"Us" and "Them"

"Us" and "Them". Or perhaps the sheep and the goats. Or maybe the lost and the saved.

But one joker once said:- "There are only two kinds of people in the world - those that divide the world into two kinds of people and those who don't"

Ha ha!

Myself, I think we must first touch base, or in other words, first we must know at the deepest and most authentic level that we are all "one", equal. Having touched based, knowing this deeply, then perhaps we can differentiate, recognise differences. This recognition will not then be judgement but will always be coloured by empathy.

Which is why from a Christian perspective the only viable theology is Universalism. All are elected. A perspective that grows by the day by many who by study and knowledge, recognise such as a widespread teaching/belief within the early Church.

But Christian or not (and I am not) to see that we are One is the heart of any genuine spirituality - while those who believe in an eternal and ultimate division of human beings into the lost and saved will totally miss the heart no matter how pious they presume themselves to be.

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Ynotisay · M

Well stated and good topic.

But maybe the person who divides isn't necessarily missing 'the heart.' Maybe they're choosing 'the heart' and standing against those who don't. And I'm not sure Christianity, which interprets the Old Testament, as being the best example of something that supports Universalism. "One god" and punishment is pretty prevalent in the Bible. And that's most definitely shared by other religions.

And while I hear what you're saying, and appreciate the message, my understanding is that spirituality relates to a belief in something "bigger" than ourselves. So by definition the "bigger" thing would be open to interpretation.

So an option is to move all that out of the conversation and work from a place of true reality. The only reality that connects us all. Human beings are animals. No more or less important in the big picture than any other animal. We all need water, oxygen and subsistence. Our evolved ability for cognitive reasoning is different than other animals but that doesn't equate to better. If either a human or insect dies there's a ripple effect. Sometimes large and sometimes inconceivably small. But it happens. So that's the only thing I see as the glue that holds everything together.

SW-User

@Ynotisay Thanks.

As I tried to say, to "miss the heart" is to divide into two before touching base (seeing that all is "one")

And Christianity has many mansions, despite the claims of those who would seek to identify it totally with their own particular brand of belief and dub themselves as the "true" Christians.

Yes, "true reality"! I tend to think in metaphysical terms and in "religious" terminology.

The human being is an animal who has received the vocation to become God.

(BASIL OF CAESAREA)

(I am a non-theist by the way, but the word "God' also has many mansions....😀)