The religious model of thought binds us to a checklist where we pay for heaven/enlightenment with a litany of actions. Often, we are encouraged to be martyrs—happiness is an “indulgence” unless everyone else attains it first—and look out for the devil.
The fundamentalist/evangelical mode of thought builds on this—not only are we obligated to live by religious premises, we (and nearly everyone else) are full of sin. The evangelical is bent on finding sin, destroying it, and imposing their view upon other people (hence the verb “evangelize”)
The transcendental mode of thought declares that heaven/enlightenment is within you, right here right now. There is no checklist, there is no devil, and you can choose to allow heaven/enlightenment to manifest around you if you hold yourself in alignment with your highest aspect (done by focusing on the present moment or emptying your mind, allowing the default benevolence of existence to flow through you). In the transcendental mode of thought, these aren’t commandments, merely suggestions, for everything is a game played by an omnipotent benevolence that decided to temporarily limit itself so it could surprise itself into becoming any and all forms and iterations so it could love any and every manifestation of limitation and narrative. You cannot negate the good beneath existence, you can only stray from it for a short while, but upon the moment of death, it will relieve you of your resistance.
That makes a lot of sense to me. I was never one for checklists.
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Dirty Sci-Fi Buddha 
Hey there, interesting musings. As an evangelical, I just wanted to correct “The evangelical is bent on finding sin, destroying it, and imposing their view upon other people (hence the verb “evangelize”).”
Though this is how evangelicals are portrayed in the media and sometimes act, that is not a true evangelical mindset. Instead, evangelicals are SUPPOSED to be repenting of their sin before God, while recognizing their inability to rid themself of it. Therefore, they must rely on Jesus Christ, to take the sin from them. That’s why Christians celebrate Easter- Jesus died to take the sin of others on Himself, so that they could be made right with God. Only a sinless savior could save those entrapped by sin. It is by grace Christians are saved, by faith, and they are supposed to be passing that grace onto others (being forgiving, showing kindness and compassion even where undeserved).
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I am mostly in line with your view, and in my mind, you speak to being an unconditional example (an exemplar) of a greater benevolence instead of what I choose to think of as an evangelical. The parts where I agree is the idea of passing unconditional grace unto others regardless of their deservedness, and I half-agree with the implication of letting go of personal effort in order to allow a greater benevolence to do its work (I don’t think it has to be restricted to the confines of a Christian God) The part where I disagree is the obligation to pay and repent, and put something separate from us on a pedestal, as I believe we weren’t made as unworthy servants that are supposed to live life in existential debt, and I also believe that we aren’t subordinates to some greater power, but that we are part and parcel of it, and we don’t need to reach outward for absolution, but inward, for if there is any such thing as divinity, it forms our very being, and can be found by all if they stop resisting its presence. But I also believe as expressions of this divinity, we are free to choose the narrative we embody, and by what you say, it sounds like you have chosen a loving one, regardless of how I might choose to disagree with any specific belief.
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I read your response and thought, “this sounds like Buddhism” and then I realized you’re “DirtySciFiBuddha,” haha!
I believe God also gave us a free will- and we can choose to follow Him or not. This includes what belief systems we follow or construct. I understand you are saying you believe the divine is something different from what I hold, and I am fine with disagreeing with you and others about who and what God is.
Even though you don’t see evangelicals the way I described, most see themselves this way, and the word “evangelical” comes from the Greek “euangelion” meaning “gospel” or “good news.” It is supposed to be about spreading the good news of the grace in the gospel. I just wanted to put in my two cents, as I think a lot of people are getting the wrong idea about evangelicals from the way some act or are portrayed in the media, just as Muslims were portrayed as all being extremists after 9/11 when it was really a specific terrorist group that had twisted some Muslim teachings.
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That’s good to know. Perhaps I should be a little more careful with how I apply that label. I’m actually not Buddhist, although at one point I was, because I believe it’s still a religion for the most part. In Buddhism, you still have to “pay the price” for bad karma and put in x amount of hours of meditation/service/etc. to reach enlightenment (the promised land). There are allusions in Buddhism, however, like in most religions, that you don’t need to do any of that and you can just appreciate the moment and enjoy being a limited piece of omnipotent consciousness that chose its limitation so it could experience the joy of rediscovering its own omnipotence while surprising and delighting itself through its limited perspective. That’s more where I lean towards. It sounds like your heart is in the right place, regardless of the label you or I put on your approach. To me, that’s what matters.
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Gonna weigh in here a little…evangelicals can’t destroy sin – and subconsciously wouldn’t want to given a choice – because that would ultimately destroy the entire purpose of being an evangelical. You can’t have religion without sin or the devil who tempts you into sin. Removing that part of the equation removes a significant pillars of the whole “bow before me and worship me , repent of your sin or I will cast you into the fiery depths of hell!” Without sin, there is nothing to fear.
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I agree with you. I believe “sin” or negativity has a purpose, but that’s a whole different metaphysical discussion (basically it’s there to clarify what we truly want within our narrative). As far as where to focus, though, I like to stick to acknowledging the negative and focusing on the positive. I think people trip themselves up when they do the opposite–focus on the negative and acknowledge or dismiss the positive.
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Melissa, sadly, many evangelicals seem to be bent on imposing what they think is the ‘correct’ way to behave and worship. This is something. of course, that is not only the preserve of Evangelicals.
I believe that life is like a mountain, and we are all striving to reach the summit. But there are many paths up the mountain. For one group to say that ‘My way is the only (of best) way up’ is wrong. In both the actual and moral way.
This applies not only to sects within a religion, but to religions themselves. No one religion has the ‘true’ answer, although I suspect that Melissa would say that Christianity is the ‘true’ way.
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I’m in agreement. Don’t forget about aliens! I’m only being half-serious, but there’s a lot of evidence for aliens popping up recently, and they would add a whole new dimension (pun maybe intended) to the idea that one religion within the cosmos is the ironclad rule for all living beings.
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I have little use for religion, in general. I carry my faith within and want to learn about others’ faiths when there is conversation available. I think DSFB has it as close to correct as possible in that many religions either try to press their beliefs on others directly or shun those that disagree with them.
God (or whatever term you see fit here) granted us free will. That’s where it starts. Then it is up to the individual to decide (exercise their free will) how to conduct themselves in life. If going to a church/temple/what-have-you and being with other like-minded folks works for you (religion), I find absolutely nothing wrong with that, right up to the point where that religion sees fit to act or behave in a manner that suggests another person’s belief/faith/religion is wrong or should be looked down upon.
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Indeed! We’re free to choose our own narrative and belief system. Honestly, I think enforcing it or threatening its consequences on others would just cause a giant headache for me.
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The Navajo call the balanced way “Walking in beauty.” I’ve always considered that incredibly succinct. Like you get it or you don’t.
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That’s a lovely way of putting it, Phil. I’m a great believer in balance. In everything, from Nature to behaviour and life experiences. You can’t have sunshine all the time, in life or nature, or everything would die without the rain. We (should) learn through the bad times and grow, just as plants do from the rain.
Sadly, as far as Nature is concerned, anyway, we are upsetting that precarious balance, and I think we are in life, too.
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Very well said V. M. Sang. Sometimes we just don’t think how our actions could cause a disruption in the balance. You got a very good way of explaining it with sunshine and rain though.
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I like it. I’d go so far as to say everyone can get it, if they drop the resistance and allow themselves to.
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Precisely. The hard sell is attempting to get them out of their own way.
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Makes a lot of sense to me, too.
Gwen.
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Dear Kent, The Telluric thoughts of your article are magnificent and amazing.
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Thank you! Love your use of the word telluric!
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