juantoo3
....whys guy.... ʎʇıɹoɥʇnɐ uoıʇsǝnb
From:
http://www.comparative-religion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1360&page=2&pp=15
Kindest Regards to all!
It seems to me that some among us would claim for themselves the title of “Sage.” I cannot help but wonder how a person can be a Sage while intolerantly disenfranchising those of other beliefs and faiths? Indeed, such a person asks not that another question the Sage, simple belief is enough! That by preponderance of exposition (also known as running off at the mouth, or fingers as it were), no matter how unproveable, said Sage is to be believed above all others. Questioning minds are to be avoided, unless the questions lead directly along the path said Sage suggests. Disbelieving questions are dismissed in most intolerant ways!
History is full of said persons, some even founding their own religious sects and cults. And the mindless follow, asking no hard questions.
Funny thing about religious beliefs, what one believes today, no matter how reverential and faithful, is not the same as one believed 5 years ago. And what one believes 5 years from now, will not be the same as one believes today. That is called growing, spiritually speaking.
Thinking people, that is those who ask hard questions, look thoughtfully and respectfully at all faiths and beliefs, including their own. These are the “rational” people, who said Sage regards as irrational, because they dare to challenge said Sage. It is not that said Sage has not a right to opinion, all persons have a right to an opinion. But that said Sage’s opinion, and that opinion alone, is the only worth considering in said Sage’s mind, is intolerant fundamentalist bigotry. No different than any fundamentalist group one wishes to compare to, when one strips away the veneer and façade and looks at the reality of what is coming to pass.
There are ways of constructively communicating with people one disagrees with. A true Sage knows how. A wannabe Sage tries to learn. A false Sage has no interest in learning how to communicate with those they fundamentally disagree with.
If I were to seriously consider every supposed prophecy sent from beyond by an angel, or spirit guide, or whatever, I would go insane. Besides the fact that said prophecies cannot be proven, does one not think that if the Almighty, or All-encompassing, or however one wishes to view the universal IS, otherwise known as God, had a message for a specific individual, that the IS would grant that vision directly to that person, and that person alone? There is no requirement for a mouthpiece, most especially for those who deeply consider spiritual matters on their own.
Now, I have heard it said there are many paths up the mountain. I am not fully certain I agree, but in the interest of respect and tolerance I do go along with the principle. I have quoted many times, so many in fact I grow weary of repeating myself, the second chapter of Romans, beginning around verse ten. There I find tolerance for other faiths and beliefs.
And so I return to the concept of “Sage.” It seems to me, that a true Sage is not interested in self aggrandizement, or self promotion, or insistently founding a new belief system. Such things are not needed, not by the thinking person, nor by the unthinking person. A true Sage, would assist a person, any person, along the path they are on. Instead of intolerantly insisting that they change paths midway up the mountain. Perhaps I am mistaken, that is always a possibility, I am no Sage. I am merely a fellow traveler discovering my path up the mountain.
Love in abundance,
Shalom
