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%TRANSCENDENCE OF IDOLATRY 780517
People seek to transcend human limitations through
the knowledge of good and evil. By anticipating
undesirable consequences of unwise actions (through
knowledge, understanding, prediction, prophesy) people
seek to avoid evil and lead good lives. Various means are
used in differing technologies designed to accomplish the
guidance to the "good life".
Primitive peoples set up idols made of wood, stone,
iron, brass, silver, and gold. They perceived such idols
as offering magical guidance/power to avoid evil and
empower human fulfillment. More sophisticated people set
up idols constructed of ethical, moral, philosophical,
political, legalistic and similar structures designed to
facilitate individual/communal fulfillment. Even more
sophisticated analysts have perceived that it is unwise to
place ultimate confidence in or focus ultimate concern
upon such human constructions. They have sought ultimate
verbal representations of God's Will through direct verbal
revelations in their own human languages---trusting God to
infallibly present them with verbal representations which
they cannot misinterpret. Even more sophisticated people
have pointed out the logical inconsistency of such
presumptuousness, and have sought ways to transcend the
limitations of logical-rational-intellectual-verbal-
mathematical analysis. They have turned to meditation and
non-verbal insights in an effort to transcend former
idolatries---seeking ultimate knowledge of good and evil
(God's wisdom) in a more balanced approach to life.
Each effort at transcendence tends to help some
seekers to gain insights into former idolatries---but
thereby tempts them into new forms of idolatry which tend
to be hidden in the success of transcending the former
presumptions. Each of us finds it much easier to perceive
any idolatry other than our present one; e.g., our former
idolatries, idolatries of other persons of former times,
and idolatries of other persons today. No way of
transcending idolatries is capable of transcending the
temptation to regard the way's power as ultimate---
transcending all the idolatries which it exposes. Any
claim to ultimate insight tends to occasion a dichotomy
between those empowered by the insight, and those not
empowered by it. Any such claim thus tends to occasion
alienation, sin, sins, ill-will, resentment, violence,
etc.
(c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in
www.essayz.com Search for Integrity and Honesty
(On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)
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