A Principle to Consider

2006-7-2 15:00:00

Don't worry Larry. I'm not going to give Dean the attention on non-sensible issues as I did before. This does not mean I will never respond to him. He is a challenge to corner. Most people, when under the checkmate of logic, will either withdraw or change the subject. Dean so far just fights on no matter what. I thought I saw a blind alley in this one for him and was curious as to what he would do.

Before moving on I thought I would attempt to teach a principle that Dean would be wise to incorporate.

Principle:  It is easy to destroy, but difficult to build.

This principle applies when dealing with the teachings of another.

Notice that Dean as of late, takes my words ands tries to destroy their meaning rather than to look for the truth therein and build upon that.

Just imagine if he sat at the feet of Jesus and challenged him as he does me.

Jesus:

Love your enemies.

Dean:

This is nonsense. Why do you think you have enemies? Enemies and friends are two sides of the same coin. There are no enemies for all things are pure.

Jesus:

Blessed are the pure in heart.

Dean:

Nonsense again. We are all pure in heart. No one is impure.

Jesus:

Deliver us from evil.

Dean:

You are a false teacher Jesus. There is no evil except for what is in your mind.

Jesus:

The father waits for the prodigal son to return.

Dean:

Nonsense again. The prodigal son never left.

Jesus:

The truth shall make you free.

Dean:

What truth? You are only looking at one side and see half the truth. You need to listen to me to get the other half.

Jesus:

Blessed are the merciful

Dean:

We are all merciful and all blessed. There is no need to call for a blessing that has already been meted out.

Jesus:

Go the extra mile.

Dean:

There is no such thing as an extra mile. The infinite is found in one mile.

Jesus:

Sin no more.

Dean:

There is no sin, no evil and no good. They are all one.

Jesus:

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Dean:

Wrong message. God's will is already done everywhere.

I think we get the point here. There is no master, no teacher or wise man who is capable of uttering words that cannot be attacked. It is the easiest thing in the world to take any words, even the words of the greatest of us all, and declare them to be wrong by the use of sophistic logic.

It is another matter still to look for the truth behind those words and add additional light.

Let me issue a call to the group to do the latter. Sure, if I make a blatant error point it out. Assaf does this quite successfully while still seeing the good, the beautiful and the true. We find what we are looking for. Let us look for the true with more attention than the false so in the light we can see more light

Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger.
Franklin P. Jones