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%ADDICTIVE RELIGIOUS LEADER CONCEPT GOD HEAVEN LOVE 901207

     Addictive   religious  leaders  are  bound  by  their
paradigm,  concepts,  beliefs,   attitudes and assumptions
to  conceive God,   heaven and love---in addictive  terms;
e.g., in terms of    control,    perfection,     eternity,
manipulative   rationality,       linearity    and   other
preoccupations   of addicts.

     Addictive    religious    leaders  often   are    not
involved   in  recognized   overt   addictive   behaviors;
instead   they  are  addicted   to   religious  modes   of
expression  of their  addictive  ways.    Their  religious
expression   of  their  addictive  ways  can  be  just  as
destructive  as  more commonly recognized  expressions  of
addictive  ways   of thinking,  feeling,  perceiving,  and
trying.

     The  idealized visions of heaven,  God and love which
are conceived  by  addictive personalities are projections
of   their    confusions   about   the  essence   of   the
ultimately desirable  aspects of  real  living---onto  the
screen   of   the  ultimate   mysteries   of  life.    The
projections  are  human creations  which are not worthy of
worship;     they  are   not  ultimate   realities.    The
projections   are   representations   of   misled    human
conceptions,  not healthy conceptions.    They are not God
and it is disintegrative to worship them.

     We  need  to  know  how  to  recognize  the religious
projections of  addictive personalities,  so we may  avoid
idolizing  such  creations,  and so avoid the tragedies of
human idolatry.
                                                                                                                               
                         (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in      
                    (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)  
                                                                                                                               
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