Free to Be Me!

In my last post, I discussed the topic of “Determining Who One Is.” I argued in the post that one must make the effort to love oneself and to love oneself one must follow the learning process that humans use in all other activities. The goal of learning about oneself is unity within self…wholeness of being. And, we are commanded to engage in this process for it is a part of the commandments to love God and to love our neighbor (people and creation) as we love ourselves…to be in unity with God, within ourselves, with others, and with creation.

This last post follows the line of several other posts that I have written for this blog site. The foundation for all my thinking is that human beings are problem solvers. This is the most unique of all the characteristics of human beings and the degree of improvement and the level of sophistication these humans have attained in this skill has separated them from all other life that we know of. I wrote of this in my post “Problem Solving: The Most Human of Activities,” which appeared on February 22, 2008.

The basic goal of problem solving…or in other words, decision making…is to observe the regularities of creation and create models, schema, rules, and so forth to use as a means of prediction when an individual is faced with a situation or a difficulty that requires some form of action. The use of these models is very pragmatic…they must be logically consistent and they must predict at least as well as any other model that can be useful in such a situation or difficulty. I discussed these issues in my post of October 31, 2008 entitled “Models that Work.”

The thing is that we must develop a “trust” in our models. Since we work in a world of incomplete information ALL of our models are going to be partial or fallible. Humans do not have models that predict the future perfectly…that is why “trust” is so important. The question, of course, becomes…what models, schema, rules, and so forth do I “trust”? The basic concept here is that through use, education, example, and so forth, we develop what is called a “warranted belief” in those models, schema, rules, and so forth. Warranted, here is used to mean that the individual has sufficient evidence or proof that the model, etc., is logically consistent and predicts at least as well as any other model that can be applied to the given situation or difficulty. Warranted, in this case, means that a person has, for him- or her-self, sufficient justification to put their “trust” in the model being applied to the situation or difficulty. With new information we improve, modify, or introduce new, logically consistent models that predict better than the old ones. This concept was expanded on in my post of March 14, 2008 entitled “Warranted Belief.”

An important thing to remember, however, is that we do not do all this work alone…we live in the world…we have families…we belong to groups…we are part of communities…and so forth. We are not meant to be alone…to do it all alone…or to be separated…or alienated…or isolated. We learn in communities; communities give us a chance to practice problem solving and decision making; communities allow us to make mistakes and look foolish; and communities help us to grow and develop. They provide us with a (relatively) safe place for us to experiment and try out things without facing the temptations, threats, and disappointments of the “outside” world.

But, groups and communities can present problems. Groups or communities can attempt to impose their ideas on individuals. Groups or communities can try and control individuals. Groups and communities can limit thinking, learning, experimenting, growth, and becoming whole. Groups can be very destructive to becoming who one is.

Thus, the groups and communities we belong to are important. Understanding this and learning and growing are important in how we decide on the groups and communities we join or remain with. This was why I discussed this concern in “The Communities We Belong To” in my post of March 7, 2008. This choice can be a difficult part of life and sometimes the choice separates us from some individuals that are very close and dear to us. Yet, for us to become who we are as fully as possible and to grow into greater unity with God and ourselves and other people and creation, sometimes we must make the difficult choice.

For this reason I say that I can’t approach my religion any differently than I approach other decision or problems in my life. That is, why should I suspend the way I go about decision making or problem solving in all other facets of my life; why should I check these practices at the entrance to anything religious or theological? This doesn’t make sense…yet, it is exactly what is expected of us by many religious groups and organizations around the world. I cannot accept this…at least for me!

I have two points to add to this. First, if you try living differently in one area of your life and try to force that part into the other areas of your life, you will never achieve the greater unity you seek. You will be condemned to being something less than whole. But, this is what is often encouraged in trying to live the religious life. You take the dogma; you take the creeds; and you suspend your approach to living when you enter the religious part of your life. Then you are encouraged to carry this religious approach to life into everything else that you do. It just doesn’t work.

Many people complain that people are only religious for one hour a week…the time that they attend a worship service. The more I have thought about this the more I have come to the conclusion that people don’t extend the “religious” part of their life work…to their home…to the other parts of their life…because the approach to doing things in a “religious” way…just doesn’t work. And, human decision making and problem solving abilities have evolved for one simple, pragmatic reason…they work.

Let me note right away that this does not mean that one does not live an honorable, meaningful life outside the “religious” part of their life. We are still commanded to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The crucial thing in living well is that we keep on trying to discover the models of life that bring us into greater unity with God, etc., and that bring us into greater personal wholeness. But, that gets me into my second point.

My second point is that God wants us to be problem solvers in everything that we do. We, in a real sense, believe that God has given humans this gift…has given us the talent to solve problems and make decisions. God, we believe, has claimed that “this is good!” God, we believe, wants us to practice and develop this capability throughout our lives. It is through the use of this ability that we can grow into greater unity with God, within ourselves, with others, and with creation. Therefore, this talent is to be used in all our activities…including those pertaining to religion and theology.

Therefore, I cannot accept any institution or person telling me that I have to live or believe a certain way. They can suggest certain ways of living or believing for my consideration. But, I have to be free to decide for myself…and that is the only way that I can be me.

The Search for Knowledge

Jesus is reported to have said this during his ministry: “you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” This comes from the book of John, chapter 8, verse 32. He prefaces this by saying, “If you continue in my word…”

The question about the meaning of this…and of other sayings attributed to Jesus…is whether or not Jesus wanted us to take his sayings as “law” or as “process.” If we take his sayings as “law” then we must obey exactly what he says. But, this has its own problems.

When Jesus is ask by a Jewish lawyer, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds by asking the lawyer “What is written in the law?” The lawyer smartly replies that “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” This comes from the book of Luke, chapter 10, versus 25-28.

This is the law and Jesus commends him: “You have given the right answer…” but then he goes on, “do this, and you will live.”

Whoa! Here is the law. We are told what to do. But…there is a hitch…how do we act? How do we carry out the meaning of the law? Like, for instance, “And who is my neighbor?” the lawyer replies.

Good question.

What does the law mean? How should it be applied? And, to whom should it be applied?

The law is the law, but the application of the law…is interpretation.

I believe that we get some sense of how Jesus sees the law being applied in two incidents that are reported in Mark 2:23-3:6, Matthew 12:1-14, and Luke 6:1-11. The first incident occurs when Jesus and his disciples are going through a grain field. (Mark 2:23) The second takes place in a synagogue on the Sabbath. In both cases the “upholders of the law” take issue with what is being done. In the first case the issue is about doing work on the Sabbath…plucking heads of grain. In the second case the issue concerns Jesus healing the withered hand of a man.

Upon facing the claim that he or his disciples are “doing what is not lawful” (Mark 2:24) Jesus replies citing scripture. “Have you never read…” he responds to the Pharisees. Also, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” (Mark 3:4)

He justifies the actions by saying “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath…” (Mark 2:27) and “I desire mercy and not sacrifice…” (Matthew 12:7) In other words, think about what the law is supposed to do. Is the law supposed to constrain man, limit him, and box him in? Or, is the law about freeing up man, opening up his possibilities, and providing liberation.

Did Moses liberate the Hebrews from bondage…or did he impose the law on them to bring them into a different kind of bondage?

I believe that what Jesus is saying is “think rightly.” What is this all about? The law is supposed to build up life…to create greater wholeness…to allow one to live more fully. You shouldn’t use the law to destroy life…or create division…or to smother the living. The law is supposed to help people live with God…to live with themselves…to live with others…and to live with creation.

The law is a guideline…but the law needs interpretation…the law requires knowledge and understanding. And, what does the law say? Well, Jesus says that the lawyer “gave the right answer.” The right answer is…“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

But, this answer opens up two issues that require definition. The first one, the lawyer goes for…”who is my neighbor?” Jesus doesn’t provide an answer to who the neighbor of the lawyer is. This is the story of the Good Samaritan and when Jesus finishes the story he asks…”Which of the these three was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” And this deals with the second issue…what does it mean to love you neighbor.

Not…who is my neighbor?...but who was a neighbor. And, the lawyer gives Jesus the right answer again, “The one who showed him mercy.” The one who loved.

Note, by providing the other with the response he or she needs…you are being a neighbor. YOU are the only one you can control. YOU are the only one that can carry out the commandment for YOU. And, you respond to the needs of others, which requires that you make the effort to know what the other needs…and this is not what YOU want to give to the other…it is what the other needs!

And, this gets me back to the quote at the beginning…”If you continue in my word…YOU will know the truth…and the truth will make YOU free.” That is, if you take the time and effort to learn what the other needs and give to the other what he or she or it needs then YOU will become free…become whole…become fully alive. It is not the responsibility of the neighbor or who the neighbor is.

So, loving requires knowing…and knowing requires effort on the part of the individual to learn. We don’t know what the answer is until we make the effort to learn. THE LAW DOES NOT GIVE US THE ANSWER…the law only guides us. We must “think rightly.’

To put this in another way, it seems to me that any one or any group or any organization that requires you to subscribe to something that is rigid, dogmatic, or imposed upon you violates the teachings of Jesus. Any one or any group or any organization that tells you what to believe or tells you what to do or tells you who you can associate with violates the teachings of Jesus. We should be immediately suspicious of any one, any group, or any organization that has the final word on things, that will not us allow us to test things out and make our own judgments.

Jesus says that if you open your heart and soul and mind and strength to love…to love God, yourself, others, and all of creation…you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. That is, we have to develop and trust the inherent abilities we have as human beings and problem solvers if we are to be fully human, fully whole, and fully alive. We must oppose those that try and constrain us, who allow us anything less.