Wade,
“Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31 NLT)
Because of our human sins of pride and self-righteousness, one of the most difficult teachings of Christ for many people is to understand the truth of these verses from the Holy Gospel of St. Luke, chapter 18:
“The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
“Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point”
(Blaise Pascal)
essentially, it has this meaning: sometimes it is wise to ‘trust your gut’, especially when called upon by ‘leaders’ to bring harm on others who are innocent . . . . if your ‘conscience pings’, listen to it
we are complex creatures of God – body, soul, and spirit – reason is a gift of God, but so is our moral conscience
as Walt Whitman once cautioned people to turn away from ‘whatever insults your own soul’
. . . . . ‘authorities’ cannot override the moral conscience of any human person, no
Wade,
“Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31 NLT)
Because of our human sins of pride and self-righteousness, one of the most difficult teachings of Christ for many people is to understand the truth of these verses from the Holy Gospel of St. Luke, chapter 18:
“The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Is an old saying, this:
“Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point”
(Blaise Pascal)
essentially, it has this meaning: sometimes it is wise to ‘trust your gut’, especially when called upon by ‘leaders’ to bring harm on others who are innocent . . . . if your ‘conscience pings’, listen to it
we are complex creatures of God – body, soul, and spirit – reason is a gift of God, but so is our moral conscience
as Walt Whitman once cautioned people to turn away from ‘whatever insults your own soul’
. . . . . ‘authorities’ cannot override the moral conscience of any human person, no