This is http://www.essayz.com/a9003191.htm Previous-Essay <== This-Essay ==> Following-Essay Click HERE on this line to find essays via Your-Key-Words. {Most frequent wordstarts of each essay will be put here.} ========================================================== %SALVATION JUSTIFICATION ACCEPTABLE LOVABLE HEALTH 900319 Healthy human relationships are not manipulative relationships; they do not entail efforts to control each other in the manner of achieving control over objects. Healthy human relationships are not objective relationships in which some participants in the relationships are essentially passive and other participants are essentially active. In healthy human relationships there are no passive victims and/or active victimizers. In healthy human relationships all participants respect each other's personal and communal integrity; and they do not seek to take advantage of each other to gain personal advantage at the expense of each other. In healthy human relationships the participants are not trying to cause each other to behave in expected/desired ways. Healthy behavior is not predicated upon getting others to behave in prescribed, expected, desired, required, anticipated, etc. ways. In healthy human relationships people are not trying to achieve popularity, respectability, prestige, acceptability, lovability, conventional appearances, personal salvation, justification by works, or justification by proper beliefs; for such achievements are not of ultimate concerns within healthy communities. Personal achievements and beliefs as means to personal salvation have to do with personal manipulations which do not exist within healthy personal relationships and communities. To attempt to achieve salvation through personal efforts and the manipulation of personal attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, perceptions, communications, etc. is to engage in manipulative behaviors which undermine the personal and communal integrity which are essential to personal and communal health. The enjoyment of personal and communal integrity is not achieved through manipulative efforts whereby people try to control the prerequisites to acceptability, lovability, respectability, prestige, etc. Such enjoyment occurs when gifts are freely given and accepted, not when they are sold and bought through manipulative procedures which cost a great deal in authenticity of personal relationships. The price for the enjoyment of personal and communal integrity is not the sacrifice of openness and honesty in personal dialogue. The price for the enjoyment of personal and communal integrity is not yielding to manipulations and coercions which do violence to self and others. The price is giving up all such manipulative attempts to be in control of personal salvation, personal impressions, personal appearances, personal acceptance, personal lovability, personal affection, and personal relationships in general and particular. These considerations are relevant to the religious debates regarding justification by faith versus justification by works. In tragic ways many people have attempted to justify themselves by affirming a faith which will manipulate others into accepting/loving them in much the same way which another group of people have attempted to justify themselves by working for achievements which will manipulate others into accepting/loving them. Yet others have attempted to manipulate people into accepting/loving them by the performance of correct rituals, giving, life styles, avoidances, ignorances, learning, recitations, etc. All such efforts are disintegrative to the extent that they involve attempts to manipulate/control others; and all fail to achieve their coveted benefits to that extent. (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy) ==========================================================