Emotional Attachment to Ancient Writings

It is amazing to me that for so long I believed that a book was the absolute authority for my thoughts and actions. This kind of blind belief in a sacred text, or the belief that it is the only source of guidance is the cause of a lot of frustration in the world. If you believe, because of something written in the sacred text, that a deity is displeased unless all of humanity must change their behavior, and will punish the whole of humanity for allowing the errant behavior, then you seek to be the savior of the world. You seek to force others to behave as you think your deity dictates.

This is a dangerous path to travel. By trying to force the world to conform to the template in your world view, you are setting off on a never ending journey that will never render joy or satisfaction, and will never come to completion. The world will never conform to your template, no matter how many people you intimidate, persuade, or even eliminate. Literal belief in a sacred book is a recipe for lifelong emptiness.

I was in this trap for many years, afraid to think for myself, afraid to disagree with what I thought the Bible was saying. Very gradually, I came to a place of reason and connection with all the positive things about spirituality. I came eventually to recognize universal principles instead of rules, great qualities instead of rigid behavior.

There is great joy in the freedom to seek a connection with the allness, without the tyranny of some rule book, written ostensibly by a deity given to anger. Ironically, now that I think for myself and am on a path of love and non-judgment, the Bible makes more sense to me than ever, and it is more valuable to me, but in a different way. I can see the stages in my own growth in the characters of the Bible, and there are many relational teachings within the stories. If you are struggling with this, know that a sacred text can be a special tool for guidance as long as we choose our values from our own spirit --as long as we are the masters and not the servants of the ideas written on its pages. We decide which ideas expressed in it will help us realize our values, and we can leave the rest.

Namaste,
Bob Roushar