Behold the Reverend Jon! Pt. 2
So I've been giving it some thought and, were I to indeed found a new religion, it's basic tenets would reasonably closely resemble the following:
· The One God
o A single Divinity, one God over all things, the supreme Creator and Lord of all things in Creation; neither male nor female, but a single principle embodying both and more
· The Infinity of the One God
o The One God may not be fathomed by mere humans; even his hosts cannot comprehend all that the One God is or does; it is therefore the greatest of foolishness to say that something is impossible, or does not exist, for the One God created many things, and there exists many times many things which lie wholly out of human existence
· The Unity of the One God
o The One God created all things, and exists as a part of all that exists; thus all knowledge is a part of the knowledge of the One God, and knowledge as a whole is to be pursued, for the more one knows, the closer one comes to the One God; no human possesses all knowledge; amongst all the masses of humanity, the combined knowledge held is only a tiny fraction of all there is to know
· The Presence of the One God
o The One God is in all things, and no intermediaries are needed to speak with the One God; however, humans are not all created equal; some humans are more learned and wise in the ways of the One God than most, and these teachers should be respected and attention given to their words; like all things, they remain imperfect creatures, and may not command or instruct without question
· The Great Host
o A legion of servants, created to aid in the creation of Creation; these beings are mighty, but more limited than humans
· The Light-Bringer
o The greatest of the Host of the One God, second in might and glory to only the One God
· The Fall
o The Rebellion of the Light-Bringer, who desired that he and his kin be ranked above the One God’s favored humanity; this happened long before humans were created, when the One God revealed his plans to his hosts
· The Truth of Evil
o The difference between the Light-Bringer, who is evil and counter to humanity, and the One God, who encompasses evil and is Lord over it, but who is also good, and who favors mankind
· The Supreme Balance
o The concept of gain and cost, that all things gained have a cost, and all costs paid gain the one paying them something; this is as the One God intended, and all humanity owes a great price to the One God for their very existence, a price which every human must pay and which is different for everyone; also, there is a time for all things; a time for peace, and a time for war, a time for ignorance and a time for learning; and all things must come in their own time
· The Balance of the World
o The One God created the day and the night; the sun is the giver of life and of warmth to the world, and the day is the time of hope and of labor; the night is the time of respite and of love, and the stars the signs of the hosts of the One God; dark things dwell in the darkness, but evil hides in the light as readily as in the shadows
· The Coming of Mankind
o The creation of humanity as male and female, given rule over - and responsibility for - all of creation
· The Equality of Mankind
o Men and women created as equals, each with his or her own roles to play; the One God created all of mankind, in all colors and sizes; the One God’s ‘chosen people’ is simply all of mankind, and no human is out of the One God’s sight due to race or birth
· The Gift of Death
o Humans are created to be as they are now, intended to have death as the passage to the next existence; there was never a garden of Eden, nor did Adam and Eve ‘fall’ from grace; death is merely the next step in a long journey, of which life is only a small part; each part of the journey is important, and no one part should be emphasized or shunned beyond any other; death is not to be feared, but embraced in its due time; even those who sin against the One God are not held back from the journey forever, but rather only punished until they are repentant and cleansed of sin
· The Gift of the World
o All things which the One God granted to humanity are humanity’s to use and enjoy - within reason; the One God frowns on excess and gluttony in any regard
o Humanity given the role of ‘stewards’ over Creation; they may make use of all it holds, but must also seek at all times to leave it better than they found it, if only a little
· The Ascendancy of the Soul
o Although the flesh is good, and not to be scorned or set aside as unimportant, the mind and soul are the ultimate purpose of life; it is the soul which determines love, not the flesh, which determines lust; homosexuality neither embraced nor frowned on, merely acknowledged; likewise polygamy in any form; heterosexual monogamy preferred and encouraged, but not required
· The Gift of Freedom
o Humanity is free to believe and to choose as they will; the One God does not require worship, and, as with all other things, gave mankind minds and free wills to use as they would; however, the One God does restrict or deny certain activities and punishes those who commit them
· The Potential of Mankind
o There are no heights which humanity may not ascend to, save the level of the One God; there exists, however, a time for all things, and attempting to climb too far at the wrong time or too quickly will lead only to disaster
· The Imperfection of Mankind
o Only the One God is perfect; all other things, including humans, are fallible and imperfect; humans by their very natures are works in progress, prone to mistakes and transgressions; repentance and sincere regret, as well as the choice to learn from the mistakes of the past, can absolve sins and reduce or eliminate punishment after death
· The Truth of Sin
o The greatest sin against the One God is to deprive another human of their freedom to choose; the next is the attempt to bypass a thing’s appointed time; thus murder, the premature ending of a life, is a sin; rape, depriving a man or woman of the choice to engage in intercourse or not, is a sin; child molestation, the taking of that which is not in its proper time, is a sin; forcing a human to change their religion, disregarding their right to choose their own faith, is a sin; forcing a person to marry, depriving them of the right to choose a mate, is a sin; and so on
It should be noted that this is not, precisely, what I actually believe; it is, however, a reasonable facsimile of my own ideals.
· The One God
o A single Divinity, one God over all things, the supreme Creator and Lord of all things in Creation; neither male nor female, but a single principle embodying both and more
· The Infinity of the One God
o The One God may not be fathomed by mere humans; even his hosts cannot comprehend all that the One God is or does; it is therefore the greatest of foolishness to say that something is impossible, or does not exist, for the One God created many things, and there exists many times many things which lie wholly out of human existence
· The Unity of the One God
o The One God created all things, and exists as a part of all that exists; thus all knowledge is a part of the knowledge of the One God, and knowledge as a whole is to be pursued, for the more one knows, the closer one comes to the One God; no human possesses all knowledge; amongst all the masses of humanity, the combined knowledge held is only a tiny fraction of all there is to know
· The Presence of the One God
o The One God is in all things, and no intermediaries are needed to speak with the One God; however, humans are not all created equal; some humans are more learned and wise in the ways of the One God than most, and these teachers should be respected and attention given to their words; like all things, they remain imperfect creatures, and may not command or instruct without question
· The Great Host
o A legion of servants, created to aid in the creation of Creation; these beings are mighty, but more limited than humans
· The Light-Bringer
o The greatest of the Host of the One God, second in might and glory to only the One God
· The Fall
o The Rebellion of the Light-Bringer, who desired that he and his kin be ranked above the One God’s favored humanity; this happened long before humans were created, when the One God revealed his plans to his hosts
· The Truth of Evil
o The difference between the Light-Bringer, who is evil and counter to humanity, and the One God, who encompasses evil and is Lord over it, but who is also good, and who favors mankind
· The Supreme Balance
o The concept of gain and cost, that all things gained have a cost, and all costs paid gain the one paying them something; this is as the One God intended, and all humanity owes a great price to the One God for their very existence, a price which every human must pay and which is different for everyone; also, there is a time for all things; a time for peace, and a time for war, a time for ignorance and a time for learning; and all things must come in their own time
· The Balance of the World
o The One God created the day and the night; the sun is the giver of life and of warmth to the world, and the day is the time of hope and of labor; the night is the time of respite and of love, and the stars the signs of the hosts of the One God; dark things dwell in the darkness, but evil hides in the light as readily as in the shadows
· The Coming of Mankind
o The creation of humanity as male and female, given rule over - and responsibility for - all of creation
· The Equality of Mankind
o Men and women created as equals, each with his or her own roles to play; the One God created all of mankind, in all colors and sizes; the One God’s ‘chosen people’ is simply all of mankind, and no human is out of the One God’s sight due to race or birth
· The Gift of Death
o Humans are created to be as they are now, intended to have death as the passage to the next existence; there was never a garden of Eden, nor did Adam and Eve ‘fall’ from grace; death is merely the next step in a long journey, of which life is only a small part; each part of the journey is important, and no one part should be emphasized or shunned beyond any other; death is not to be feared, but embraced in its due time; even those who sin against the One God are not held back from the journey forever, but rather only punished until they are repentant and cleansed of sin
· The Gift of the World
o All things which the One God granted to humanity are humanity’s to use and enjoy - within reason; the One God frowns on excess and gluttony in any regard
o Humanity given the role of ‘stewards’ over Creation; they may make use of all it holds, but must also seek at all times to leave it better than they found it, if only a little
· The Ascendancy of the Soul
o Although the flesh is good, and not to be scorned or set aside as unimportant, the mind and soul are the ultimate purpose of life; it is the soul which determines love, not the flesh, which determines lust; homosexuality neither embraced nor frowned on, merely acknowledged; likewise polygamy in any form; heterosexual monogamy preferred and encouraged, but not required
· The Gift of Freedom
o Humanity is free to believe and to choose as they will; the One God does not require worship, and, as with all other things, gave mankind minds and free wills to use as they would; however, the One God does restrict or deny certain activities and punishes those who commit them
· The Potential of Mankind
o There are no heights which humanity may not ascend to, save the level of the One God; there exists, however, a time for all things, and attempting to climb too far at the wrong time or too quickly will lead only to disaster
· The Imperfection of Mankind
o Only the One God is perfect; all other things, including humans, are fallible and imperfect; humans by their very natures are works in progress, prone to mistakes and transgressions; repentance and sincere regret, as well as the choice to learn from the mistakes of the past, can absolve sins and reduce or eliminate punishment after death
· The Truth of Sin
o The greatest sin against the One God is to deprive another human of their freedom to choose; the next is the attempt to bypass a thing’s appointed time; thus murder, the premature ending of a life, is a sin; rape, depriving a man or woman of the choice to engage in intercourse or not, is a sin; child molestation, the taking of that which is not in its proper time, is a sin; forcing a human to change their religion, disregarding their right to choose their own faith, is a sin; forcing a person to marry, depriving them of the right to choose a mate, is a sin; and so on
It should be noted that this is not, precisely, what I actually believe; it is, however, a reasonable facsimile of my own ideals.