Rule 9 of chapter 4 notes that we are "not to do to another what one would not have done to oneself." After that, at least like 80% of the other rules could be collapsed into a subsection of that rule. Do we really need to be told not to murder after that one? I'm not likely to murder myself, and so I'm not likely to murder you if I think that the consequence. I've also already been told to love my neighbor, who I am unlikely to murder if I've properly followed that step.
Don't forget to be afraid of God's wrath, and remember that Hell is right there for you if you're bad.
Also, don't forget to be a poor eater, love fasting, and think constantly and infinitely about the horrors of Hell that await you if you don't listen. God loves you, but you need to fear the day he returns to judge you, and know that you'll suffer in an eternal purgatory if you've done something to piss him off. When you love someone, you need to be constantly afraid of their disappointment and their subsequent wrath that will condemn you to an eternity of spiritual and physical torture that will follow you beyond the grave and never let you know peace, wishing to have never been born. At least, that's how I've always understood love, and so these rules make total sense to me.
You haven't forgotten that you're probably going to Hell, have you? Don't forget that, please.
Also, please realize that you need to hate your own will. What you think and want don't matter unless you're thinking about and wanting God's love. Try not to talk too much or to like talking at all, because most of what you say is useless bullshit and you're wasting oxygen that could be better purposed to praise God who loves you enough to have made these rules for you. And when you talk, try not to say anything funny. Funny stuff makes people laugh and laughing is a disrespectful waste of time. If you laugh, God will come to your house and tear your wife in half, because he loves you.
Hey, for a second there it looked like you forgot to be afraid of Hell. Don't do that. Cry for me.
Just do whatever people from a church tell you to do. Don't question them, because that's disrespectful, and like I said, it doesn't matter what you want. If they're older than you, they're smarter than you.
Fear Him. Do not forget to fear him. FEAR HIM BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU.
There are plenty of decent ideas in this text, because obviously it makes sense to be generous to the poor and the sick and not to murder people, but I feel like nothing from a religious text has ever told me anything I haven't figured out of my own human decency and tendencies toward civility. I'm aware that killing and hurting and stealing are wrong, because I have empathy. It makes me sad and scared that there are people out there who only want to be good because they're afraid they won't get to live forever if they're not. Be good because it, like, totally sucks to be bad, man. I don't think it's fair to say th
The author of this blog post has been prematurely condemned to Hell because he forgot to fear being condemned to Hell.
While I understand your frustration with the long list of rules, and agree that many of them are repetitive, I think that there is a place for some of them, even if they seem to be repetitive. While it is common sense for most people not to murder someone or not to commit adultery, especially if they are treating their neighbor as they would treat themselves, there are some people that need the direct statement of the rule. If we did not have people that murdered or committed adultery, then there would be no need for these rules, but because these people exist in our world, these rules must be included in the guide on how to live a holy life.
ReplyDeleteI think that many of the other things that your blog post addresses seem silly if we read them literally and take them at face value, but if we think deeper about what is being said here, these are not silly requests. In our society today, we overindulge in almost every aspect of our lives. Living a simple life that relies only on what is necessary is not an American ideal. We are always working to have more, to be better, and to move forward. I think that at the core, these ideas of simplicity are wonderful. Why should we overindulge? What do we gain from it? Obesity? Alcoholism? Poverty? Classism? Living a simple life using and consuming only what is necessary sounds like it would take care of a lot of the problems that we face today as a society. I understand that the way that he says all of this is extreme, but looking deeper into what was said, I think that I understand and even agree with this part of the Rule.
This is a pretty humorous post, so thanks for that, AJ! Your post really made me reflect on the phrase "fear of the Lord". Growing up, the phrase "fear God" never made much sense to me because God was supposed to love you, which you touched on. I came to later understand it not so much as be afraid of God and Hell the same way we are afraid of things that go bump in the night, but rather more of a wary caution of the greatness of God and that he was all powerful and could totally take you out, but probably won't. I am not quite sure what Benedict fully meant when he says to fear God, but if you do take it literally as to cower in fear, it is definitely conflicting. I see your frustration with the long lists and how much more concise he could be. However, can we really be that simple? Proabaly not. How many times does the phrase, "Well, it depends" show up? With all the rules there are no if's, and's, or but's and they go on focusing on how to be righteous for God and get to the heavenly Utopia.
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