What If?

A couple of questions for my Christian and atheist friends.

WHAT IF FOR CHRISTIANS
What if most Christians acted as if Christ's most important teaching was:
Matthew 5: 43-48
43Ye have heard that it hath been said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy." 44But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? 47And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? 48Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Some Christians seem intent on making the government enforce their beliefs. They seem to feel the best way to promote Christianity is through the law and the courts. What if Christ was saying his love is beyond the reach of "Caesar" or the courts? What if he meant that no government or man-made law is needed to promote or protect his teachings? What if he truly meant that the best way to "follow him" was through love rather than debate and lawyers (publicans)?
I don't know the answer. I'm just asking.

WHAT IF FOR ATHEISTS/SECULARISTS
What if the secular world acted as if reason were truly the best guide for our lives?

Cognitive/behavioral psychology relies heavily on the idea of schemas. Schemas are patterns formed in the brain through repetitive thought and behavior. Schemas are very powerful and some research suggests they actually change the physical, neural network of our brain. What if each of us has a choice to promote the formation of schemas based on kindness and tolerance or schemas based on fear and anger?
Research in behavioral change has shown that positive feedback is much more powerful in bringing about desired changes than negative feedback. When people receive positive reinforcement for actions that approximate a desired change they are more likely to repeat them than if they only receive negative feedback for actions that do not approximate the desired change. This is basic behavioral science. What if each of us applied this theory to trying to bring about a more loving and tolerant society?

Neuroscience tells us that our brain contains neurons that have evolved to allow us to experience other people's emotions as if they are our own. These are called "mirror" neurons. Research has shown that even pre-verbal infants gravitate to people they see displaying kindness toward others. This may be the scientific basis for the phenomena of "empathy". What if we chose to display love and tolerance to the fullest extent possible so that others may experience it as well?

Many sociologists and biologists tell us that we evolved in small groups or tribes. Deep in our brain, structures that control our emotions, were geared toward protecting the tribe in order to keep ourselves safe. Those tribes that did not maintain their cohesiveness tended to die out. This may be the underlying cause for much of the world's turmoil. What if we chose to begin acting as if the entire world was one tribe? What if we choose to continue acting as if there are thousands of different tribes, each armed with "weapons of mass destruction"?

WHAT IF FOR ME
From personal experience, fear seems to be the greatest hazard to my mental and emotional well being. My two greatest fears are fear of death and fear of being embarrassed or being taken advantage of. The quickest way I have found to overcome these fears is to reach out to others and try to help. Most of the time I forget to use this tool even though I know it works for me. What will happen if I continue to try and practice this method of life?

I don't know. I will keep you posted.

Category:

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Tags:

• atheism
• religion
• christianity
• philosophy
• politics
• wisdom

[Redskin1040]

Amen! love everyone regardless of their belief and philosophy. Your last name wouldn't be Sagan by any chance? =-) He indirectly championed human unity. I can tell you're a mellow guy. You have a kitty in the background : o)

[daleshankins]

@Redskin1040 Thank you very much.

[Elinitsam]

Are you a psychologist? You seem more intelligent than others I've spoken with.

[daleshankins]

@Elinitsam No I am not a psychologist. As for intelligence, I leave that for you to decide.

[cmpresents]

I mean, don't u understand the logic behind it. It has to do with a deep believe system. Nobody believes in atheist, I mean, who is your god. You ppl r very confused.

[cmpresents]

If there is no God, the let's follow what Jesus said. Eat, drink and be marry, cause tomorrow u will die. I will love for antheust to ever come up to me, to try to preach morality to me. Survival of the fittest, it seems like most atheist r forgetting about their instinct. Atheist, please don't preach morality, u don't have any authority.

[cmpresents]

I'm a believer in Christ, but if I wasn't, I would wipe my ass with empathy and compassion. I would only apply it to whom I choose. It really puzzles me how atheist want to teach morality, but they dont want to believe in God. I really don't know what world u live in. But what I experience everyday in the real world, is nothing like what u speak off. I guess this happens to both "pseudo xtians" & atheist.

[cliftut]

An alternate translation, which I prefer, reads "gentle as doves".

[cliftut]

I am not preaching Christianity, but I enjoy the wisdom of this verse;

"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves." (Matthew 10:16)

I thank you for the message in this video, which you delivered clearly and directly.

[daleshankins]

No worries. Thanks for watching AND taking the time to comment.