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I can agree with much of what he says. It seems pretty spot on to my experience. I think it stems from a lack of self love. It seems to me pride is the ego way of trying to attach itself to some external means of valuing the self. At least it was for me. And nothing was ever quite good enough to reach that state of contentment. It was like without the self love I had no center.
The value of God is love that overcomes that need for something external to judge yourself against. It doesn't matter whatever anyone else thinks of me because I have God's love (or that of myself whatever your POV). I don't have to defend myself anymore. I don't need to one up or be better than anyone else. I am no longer in competition. It's allows me to accept my faults as faults because my faults are not attached to my self worth. No one can use my faults against me anymore. Now they are pat of my charm or I can chose to work on the ones I can change. Either way.
I see humility as getting over yourself. I'm one of 7 billion. In light of that the world will survive my screw ups and not take notice of my triumphs. That sounds like a good deal to me.
Christianity oppresses self worth. One of the reasons I started questioning the validity of the religion was due to my not accepting the dogma that I’m worthless and achieve nothing as an individual. Humility has its place, but so does confidence in oneself.
He's actually talking about self acceptance. I agree that the sect I came from (and maybe you did too) teaches self loathing. It's a false humility. I think it was that self loathing internally that caused me to try and reach for external validation that caused the "pride" problems he was addressing.
Christianity oppresses self worth. One of the reasons I started questioning the validity of the religion was due to my not accepting the dogma that I’m worthless and achieve nothing as an individual. Humility has its place, but so does confidence in oneself.
Yes. This is exactly the kind of thing I am asking about. Perhaps there needs to be a middle ground. Or else, a person may need to go to one or other extreme depending on his situation at a particular time.
He's actually talking about self acceptance. I agree that the sect I came from (and maybe you did too) teaches self loathing. It's a false humility. I think it was that self loathing internally that caused me to try and reach for external validation that caused the "pride" problems he was addressing.
Self-loathing is at the root of the non-questioning, sheep-like behaviour exhibited by the victims of fundamentalism. It's essential for the Flock Leader to foster self-loathing among his flock, preferably from birth, so they remain docile and obedient.
Self-loathing is at the root of the non-questioning, sheep-like behaviour exhibited by the victims of fundamentalism. It's essential for the Flock Leader to foster self-loathing among his flock, preferably from birth, so they remain docile and obedient.
It's sick. But it works.
They took what was mine and tried to sell it back to me on lay-a-way. Keep making those monthly payments and (even though you don't deserve it) one day you shall have it. They never intended to give it back to me.
If it helps at all, the atheist take is that there is no Sin, in the sense of transgressing the arbitrary rules of some god or other, but only doing what is not conducive to human welfare, personal and social. We call this morality and ethics, and we devise it (because there is nobody else to do so) and we always have done (1).
Pride, i argue, is best understood, not as a sin but part of what we are. Getting us to beat ourselves up over it is a neat ploy of the church to make us feel guilty. It is part of the Christian scam of making us think we are sick and need to go to Jesus to be cured.
In fact all this instinctive stuf -ego, hate, lust and curiosity, and yes, mischief, too, is what makes us human, and teaching us to despise ourselves in the hope to be angels on earth is futile. To understand ourselves and the instincts that drive us and to not let them control us is what is best to do, not to to be told to do the impossible of never being prideful or lustful or hateful or indeed curious (a Bad sin that, )and having to run blubbing to the church for absolution, paying our humanity as the fee.
And, in actual fact (as many here - not only we Hellbent pondslime - will have noted) those who seem to espouse this doctrine of Pride being a Sin seem to exhibit the worst symptoms of it - conceit, arrogance, Judgementalism, hypocrisy and intellectual dishonesty. And that goes for C.S Lewis, too.
(1) moral codes evolved out of pack animal social instincts, as surely as consciousness evolved out of survival reaction and life out of of chemical reactions.
Last edited by TRANSPONDER; 05-14-2018 at 06:11 AM..
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In fact all this instinctive stuf -ego, hate, lust and curiosity, and yes, mischief, too, is what makes us human, and teaching us to despise ourselves in the hope to be angels on earth is futile. To understand ourselves and the instincts that drive us and to not let them control us is what is best to do, not to to be told to do the impossible of never being prideful or lustful or hateful or indeed curious (a Bad sin that, )and having to run blubbing to the church for absolution, paying our humanity as the fee....
Self-loathing is at the root of the non-questioning, sheep-like behaviour exhibited by the victims of fundamentalism. It's essential for the Flock Leader to foster self-loathing among his flock, preferably from birth, so they remain docile and obedient.
It's sick. But it works.
I agree, except I don't believe the "flock leaders" are as cunning and calculating as you paint them. I know a boat-load of pastors and I think they are, generally speaking, people who really believe what they're saying.
Maybe pride is really the greatest sin of all. It disconnects us from the rest of humanity and all living things.
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)and having to run blubbing to the church for absolution, paying our humanity as the fee.
? It's what I live for
