This is http://www.essayz.com/a9308243.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.} ========================================================== %RELIGION LEADER ARROGANCE ADDICT CONTROL SCRIPTURE 930824 Religious leaders have often been arrogant and manipulative in their claiming that their scriptures, revelations and church authority need not be judged in the light of human experiences. Often they have presumed that because their prohibitions, injunctions, commandments, and judgments are based upon their interpretations of their holy scripture and/or their holy revelations---those human experiences which suggest that their actions are disintegrative, alienative and presumptions are irrelevant human experiences. In response to the arrogance of many religious leaders secular leaders have often been arrogant and manipulative in their claiming that the scriptures, revelations and church authorities need not be attended to in seeking to find meaning in human experiences and in knowing how to act wisely. Secular leaders often pretend that there is nothing which can transcend human experiences and that no relationship with a transcendent power is needed to enable us to respond wisely to our human experiences and dilemmas. Presumptuousness, arrogance and manipulative life styles do not: endear people to each other, encourage open and honest discussions, or promote personal/ communal integrity. Such behaviors on the part of religious leaders and secular leaders do not merit respect or support. We may know leaders by the fruits which flow from their leadership styles: guilting or guiding shaming or sharing burdening or broadening freezing or freeing repressing or renewing oppressing or opening imprisoning or liberating controlling or empowering prohibiting or enabling commanding or en-nobeling judging or loving punishing or forgiving A negative pattern in place of an affirmative pattern is a sign that the leader's life style is likely to bear bitter fruit and that it will be unwise to respect and/or support such a negative leader. Leaders who are not liberated and creative enough to lead in a positive way are likely to lead people into tragic negative life- styles. (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy) ==========================================================