How does one know if their beliefs align to the nature of their being.
Question Posed: “I’m a Christian and my family is very judgmental and damns my spiritual work as evil. How do you know that what you believe in is a “good” thing and is in alignment with being authentic?”
What is rooted in your authentic nature and state of being does not and will not in most instances dissolve when it is tested by ongoing experiences of Human Dogma. It only becomes clearer and further solidified by the circumstances and challenges we individually face. The practices that do not hold will adapt or evolve instead, still in keeping with one’s core beliefs. If there are those of us who believe in the idea of supporting life and refraining from killing humans, because we perceive it as wrong, then we DO NOT destroy life and kill humans. Despite simple logic, people throughout history have murdered others and continue to do such to sustain the BELIEF SYSTEM which promotes the IDEA of supporting life and avoidance of killing others. This historically has proven to be the immediate reaction from faith devotees, who “feel threatened” against a people who are different and have THEIR OWN expressions of competing ideas and beliefs.
In many situations those “different” ideas are often very similar to each other and are not in conflict except for the source it’s come from. Here’s an example of this occurrence. I was raised a Catholic within the traditions of Christianity. Though I now appreciate the ritual and familiarity of the belief system, I willfully chose to leave the faith as a devotee during young adulthood . I made this choice for various reasons. The organization of Catholicism in it’s historic and consistent practices did not align to the core of my being and sense of ethics.
It is estimated that within the last 2,000 years, hundreds of millions of people, upwards of 700 million have been brutally tortured and murdered under the condemnation and sponsorship of Christian followers with supporting organizations. These followers have obviously NOT acted on the principles of the founder of their belief system. This is in essence a kind of ideological slap to the face of Yeshua (Jesus) and is a great disrespect, disservice and disregard for the teachings and practices of true disciples. If some of today’s followers simply shifted their perspective, then it would be painfully obvious of what in fact they are doing. Acting against their own beloved teacher and sincerely… I wonder if some would even give it a second thought and feel embarrassed or even ashamed for their approach.
It is a common occurrence for people who ideologically identify with a belief system of their cultural upbringing to lack actual training, practice and comprehensive understanding of their beliefs. Instead, they opportunistically pick and choose which ideas and teachings give them the advantage and in simple defense of their established heritage. Ideology often times becomes weaponized as a method to manipulate, advance superiority and gain control over others in challenging situations. The idea of being passive and submissive in any humbling way is considered a weakness, especially in male dominated societies and cultures.
Historically, it is better to defend your way of life by striking first and crushing any opposition so that those feeling threatened may have a sense of peace and protection for chosen beliefs. And only then do they feel comfortable enough that they can revert back to the presumed ideal state that they are living the true path and word in their lives. It’s utterly preposterous. Even the founder of Christianity himself, did not appear to fight back in defense of his positions and philosophy when he was apparently captured by Roman soldiers and crucified on the cross. Instead, he submitted and resolved to the will of the Roman Empire, under charges of sedition, in yet another example of his own ideology and beliefs. That was his defense and that example is celebrated to this day. So what can gain from the aspects in our discussion?
Do these historical facts and objective observations mean all Christians are murders or that it is a bad belief system?
No. There are many Christian inspired organizations which do a tremendous amount of good to alleviate human suffering. Consider the example of Mother Theresa.
Does it mean that Christianity is misunderstood by many of its followers and that the teachings of Christ are not rooted and authentically represented by many devotees?
Yes. That is precisely what it means. A majority of Christians are followers in ritual and title only. Most devotees do not comprehend or understand the complexity of the teachings of Christ. This is the very reason Christ was said to spend hours a day in debate with his disciples. So that they could present situations in which his teachings and beliefs could be applied for the common lay person to understand. Note that it is estimated that over 90% of the people during the first century CE were illiterate. The average person could not read or comprehend what was taught philosophically, except through stories and examples of action.
How is it logically possible for people to have specific beliefs and then to act very differently than those beliefs ?
This is due to our human nature. Humans are very complex beings. We have the ability of a conflictive mental state within our nature. This gives us the opportunity to know ourselves through willful expression of thought, emotion and action and not just in expression of our baser survival instincts. The challenge in our evolutionary process is that we still very much so identify our ideas with our baser survival instincts, even when it is contradictory and acts against our own interests.
People born into families of various religious cultures tend to mimic what is socially acceptable and do not make it a point to be accountable to the core messaging and religious tenets. They instead accommodate and align with what is an established social norm and defend it as their way of life under the jurisdiction of the religious practice. Most believers of Yeshua’s (Jesus) teachings do not have the slightest idea of how to act as a genuine practitioner when faced with real world circumstances and challenges which tests one’s ethical merit.
On the flip side, many of the promoters of Christianity speak on its words but do not exemplify the teachings within their own lives. They have received no training or preparation for embodying Christian ideals. There is a belief within many newer sects of Christianity that if you will only accept Jesus into your heart, pledging an allegiance, then you are saved. Those people remain ignorant in that they believe to call ones self a follower of Christ is the same as accepting the use and wisdom in his teachings.
They do not understand that the true salvation of his example is in the utilizing of his concepts and applying them, in action, to their life which would grant them an experience of benefit and change away from personal suffering. Yeshua taught a great many things and offered plenty of examples for those who may become confused with his concepts. The acceptance of the title “follower of Jesus or Christian” is not the implementation of those teachings. That is a fundamental truth.
To call yourself one who is taught in the memory of a teacher and then instead fails to use those lessons when an opportunity is presented is blasphemous. That person is living as a fraud and in our civilization people who, for example, call themselves a doctor but have no practicing experience… offer no evidence, credentials or medical understanding of any kind are referred to as con artists. The same applies to the “I am a Christian” social paradox. A Christian by title alone is truly not one who is learnED in genuine practice and in acting as such, metaphorically spits on the memory of the master who has died before them in history and in honor of those teachings.
So then the question for you “as a Christian” is who are you truly? Can you operate more aligned to what you believe? If you genuinely are not a Christian then is what you do consistently aligned to your chosen beliefs and sense of ethics? Does a majority of your experiences and actions support and affirm your allegiance to your faith or are you not awakened to your authentic nature as of yet? These are important questions and reflections to have if you choose to live in alignment of your truth and within integrity of your beliefs. There will always be critics of your chosen path. You’re likely to make many friends and enjoy life if you operate from a place of knowledge and love than from a place of ignorance and fear. To all those who would chastise you out of fear and ignorance, I say set the example The Christ has set before you.
For more information about Ferny and his work go to www.FernandoMarron.com
