Dogma

If I already know… 

I can no longer learn.

"A man with a conviction 
is a hard man to change.
Tell him you disagree 
and he turns away.
Show him facts or figures 
and he questions your sources.
Appeal to logic 
and he fails to see your point."— Stanford University psychologist Leon Festinger

“How thoughtful of God to arrange matters so that, wherever you happen to be born, the local religion always turns out to be the true one.” -Richard Dawkins

“The very desire to be certain, to be secure, is the beginning of bondage. It's only when the mind is not caught in the net of certainty, and is not seeking certainty, that it is in a state of discovery.” (Krishnamurti)

"Can we not look at the truth without creating ideas? It is almost instinctive with most of us when something true is put before us to create immediately an idea about it. And I think if we can understand why we do this so instinctively, almost unconsciously, then perhaps we shall understand if it is possible to be free from effort."
- Krishnamurti, On Truth

In response to a "conversation" thread on social media, I responded to a bunch of empty religious responses with this: "I understand where you are coming from because for 50 years I thought I knew everything too."

Recognizing and removing dogma is
“just a way of clearing the space for better conversations.” (Sam Harris)

What is Dogma --
a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true.

Origin of Dogma -- 
Mid 16th century via late Latin from Greek dogma ‘opinion’, from dokein ‘seem good, think’.
https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/dogma

"A settled opinion, a principle held as being firmly established," c. 1600 (in plural dogmata), from Latin dogma "philosophical tenet," from Greek dogma (genitive dogmatos) "opinion, tenet," literally "that which one thinks is true," from dokein "to seem good, think" (from PIE root *dek- "to take, accept").
https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=dogma

“People wish to be settled.

Only as far as they are unsettled

is there any hope for them.” (Emerson)

For me, simply looking at the definition and origins of the word "dogma" sends red flags up my spine and flying into the air. Here are some trigger words:

The Cocoon

Our Bubble of Sameness
Our Echo Chamber
Insulated and Isolated

Separated and Segregated

We are so quick to shy away from and avoid anything that is disruptive to our lifestyles, our values, our beliefs.

But there is no new learning, no change,
no growth, no new perspectives without disruption.

Without disruption of the status quo, we keep on
thinking and doing the same things over and over.

And yet we keep on talking to the same people,
having the same conversations,
thinking the same thoughts,
believing what we have been told,
following the same routines and habits.

Is that really what we want???
Why do we keep on doing things
that give us the same result that we do not want?

Will we ever dare to break out?

"Humanity has been sleeping -- and still sleeps -- lulled within the narrowly confining joys of its closed loves."

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Each year we live, layer after layer of conditioning creates a sort of cocoon where we see only what we are taught to see, hear only what we are listening for, the echo of our own voice; where we insulate and isolate ourselves from discomfort, insecurity, uncertainty, reality, truth, and the vulnerability of relationships as we sacrifice our own authenticity, identity, and integrity. After a while, we know nothing beyond our little cocoon. But that’s OK because it is safe and warm and predictable… and sleepy. We hang a sign on our cocoon, “Do Not Disturb!”

Meanwhile, “in the cocoon there is no idea of light at all, until we experience some longing for openness, some longing for something other than the smell of our own sweat.” (Chogyam Trungpa, Shambhala; the sacred path of the warrior)

The cocoon, by nature, can only be temporary, not a lifelong refuge. When we try to stay in the cocoon, it dries up and dies. In the cocoon, truth is rendered powerless and empty. Unknowingly, we bring our identity, our purpose, our religion into the cocoon with us. Layer on layer of conditioning dilutes and pollutes the vitality of compassion and peace, equality and integrity. True religion is buried with the spin of politics and commercialization of culture.

All we can hear is what we have been told.

All we hear is what we listen for.

All we hear is what we want to hear.

All we see is what is in our face in the dark.

All we see is what we are looking for.

All we see is what we want to see.

All we see is what is in our puny little world of our own making.

All we smell is our own sweat.

Sameness destroys disruption.

Comfortableness, security, certainty stifles disruption.

Difference and diversity nurtures disruption.

While disruption and growth destroys sameness, comfortableness, security, and certainty.

“When we hide from the world in this way, we feel secure. We may think that we have quieted our fear, but we are actually making ourselves numb with fear. We surround ourselves with our own familiar thoughts, so that nothing sharp or painful can touch us. We are so afraid of our fear that we deaden our hearts.” (Chogyam Trungpa, Shambhala; the sacred path of the warrior)

Our eyes… closed! Our ears… closed! Our minds… closed! Our hearts… closed! Our will… closed!

When will we wake up?

When will we break out?

Is there a glimmer of light, a hint of fresh air, that might pique our curiosity?

There is a whole universe out there; out beyond the walls of our puny little world.

There is a reality beyond our own making, maybe even a “God” beyond the one that we have created.

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become breakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”
C. S. Lewis
Source: The Four Loves

Let's step out of the cocoon, the casket, the coffin, and stand up into the Light.

Why so afraid to stand up?

Someone will tell you, ‘sit down’.

But herein is the truth:

someone will always tell you to sit down.

The ones we remember

. . . kept standing.

(Ruth Forman)

In the book, Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior, warriorship is taught as a way of life. A warrior lives a life of fearlessness only if the person lives a life that is fully aware and fully present. The characteristic at the core of warriorship is gentleness; which comes from tenderness.

“Real fearlessness is the product of tenderness. It comes from letting the world (touch) your heart, your raw and beautiful heart. You are willing to open up, without resistance or shyness, and face the world. You are willing to share your heart with others.”

“In the Shambhala tradition, discovering fearlessness comes from working with the softness of the human heart.” “When a human being first gives birth to the tender heart of warriorship… you no longer need to feel shy or embarrassed about being gentle. In fact, your softness begins to become passionate. You would like to extend yourself to others and communicate with them. When tenderness evolves in that direction, then you can truly appreciate the world around you. Sense perceptions become very interesting things. You are so tender and open already that you cannot help opening yourself to what takes place all around you … You begin to feel comfortable being a gentle and decent person.”

Sold Out

Sold Out. Souled Out. Hollowed Out.

From my perspective, Evangelical Christianity has been sold out to power and politics, or maybe “souled out” is a better term. 

Hollowed out also comes to mind quite often.

What I see is a form of
Christianity that has traded

righteousness for power,

character for politics, 

the hard, dirty work of compassion for the easy way, 

the essential issues at the core of Christianity for distraction issues that are nonessential, fringe issues.

“How dismal it is to see present day Americans yearning for the very orthodoxy that their country was founded to escape.”
― Christopher Hitchens

Immigration, homosexuality, and abortion as political weapons

It is of great concern to me that these political issues seem to have emerged for political convenience and power which included mistranslations and misinterpretations of the Bible. Could it be that the Bible has secretly lost its authority, inspiration, and inerrancy in order for it to be so freely weaponized for political gain? And the absurdity of it is that it is the "Evangelical Christians" that are trying to hang on to their precious inspiration and inerrancy while at the same time weaponizing the sacred book for the sake of their precious politics. They are going to have to prioritize soon because the rest of us are catching on and they are losing their integrity and credibility. 

No one can serve two masters.

Respectable Religion?
"Following Jesus is not a respectable religion, and I suspect it was never meant to be. It is a call to truth, justice and liberation for those oppressed, excluded and disempowered."
Diarmuid O'Murchu
Source: Catching Up With Jesus

FOLLOWING THE EASY WAY

Originally, Christianity was never meant to be the easy way. Then it became seduced with power by becoming an arm of empire (which has been for most of its history). Currently, it has again been hoodwinked and hijacked by the power of empire.

It is so interesting how easy it has been to forsake the essentials of Christianity for the sake of politics, money, and power.

Essentials are those basic, central characteristics expressed in words and actions and reactions that prove a person is a Christian:

• Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
• Loving God and Neighbor, which includes our enemy, the alien, the stranger, and all of those that are different from us... unconditionally.
• Do to others only what you would want done to you.

Apart from these things, 

there is no faith, 

there is no love, 

there is no Christianity.
"Faith without works is dead." (James 2:14-26)
"Anyone who does not love does not know God, 

because God is love." (1 John 4:8)

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35)

It is so much easier to focus on nonrelational, impersonal, political, nonessentials that were not emphasized by Jesus, the Bible, and 2000 years of Christianity. I see this as yet another prime example of worshiping the gods of comfort, security, and certainty or a compartmentalized religion that has no demands except possibly on Sundays, holidays, and voting day to do one's duty.

Behold, a new American sanitized, sterilized, pasteurized, homogenized Jesus emerges creating the easy way, a pipeline to heaven, where right belief expressed in fear and hate rather than right living is the fruit of the spirit. A nice imaginary Jesus has been created for our own convenience in America. Christians no longer have to "love their neighbor" or be a "friend of sinners" or care for the "least of these" because it is too hard and inconvenient and dirty. Behold a new story in the heads of well meaning Christians, as they sit in their easy chairs and padded pews. No wonder the gullible are gobbling it up.

These nonessential issues are safe and easy; issues where nothing needs to be done, no one can touch your heart, and you can't touch others, allowing us to escape the hard work of compassion, avoid the pain of empathy, and not get one’s hands dirty; secure and safe in one’s bubble. All that needs to be done is to rail in judgement or hate against people on social media (our self-made echo chamber), sign petitions, and donate money; nothing personal, nothing face to face, no compassion needed, no relationships necessary. Those that are affected as victims by these issues are unavailable to one’s touch, words, and actions; arms length, safe and easy. No care, no compassion, no service except lip service from a distance. 

Christianity in America has sectioned itself off and segregated itself from those that Jesus said he came for; the outcasts and despised, the poor and downtrodden, the week and the weary, the lowly and forgotten, the unseen and unheard; THE SICK NOT THE HEALTHY. A friend of mine told me a story that she was in an adult Sunday school class and they had started a new topic, studying what the Bible says about the poor. When it was discussion time, they all turned to reach other and said, I don't know anyone that is poor, do you? The answer was"no" all the way around the room. Following what Jesus said and did or what the Bible says to do no longer matters. Just vote from the safe, secure, comfortable bubble. Incidentally, I have noticed a very distinct growth of the War on the Poor and Advocates for the Rich over subsequent years. I think they ceased to study the "poor" in the bible. It is easier. 

Vote for nonessential, unbiblical issues like anti-abortion, anti-immigrant, xenophobia, and homophobia. 

American Christians don't even know what the bible says about their own issues (?? just keep reading).

Primarily, I see that we have gutted (hollowed out) the real work of Christianity for the non-issues or anti-issues of abortion, immigration, and LGBTQIA equality. Currently it seems that Christianity is defined more by what it stands against than what it stands for. Rather than pro-life, it is anti-abortion. And may I suggest that those in power do not care about those issues? These issues are simply tools of manipulation to get a vote and maintain their base of support. Sometimes they end up being against the needs of the people unless there is multiple perspectives making those decisions. Here is an unfortunate example that is bad for both pro-life and pro-choice advocates.

Recently, a high court decision banned employers from being forced to provide birth control under the Affordable Care Act. Rather than being thought through, this seemed to be more of an anti-Obama move; and he isn't even president anymore! But that made it a victory, albeit thoughtless and mindless. If this would have been thought through for the sake of politics, anyone could see that if women use less birth control, then they will have more unwanted pregnancies; which in turn will almost guarantee more abortions. So this action of the administration works counterproductive to the goal of no abortions. Not very wise.

“There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.”
― Audre Lorde

True Pro Life = Advocating for Life

The belief that all life is sacred and deserves to be protected. One who is truly pro-life will oppose capital punishment, war, poverty, and all forms of physical or mental torture, domestic abuse, police brutality, and gun control. Such a person will see abortion as a tragedy for all involved, not a "reproductive right" to be celebrated - and will work to end abortion, not by force or intimidation, but by working to change the social and economic conditions that lead people to be so desperate as to have no choice but abortion.

It seems quite hypocritical that people might think that because a person identifies as pro-life, they would support such atrocities as capital punishment, pre-emptive war, racism, or violence against women.

The institution of Christianity was birthed in 313 AD in the womb of the power of empire and sustains itself in that same power as an arm of empire; progressively merging religion with the power and authority of politics as the power and authority of religion is trumped, stifled, and rendered meaningless. This struggle between revival and empire has continued for 2000 years. That's why America was founded. The founders fled the tyranny of religion in England so that they could be free to worship or not worship, believe or not believe in America. Check out the latest statistics of those that are religious and those that are no longer religious (the nones) in America and throughout the world.   https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/ 

Recently I was checking some statistics about American Christianity. In 2015, the country was 75% professing Christians. By 2019, it dropped to 65%. You may say, only 10% during Trump's presidency? And I say, yes, over 30,000,000 people have left Christianity in America. Not just the church, but these are people that can decidedly no longer identify as Christian. Who can blame them?

Following are the main three nonessential, fringe issues that Christianity has sold itself out to along with the misinterpreted scriptures that are being used as propaganda. These are fringe in the bible, in Jesus’ teachings, and in Christianity for 2000 years. But these are issues that powerful political players have been manipulating into the evangelical mainstream, not for the sake of these issues being important but for the sake of getting a vote. 

Immigration, Homosexuality, and Abortion

A Biblical and History Perspective

Keep in mind that in the bible, when there is something that is clearly against the Law of God, then there is always a commandment stating that. But there are no commandments stating:
1. Thou shalt build a wall to keep out the immigrants and the refugees. Fear them!
2. Thou shalt discriminate against homosexuals that are law abiding citizens. Fear them!
3. Thou shalt not commit abortion. Abortion is murder!