The Essence of Religion PART II: In The Service of Our Lord

by Fr. E.S.Q.S.

What follows is the second part of "The Essence of Religion". This part was written almost immediately after I finished writing "The Essence of Religion"; however, I did not post it. That being said, I had promised to do so a short while back - and, so, here it is. Unlike what I had done previously, I will post the whole of the paper in this thread alone as opposed to cluttering up the forum with many bits and pieces. I will start this thread and, once it is approved, I will start adding the rest of the paper.

That said, please bear in mind that the paper, "In The Service of Our Lord" is an exoteric paper addressing religious peoples - and especially Christian peoples. As such, it was written for them in language that I had considered might be more acceptable and accessible to them. The paper was not meant to elucidate the knowledge of reality, was not meant to show them how the world works; rather, it was meant to impress upon them the importance of love as active service. Hopefully, that will forestall any unnecessary confusion. That being said, let's begin:

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Note

What follows is a short meditation on Service. It makes considerable use of world scripture – and especially Christian scripture - to support its claims. This is not because the author is a Christian or prefers Christianity over other religions; rather, it is because the author is more familiar with Christian scripture than those of other religions. That said, this relatively short meditation is generally applicable to all religions.

Preface

What follows is a short meditation on Service. This meditation is being written shortly after the release of The Essence of Religion as a supplementary paper specifically addressing the matter of Service. Though the matter of Service was touched upon in The Essence of Religion, I suspect that it needs to be further emphasized. After all, no one is truly averse to hearing the message of love – but the message of Service, of hard work and toil, is never so welcome. This short meditation, then, will serve to expand upon the matter of Service, discussed in The Essence of Religion under the heading of Goodwill.

In the Service of Our Lord

Introduction

The essence of religion is love – a love of God and a love of Man. The essence of religion is unity. The essence of religion is brotherhood. This is the message of Christos which has been so hopelessly bungled in our day. However, as much as we may know that the essence of religion is love, our knowledge means nothing if it is not put into practice. As it has been said:

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26).

It is easy to say that “love is, indeed, the way”, but it is a whole other thing to put it into practice. Speech is easy, but hard work and toil, Service, is not so easy. It is by our hard work and toil for the betterment of our brethren that we prove our love to be true. It is by hard work and toil for the betterment of our brethren that we show our faith. As it is said:

“Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works” (James 2:18).

It is by hard work and toil for our brethren that love is realized. It is by hard work and toil for our brethren that unity and brotherhood may come to fruition. Knowing the path and walking the path are two very different things. If you would know love, then you must practice love: if you would know God, then you must love God – and the method is Service.

Realization

Love must be put into practice. It is not enough merely to know of love. Faithfulness is measured in love – and especially love in action, Service. As I had mentioned above, it is easy to speak of love but a whole other thing to put it into practice. We must, in effect, sow the seeds of love by acts if we wish to harvest the Kingdom of God on Earth.

Conversion

First and foremost, I will address the most common form of “Service” our religious brethren tend to engage in: conversion or, rather, the attempt to convert others to their faith. If we have understood anything of the essence of religion, then we must realize that conversion is, in truth, no true Service. Conversion is a matter concerning the forms of religion, and especially the beliefs; however, what a man believes – or not – is, altogether, insignificant. Convincing a man of this or that theological doctrine is no true Service – it may be a Service to the church and her theologians, perhaps, but not to God nor our fellow Man.

Our religious brethren will cry out, of course – they will say, “But we were saving them! Is that not a Service?” However, beliefs – recall – do not save men. We can believe whatever we want and it will not matter in the least. We are not saved merely because we have believed. This is a lie. It is love, and especially love in action, Service, that saves men. If you will convert them to anything, convert them to love. No belief, practice, sacred writing, messenger, or place of worship is worth anything without a heart enflamed with love. Let a man to his beliefs. Respect his right to believe – or not – as he will. The beliefs are not important, in so far as the man loves. Conversion is no true Service – at best, it is an attempt to convince our fellow man of some particular theological doctrine, some belief; at worst, it exhibits a fanatical intolerance and blatant disregard for the rights and freedoms of our brethren under God. In either case, it is decidedly unimportant when the essence of religion is love. In fact, conversion may very well be a disservice if it keeps a man from a faith which enflames his heart with love. Love is

In the Service of Our Lord

the important element, not the belief. It is love that changes man, not belief. If you would convert men, then convert men to love – under any faith and under any God - for the essence of religion is one. What matters the name of God? What matters his house? It is all the same to him who is the father of all creation.

Service

“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier” – Mother Teresa

All of a sudden my religious brethren will be silent. They will ask, “Well, if we are not to convert men, then how can we serve?” as if the only method of Service was conversion. It is not so; however, conversion is an attractive alternative to real, honest hard work and toil. Always and ever, people are looking for the easy way. When will they learn that nothing truly worthwhile was ever easy? Despite their bafflement, there are innumerable ways to put love into practice. Every kind thought, feeling, word, and deed is as a seed sown in the great field of living. These seeds must come to fruition sometime. What follows, then, is a short list of ways in which my religious brethren may practice love – ways they may not have considered as being viable:

Positivity

Being positive is one such way that we can serve our fellow man. By being positive, we make it easier for everyone, ourselves included, to endure hardship. We all face hardship at some time or another; however, our attitude – whether positive or negative - can make it easier or harder to endure for ourselves and others.

Happiness

Being happy is one such way that we can serve our fellow man. By being happy, we make life easier for everyone, ourselves included. Happiness is ultimately rooted in an appreciation of the moment, exactly as it is given. Happiness is gratitude. It is full of the joy of life, full of cheer, and this energizes us – and those around us – immensely.

Calm

Being calm is one such way that we can serve our fellow man. By being calm, we make life easier for everyone, ourselves included. By making efforts to control ourselves and live amongst our brethren without friction, we contribute to the well-being of our brethren and ourselves. It is certainly not easy to be calm most of the time; however, it is well worth the efforts to try. The benefits are manifold.

Kindness

Being kind is one such way that we can serve our fellow man. By being kind, we make life easier for everyone, ourselves included. Kindness makes men smile and eases the burden of living. It is something we hardly expect, but when it happens makes us think, “What a wonderful world we live in that kindness exists”. It can be as little as a kind thought, feeling, word, or deed – no matter what, it goes a long way. Who can say just what the kindness will lead to? It is such a simple thing, such a simple Service, and opportunities abound. My religious brethren, keep your eyes open and give freely of kindness – the bounty of your heart - whenever the opportunities come. These are as many seeds of love sown in the great field of living.

Peace

Being peaceful is one such way that we can serve our fellow man. By being peaceful, we make life easier for everyone, ourselves included. To be peaceful means to practice harmlessness. To be peaceful means to practice self-control. To be peaceful means to regulate our thoughts, feelings, words, and deeds and ensure that all of our conscious expressions are loving and kind.

END OF PART I - TBC

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Sep 24, 2016
 PART III
by: Fr. E.S.Q.S.

Salvation

To hate is to sin – to drive a wedge between man and his God, between man and man. To hate is to sin – to turn our back on the all-embracing love of God. In truth, we are all sinners in that sense. We have all sinned. Hence, Christos could say:

"He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her" (John 8:7).

He knew full well that no one would do so.
We have all lost our way, to some degree or another; however, there is hope. There is always hope. We can always return to the path of love and Service. The way of return is never closed to us, for God is ever-forgiving. We are as the prodigal son who has left the house of our father; however, the door is always open unto us when we shall, at long last, pine for the comforts of home and love of our father who art in heaven.

The only salvation that people can expect is that which we have worked for. It is not given to us for nothing. People are so happy to hear that all they need is to believe and then they are all but free of responsibility. Then they can tell themselves how faithful they are, while washing their hands of their misdeeds. People always look for an easy way out; however, there is no easy way out – there is only hard work or self-deception. The easy way is a lie and if people had the least amount of common sense, they would realize it. Hatred and the suffering it causes is not alleviated by belief; rather, it is alleviated by hard work and effort. Belief is no power, will effect no change. In fact, it is crippling self-deceit and impotence. Freedom from sin is not had by some miraculous, arbitrary forgiveness, but through the making of reparations. In short: freedom from sin is earned. You need to square your debts with God. You pay by Service and hard work, motivated by real genuine love and kindness. It is not earned by grovelling like a worm at the foot of the theologians. They cannot make you free, despite what they claim.

As such, faithfulness is not measured in how much you believe as many people suppose; rather, faithfulness is measured in how much you love. The real test of faithfulness is brotherly love. Love as active Service is the potent transformer; love as active Service is the purifying fire which burns out the dross and impurities. As it is said:

"And above all things have fervent charity [love] among yourselves [mankind]: for charity [love] shall cover the multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8).

Irremediable Evil

Man, by virtue of his oneness with God, is inherently good. Therefore, the all-to-common theological doctrine that man is irremediably evil and deserving of endless misery and suffering at the hands of a vengeful God is patently false. That being said, it is certainly true that man errs continuously against God and his fellow man, but that is more a matter of his ignorance than conscious evil. Man, by and large, errs because he does not know any better. More often than not, he has convinced himself that what he is doing is good – and, so, his motive is well, even if his actions are not. That is no excuse, of course. Ignorance is no excuse. We can learn better – and, in fact, we must learn better. When we increase the misery and suffering of the world, we will be miserable and suffer as well – not matter what our motives were. That is divine justice: you get what you give, you reap what you sow down to the last grain. As it has been said:

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7).

Vicarious Suffering

Of all the insensible theological doctrines, the doctrine of vicarious suffering – that someone else can reap our own bad sowing – is patently false. Of course, a great many of my religious brethren accept this doctrine whole-heartedly and unreservedly – and why not? It basically states that they are absolved of all their sins. They are assured by our beloved theologians that so long as they go to church, pray, and read the scriptures on a regular basis, they can wash their hands of their misdeeds. False. That is not the way divine justice works. No one, not even Christos, can absolve you of your sins. Every mistake has its consequence and there is no way around that. If there was a way around that, then divine justice would be a sham. Every expression of hatred, every malicious thought, feeling, word and deed will be returned to us sometime. We are to suffer as much as we have made others to suffer; however, there – is – another way: we can make good our mistakes by real genuine love and kindness, by Service. As it is said:

"Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins" (Proverbs 10:12).

Salvation is earned. Freedom from misery and suffering is earned. It cannot be given unto you.

The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

It is entirely possible that we can realize the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth – the brotherhood of all life; however, it will take hard work and toil to do so. It will take love in action, Service, to realize the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. It is not enough merely to think, feel, and speak of love. We must act on it. It is, ultimately, by doing that we realize our ideals. The road is long and the way is hard, but it can be traversed if our will is strong. If the road is long and the way is hard, it is because we have made it such. It is our hatred that has made it such. We have no one to blame but ourselves; as such, it is our responsibility to replace all the hatred there is in the world with love. We start with ourselves. We start with our own thoughts, feelings, words, and deeds. We start sowing seeds of love which will come to fruition sometime.

Jihad

"Upon his return from battle Muhammad said, ‘We have returned from the lesser jihad to the greater jihad [i.e. the struggle against the evil of one's soul]’" (Tarikh al Baghadadi 13/493).

One of the most misunderstood and misrepresented religious symbols is the symbol of holy war. The symbol of holy war has a direct bearing on the purpose of religion, and especially the ennobling of its adherents and inspiring acts of goodwill. The thing that needs to be kept in mind is that it is a symbol and should never be taken literally. The explanation that follows will explain the symbolism of holy war in relation to the contemporary issue of the declaration of jihad by extremist organizations. Though this explanation will examine the meaning of jihad as holy war, the explanation of the symbol of holy war is generally applicable to all instances of the symbol in all religions.

The beginning of the 21st century is seeing the rise of tensions between the adherents of Islam and the rest of the world. Many senseless theologians in the Middle East and abroad, preaching hatred and poisoning the minds of their congregations from the convenient safety of their pulpits, have spurned their followers to declare jihad or holy war against the rest of the world. It is clear that they know nothing of religion, for the essence of religion is love.

All words are symbols, and jihad is no different. Jihad as holy war does not mean the bloodshed and tyranny that these senseless theologians prescribe; rather, it means something totally different. Jihad as holy war is a holy war which is fought in oneself. In truth, to be a Mujahid or holy warrior means to be a man who is actively cultivating his character. A Mujahid is a holy warrior of unity and love who wages war on hatred – the cause of suffering. A Mujahid uncovers the dragon of hatred buried in his heart and seeks to slay it. He is a true holy warrior. His sword is love. He declares jihad on hatred, not on his brothers under God. He throws himself into his religious discipline, fervently, so that he may defeat the real enemy: hatred. He aspires to unity. He aspires to love. The successful Mujahideen are saintly men. Jihad is to wrestle for self-control. Jihad is to wrestle for self-mastery. Jihad is to wrestle for all that is good, right, and just. This is an admirable thing. As a great thinker once said:

"Virtue is a state of war, and to live in it we have always to combat with ourselves" – Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

The symbol of holy war, and by relation, the symbol of the holy warrior, is a potent one. It should be an uplifting and humanizing symbol, but it has been warped by senseless theologians to mean bloodshed and tyranny. It means, in truth, to be strong, brave, and courageous; to fight and struggle – against hatred - for what is good, right, and just. It is about faithfulness. It should encourage the growth of love, unity, and brotherhood. It should inspire in us a will to alleviate the suffering of our brethren and promote acts of goodwill. Holy war is war fought in oneself. To fight for the cause of God does not mean that we should go around as many bloodthirsty barbarians, raping and pillaging, nor does it mean that we should be converting brothers at the point of a sword; rather, it means that we should fight the real enemy: hatred. It is hatred which divides men. It is hatred which keeps men from their God, from love, for God, Allah, or whatsoever you wish to call him, is that all-embracing love of which the mystics and saints in all ages and of all faiths testify to. A Mujahid or holy warrior is a man who is, ultimately, practicing love. He has understood that, to slay the dragon of hatred buried in his heart, he must necessarily contribute to the welfare and well-being of all, his brothers under God. His sword is love. His way is Service.

End of PART III - TBC
Sep 13, 2016
 PART II
by: Fr. E.S.Q.S.

Preaching Brotherhood

A very useful form of service is preaching brotherhood. If we are to survive the challenges of the 21st century, now – more than ever before – we need to grasp the necessity of a sense of unity or brotherhood. The challenges we are facing, today, are global and will require a global effort to remedy them; however, so long as we are divided, there can be no hope. As it is said:

"And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand" (Mar 3:25).

We are that "house" – mankind is that "house". It is about high-time that we learned to set aside our petty disagreements, our trifling differences, and sought some common ground. We are all in this together, whether we like it or not. Every man, woman, and child of every race, class, and creed. It is about high-time that the "Children of God" – of which we all are, mind you - started acting a little bit more brotherly towards each other.

Combating Gossip

A very useful form of service is combating gossip. Gossip is akin to poisoning the hearts and minds of our fellow man. We rarely care to talk about how good others are; rather, we care to talk about how bad others are. We care not for all the goodness they exhibit; rather, we revel in their faults and failings. In short: we espouse hatred and, like an infection, it spreads amongst our brethren. Soon enough, we cannot stand to be around our brother whom we have hated for all the horrible things we have thought and said of him. Gossip is hatred, plain and simple. Combating gossip by refraining from gossip or by thinking and speaking upon the good in others is a very useful form of service. It is true that we all have our faults and failings, for we have all sinned; however, it is in no wise sensible that we should go behind the backs of others and whisper about how horrid they are. All this does is increase hatred towards our fellow man, poisons the hearts and minds of our brethren – and then we have sinned most grievously.

These are by no means the only ways in which my religious brethren may practice love; however, these are ways that my religious brethren will have, undoubtedly, overlooked. All-too-often, we neglect the power of a kind word or gesture – we consider it as being more or less impotent; however, even something as simple as a smile can set forces in motion. The practice of love need not be some extravagant display. More common ways to practice love include:

Combating Injustices

Combating injustices is, undoubtedly, a practice of love, and especially where it concerns the welfare of others besides ourselves. It is our duty to defend the rights and freedoms of one another, as brothers under God.

Addressing Poverty

Addressing poverty is a practice of love as old as religion itself.

Sin

The only real sin is, ultimately, hatred. It is not a sin against God; rather, it is a sin against our fellow man. To hate is to drive a wedge between man and his God, between man and man. We, who are as many brothers under God, should not hate. When we hate, we drive a wedge between ourselves and God for God is all-embracing love. We drive a wedge between us and all that is good, right, and just. Then we lament the darkness of the world when we have, ourselves, driven away its greatest light. When we sow the seeds of hatred with our malicious thoughts, feelings, words, and deeds we increase the misery and suffering of the world, both for ourselves and for others. Sin is the activity hatred, just as much as Service is the activity of love.

The Illusion of Separation

The root cause of hatred is, ultimately, the illusion of separation: the notion that we are all, man and God, separate beings with no connection to each other. The illusion of separation is counter to the necessary reality of unity. As a great philosopher once said:

"I do not conceive of any reality at all as without genuine unity" – Gottfried Leibniz.

When we feel that everything is separate, that everything is isolated, it is easy to hate. When we feel that everything is separate, that everything is isolated, everything is our enemy. The world becomes, veritably, a war of all against all. However, as God is one and the father of all creation, we are as many brothers living bound together by the unity of his all-embracing love. As it has been said:

"For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your poets have said, For we are also his offspring" (Acts 17:28).

The illusion of separation is a lie. It is this lie that makes hatred possible, for how can a man hate what is part of him? He cannot. First, he must feel separate, he must feel isolated from unity. He must feel isolated from the all-embracing love of God.

The root cause of the illusion of separation is ignorance.

Original Sin

In lieu of the discussion concerning sin above, perhaps it is not out of place to say a few words concerning that hopelessly distorted concept of original sin. The theologians can make it seem whatever they want; however, in truth, original sin indicates our share in the hatred of the world. As we have sinned, as we have sown the seeds of hatred in the world, it shall come back to us and it shall be reinforced in us. Hatred begets hatred as love begets love.

The Light and Color Analogy

What follows is the light and color analogy. Let us recall what happens when one beam of white light is passed through a triangular prism: the one beam of white light is separated, by the processes of dispersion and refraction, into its component colors – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet; likewise, if these component colors are passed through yet another triangular prism, they are re-emitted as one beam of white light. The important thing to grasp here is that these component colors are as many subtle variations of the one beam of white light.

As it is with light and color, so it is with the brotherhood of man. Every man, woman, and child of every race, class, and creed is akin to one of the component colors of the white light of the brotherhood of man. Every man, woman, and child of every race, class, and creed is a unique part of the whole in much the same way that the component colors are, themselves, a unique part of the whole. No two men are the same just as much as no two colors are the same. They are all different – and there is nothing wrong with that; however, they are all different only to a certain degree, for they are all one in essence. The essence of man is the brotherhood of man in much the same way that the essence of a component color is white light. Once this is comprehended and understood, this analogy can be extended to the relation of groups of men to the brotherhood of man, for the same principles apply whether we are discussing individuals, religions, races, or nations. If white light can reveal its unity by this experiment, then can we not see, by that same light, that we are all one?

END OF PART II - TBC

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