Living and dying is a difficult business. It is just not easy getting from the cradle to the grave. All any of us knows for sure is "dust to dust." And since that is not very comforting or reassuring, we turn to those who profess to have the answers. Whether they be religious leaders or so-called gurus, we accept their answers as "the answers" and are intolerant of others who have arrived at a different set of conclusions.
The fact is, no one has any answers. There has never been a human being in the history of the world who has been in possession of any hard and fast information on matters relating to life after death, salvation, heaven and hell etc. Theories, beliefs, yes; answers, no. We are all of us in the same boat, dealing in faith, not facts. And that fact should make us all a little more humble and a whole lot more tolerant of others.
Since our pastors, priests, rabbis and gurus don't know anything more about the hereafter etc. than the rest of us, we would probably do well to confine our expectations of them to matters of moral and spiritual leadership in this life.
When a spiritual leader breaks one of the Ten Commandments, then he has failed us in his only legitimate role here on earth. And when that happens, it is irrelevant to state whether the Lord will forgive him or not, since none of us knows whether He will or He won't. Instead, it would be more appropriate to express profound disappointmnet at being a witness to still another chapter in the long history of the blind leading the blind.
11/12/2008
No comments:
Post a Comment