Group contributor Dave Stoverden.
Most of my adult life I have looked around at most every political and social issue and asked myself, “Why don’t I have a strong opinion on that subject?”
Without going into my life’s background which includes the normal, average, go-to-church every Sunday, midwest experiences, I think it boils down to four general one-liners.
I’m a male – and it doesn’t affect me, not my problem.
I’m a male – and I don’t have to worry about that, let the female do that.
I’m a male – and it would require reading and following directions and all that stuff which I don’t do well.
I’m a male – I have so many more important things to do, like competing, fighting, making money or sitting in front of TV.
Well, somewhere along the line I began to change and began to think.
If I clear away all the clutter and concentrate on “knowing” the God within me and be passionate about striving to obtain that knowledge THEN I think I will have graduated from having a false sense of security which was always plagued with skepticism to the ultimate realization of a glorious existence.
msn-esinod2020 wrote on Jan 5, ’04
I have tried to respond three times, now maybe this one will stick! I wonder if you wouldn’t mind telling me how it feels to be the most empowered of the species, and secondly, knowing that you were raised(I’m assuming) without the benefit of the Feminine aspects of your belief systems being “fleshed out” so to speak, because you and I were apparently lied to by our forefathers over at the Gutenberg printshop, how does it feel to realize that the alpha man prototype is perhaps more harmful to the man himself than anyone else? Do you feel duped ? Do you know who taught you about “security” ? I find “normal” family dynamics fascinating. Just because we transcend things, doesn’t mean were really done with them, you know?
Now can you tell why I often compose and erase responses? My style can be off putting, I think…
msn-dstoverden wrote on Jan 5, ’04
Hey, I like a spirited response and challenge to what I said. And I feel the same way you do about responding to others, I sometimes wish I would have said things a bit differently. That is just a sign that neither of us is satisfied with the word crafting that we do. Maybe we both have an artistic side that is never satisfied with the final product.
Let me see if what I wrote, what you thought I said and what I meant are in the ball park.
What I was trying to get at is the fact that what I think gnosticism’s most appealing feature is is the recognition of the value of the dual mystical and god given qualities of both men and women. The Nag Hammadi gospels did strongly suggest a different relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. And somewhere I remember seeing that in fact there might have been some women leaders in this gnostic sect.
Aside from that though, I was trying to be cute and funny about the tendency of many males to dominate, to not take directions, to put the other sex down mentally and generally be real un responsive to most others needs. I was trying to paint a picture that parallels what I see as a very male-dominated Christian religion. It is pretty evident that the Catholic Church has spent an inordinate amount of time on sex, women in the church, and they still haven’t gotten it right.
I was also trying to explain that (this might not have come across clearly) that only late in life did I start questioning some of the traditional religious dogma.
With regard to your comments on “the feminine aspects of my belief systems” and your reference to the Gutenberg Printshop, I am not sure what you are getting at there. How do I feel about being the most empowered of the species? Is the alpha male prototype more harmful to himself than others? Do I feel duped? Do I know who taught me about security?
Wow, you are really delving into a number of heavy subjects here. Of course this whole message board is heavy stuff. Right?
Well, anyway, my whole point in making this confessional was summed up in my last paragraph. I will dissect it point by point
“If I clear away all the clutter and concentrate on “knowing” the God within me”
Clutter meaning all the religious zeal and countless words and rhetoric which are meaningless to me and that includes most of the old testament. And concentrate on “knowing” (recognize that word? It is the cornerstone of gnosticism)….the God within me (also a key that says if God is within us, we don’t need all the trappings of traditional religion)
New comments are most welcome!
“and be passionate about striving to obtain that knowledge”
This is another key element of gnosticism – Your highest duty to yourself is to continue to perfect your knowledge of the infinite – similar to attaining NIRVANA a state of perfection and oneness with the creator.
“THEN I think I will have graduated from having a false sense of security”
By this I mean the traditional Christian Church which gives me (maybe others) a false sense of security with promises of a blissful heaven that is hard to verify and even harder to imagine.
“which was always plagued with skepticism”
I am skeptical of some of the miracles in the bible
” to the ultimate realization of a glorious existence”
So with a focus on attaining the state of knowing just mentioned, THEN I can look forward to “the rapture, the bliss, the beauty of my present existence and feel confident of the future.”
Hey, how is that for an answer. Here it is midnight. I lost complete track of time.
Donise, I wish you wouldn’t ask such hard questions.
