |
| |
Buddhism:
| "...a state that is
not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I
inflict that upon another?"
Samyutta NIkaya v. 353 |
| Hurt not others in ways
that you yourself would find hurtful."
Udana-Varga 5:18 |
|
| |
Christianity:
| "Therefore all things
whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,
do ye even so to them: for this is the law and
the prophets."
Matthew 7:12, King James Version. |
| "And as ye would that
men should do to you, do ye also to them
likewise." Luke 6:31, King James
Version. |
| "...and don't do
what you hate...", Gospel of Thomas
6. The Gospel of Thomas is one of about 40
gospels that were widely accepted among early
Christians, but which never made it into the
Christian Scriptures (New Testament). |
|
| |
Confucianism:
| "Do not do to others
what you do not want them to do to you"
Analects 15:23 |
| "Tse-kung asked, 'Is
there one word that can serve as a principle
of conduct for life?' Confucius replied, 'It
is the word 'shu' -- reciprocity. Do not
impose on others what you yourself do not
desire.'" Doctrine of the Mean 13.3 |
| "Try your best to
treat others as you would wish to be treated
yourself, and you will find that this is the
shortest way to benevolence." Mencius
VII.A.4 |
|
| |
Ancient
Egyptian:
| "Do for one who may
do for you, that you may cause him thus to do."
The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, 109 - 110
Translated by R.B. Parkinson. The original
dates to 1970 to 1640 BCE
and may be the earliest version ever
written. |
|
| |
Hinduism:
| "One should not
behave towards others in a way which is
disagreeable to oneself."
Mencius Vii.A.4 |
| "This is the sum of
the Dharma [duty]: do naught unto others which
would cause you pain if done to you."
Mahabharata 5:1517 |
|
| |
Humanism:
| "(5) Humanists
acknowledge human interdependence, the need
for mutual respect and the kinship of all
humanity." |
| "(11) Humanists
affirm that individual and social problems can
only be resolved by means of human reason,
intelligent effort, critical thinking joined
with compassion and a spirit of empathy for
all living beings. " |
| "Don't do things you
wouldn't want to have done to you, British
Humanist Society. |
|
| |
Islam:
| "None of you [truly]
believes until he wishes for his brother what
he wishes for himself." Number 13 of
Imam "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths." |
|
| |
Jainism:
| "Therefore, neither
does he [a sage] cause violence to others nor
does he make others do so."
Acarangasutra 5.101-2. |
| "In happiness and
suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard
all creatures as we regard our own self."
Lord Mahavira, 24th Tirthankara |
| "A man should wander
about treating all creatures as he himself
would be treated. "Sutrakritanga
1.11.33 |
|
| |
Judaism:
| "...thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself.",
Leviticus 19:18 |
| "What is hateful to
you, do not to your fellow man. This is the
law: all the rest is commentary."
Talmud, Shabbat 31a. |
| "And what you hate,
do not do to any one." Tobit
4:15 |
|
| |
Native
American Spirituality:
| "Respect for all
life is the foundation." The Great
Law of Peace. |
| "All things are our
relatives; what we do to everything, we do to
ourselves. All is really One." Black
Elk |
|
| |
Roman
Pagan Religion:
| "The law imprinted
on the hearts of all men is to love the
members of society as themselves." |
|
| |
Shinto:
| "The heart of
the person before you is a mirror. See there
your own form" |
|
| |
Sikhism:
| Compassion-mercy and
religion are the support of the entire
world". Japji
Sahib |
| "Don't create enmity
with anyone as God is within everyone."
Guru Arjan Devji 259 |
| "No one is my enemy,
none a stranger and everyone is my friend."
Guru Arjan Dev : AG 1299 |
|
| |
Sufism:
| "The basis of Sufism
is consideration of the hearts and feelings of
others. If you haven't the will to gladden
someone's heart, then at least beware lest you
hurt someone's heart, for on our path, no sin
exists but this." Dr. Javad
Nurbakhsh, Master of the Nimatullahi Sufi
Order. |
|
| |
Taoism:
| "Regard your
neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your
neighbor's loss as your own loss."
T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien. |
| "The sage has no
interest of his own, but takes the interests
of the people as his own. He is kind to the
kind; he is also kind to the unkind: for
Virtue is kind. He is faithful to the
faithful; he is also faithful to the
unfaithful: for Virtue is faithful."
Tao Teh Ching, Chapter 49 |
|
| |
Unitarian:
| "We affirm and
promote respect for the interdependent of all
existence of which we are a part."
Unitarian principles. |
|
| |
Wicca:
| "An it harm no one,
do what thou wilt" (i.e. do what ever
you will, as long as it harms nobody,
including yourself). One's will is to be
carefully thought out in advance of action.
This is called the Wiccan
Rede |
|
| |
Yoruba:
(Nigeria):
| "One going to take a
pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should
first try it on himself to feel how it hurts." |
|
| |
Zoroastrianism:
| "That nature alone is
good which refrains from doing unto another
whatsoever is not good for itself".
Dadistan-i-dinik 94:5 |
| "Whatever is
disagreeable to yourself do not do unto
others." Shayast-na-Shayast
13:29 |
|
|
________________________________________________
#
1 FOR THOSE WHO STILL SUFFER AND
SEARCH...
YOU'RE
NOT THE ONLY ONE...
December 21, 2005 (The Winter
Solstice)
For
you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to
fear,
but
you received the spirit of sonship.
And
by him we cry, 'Abba, Father'.
-Paul,
Romans 8:15
For
many years I sought peace and relief from my personal
pain
and
mental disorder through
the false promises of drugs and alcohol...
and
failed miserably...to say the least.
On
the Christmas Day (1995) that I finally realized I had to
come clean and sober, or die, I found myself alone, curled up in
a fetal ball, naked, on a cold bathroom floor, crying out
"God Help Me!"
Help
me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy:
-Psalms
109:26
and
He did, only I did not recognize it...nor give Him credit...
I
continued to drink and drug for some time after...then slowly, but
surely, I began my return to sanity, and I gave up, at least,
the worst of my addictions (illicit drugs and alcohol) and
headed on down the road to Sobriety. It wasn't a short road, nor
an easy journey, but I got there...still not giving credit where
credit was due,
but
beginning to see brief flashes of The Light. Even after
achieving sobriety
I continued in many of my long-term, addicted ways and, I
confess, still do - just without the drugs and
alcohol Old habits and The Enemy are not giving me
up lightly nor without a mighty struggle. However, I am
learning to forgive myself for being only human, and as the
Bible says:
To
whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any
thing,
to
whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of
Christ;
Lest
Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of
his devices.
--Corinthians
2 10-11
Upon
achieving some time in sobriety, then starting to attend AA and
NA meetings, and beginning to take The Steps and the words of
the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous seriously, I began again to
seek a Higher Power
("God
as you understand God")
I
sort of searched and casually sought through many faiths
(excepting
the church of my childhood, which I mistakenly believed had
betrayed me)...but
in
the search itself, however, there was some relief, if not
wholehearted Belief:
I
KNEW there must be a Power (of some sort) Greater than
myself,
else
I would still be enslaved to the demon hard drugs and alcohol;
for
surely, in my own weakness, I could not have found freedom
from addiction
without
the help of a MUCH Higher Power...
but, yet, still I was not quite ready
to accept...
For
a time I even came to believe (convinced myself) that,
perhaps,
there
really was no "God" after all.
and
that I would have to continue to build my own Higher Power
out
of bits and pieces of goodness in my life past and present
and
in my hopes for the future...
...to
make do with what I could until the day that, hopefully, real
faith would return...maybe...probably not, but...
still,
I did not altogether give up hope...
AMEN!
Although
my house be not so with God;
yet
he hath made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered
in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all
my desire,
although
he make it not to grow.
--2
Samuel 23:5.
Almost
10 years after that first desperate cry for help, on
December 4, 2005, I gave it One Last (truly desperate) Try
-
after all, nothing to lose an everything to gain, if -
and
I
went back to church (Oh, My...NOW we're talking Miracles!)
and
through the power of years of prayer from my steadfast Christian
friends,
as
well as the testimony of the congregation, the joyful songs of
the choir, and
the
power full words of the pastor of 2nd Baptist Church in
Martinez, California
I
was led by the Holy Spirit to go down on my knees and
open my heart once again
to
the Gospel (Good News) of the Christian faith,
and
to
my Eternally Grateful Surprise!
found
my Higher Power,
My Lord, Jesus
Christ
patiently
waiting there to welcome me back home...
"Well,
it took you long enough...but I TOLD you I'd wait for you,
didn't I?"
AMEN!
Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no
man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
--John
14:6
And
in Jesus, I have begun again to realize,
there
is a Way and the Power
to
ease our pain,
free
us from the bonds of addiction,
heal
our broken souls,
release
us from fear,
cleanse
our hearts of resentment
and
open them again to Life and Love,
to
make amends for the crimes we have committed against others, and
ourselves,
and
the Light to restore us to sanity
and
give us Peace...
AMEN!
I
pray, Today, for
those of you who still suffer,
who seek
freedom from addiction,
or
are still searching for a Power Greater than yourselves,
that
you may
find a Higher Power
as
Constant and Loving to guide you in your Recovery.
Do
not give up until The Miracle happens...
AMEN!
I
WISH YOU PEACE
IN
JESUS' NAME
AMEN
--Lumpy Karma
By
grace you have been saved through faith
and
this not from yourselves,
it
is the gift of God.
-Ephesians
2:8
