Shar,
Note that there is a trap here. In religion, and other institutions, there
are those who lead and those who follow. Those who follow are usually
recognized by their insistence on quoting others instead of sharing
themselves. They accept things on "hope" and MAY be saved (though I'm not
sure).
To differentiate faith and hope. I like to say, "we have faith in
ourself...we hope on others". Faith comes from questioning and study. Hope
comes from following others blindly.
Institutions trick adherents into becoming followers by making them promise
something that they cannot accomplish. This is the "I surrender all" of
modern religion. In A.A. (as another example) one is required to first
"admit that we are powerless" and then turn our "will and our life" over to
someone else. "In Vajrayana we make vows to the Lama."? (see above). By
this method, we are committed. We fall, are humiliated--humbled. We come
to blindly accept what our "superiors" tell us (they are not REALLY
superior). We assume--since we are failures--that our leaders know better
than us. This is how guilt and shame is used to control.
In institutions, leaders need followers to do their work for them. In this
way, the followers do the dirtywork, the leaders get the credit. Perhaps,
archetypally, there is a need for those who are expendable to get their
hands dirty in order that the chosen can remain pure. All I know is that
the path of "follower" is not the path that I choose (nor the path of
leader...for If I am leader, I make others into followers).
There comes a time when "grace" is insufficient (grace--faith, hope,
charity). It is then that we acquire "awe", "wonder", and "respect"
("masculine" forms of "grace"). Still not attaining our goals, we aspire to
the "kingdom", the "power" and the "glory". The "kingdom" is reality: The
"power" is truth: The "glory" is enlightenment. I've given the kingdom to
god...the power and the glory I'll keep!
Brett
Not Spell-Checked,
rBERTS%n
A Blob Nest Net Terror