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 %RELIGIOUS ZEALOT EXTREMIST ENTHUSIAST DEVOTEE SIN+980714                                                                     
  %FANATIC RADICAL FUNDAMENTALIST CONSERVATIVE EVIL+980714                                       
  %ULTRA PURIST EXCLUSIVE ALIENATORS EXCOMMUNICATOR 980714                       
                                                                                                                               
     Each religious tradition/institution is threatened by                                                                     
its  own  peculiar  kinds of extremists ---   and by those                   
features   of  the  tradition/institution  which  make  it                                                                     
vulnerable to  just how its own kinds  of  extremists  are                   
prone  to  threaten the integrity of the community and  of                                                                
the members of the community.                                                                
                                                                                                                               
     The  BEST  in  each  religious  tradition/institution                                                                     
points to certain realities  within  human experiences  of                             
true security ---   known and enjoyed as the freedom to be                   
safely  vulnerable  within  contexts of  open  and  honest                
intimate relationships.     The BEST is usually associated                     
with  affirmations  of and  demonstrations  of:   balance,                                                                     
humility,  inclusivity, gentleness,  justice,  generosity,                                                                     
mutuality,  liberation,  health, integrity,  honesty,  and                            
other closely associated virtues.                                                               
                                                                                                                               
     The WORST  in  each  religious  tradition/institution                                                                     
points   to   the  disintegrative  effects  of   excessive                                                                   
certainty ---  which LACKS balance, humility, inclusivity,                                                                     
gentleness, justice, generosity, mutuality, and associated                            
virtues.    The WORST is usually associated with: zealots,                                                                     
extremists,  fanatics,  radicals, perfectionists; purists,                                                                     
exclusivity,     imprisonment,    alienation,    dis-ease,                       
excommunication, dishonesty and disintegration.                                                                
                                                                                                                               
     We will do well and be well when we recognize,  name,                                                                     
describe  and  talk about the above  associations  between                                                                     
what is best and what is worst within how we each approach                             
scriptures,    beliefs,   convictions,    traditions   and             
institutions.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                               
     We  will  do ill and be ill when we  are  preoccupied                                                                     
with who  is  best and worst among us ---  as we  approach                                                                     
each other contentiously with  our  own chosen scriptures,                
beliefs, convictions, traditions and institutions.             
                                                                                                                               
     We  need  to  be open and honest with each  other  as                 
together  we suffer the consequences of our choices and of                                                            
our failures ---  to learn  together  from our experiences                                   
together which flow from our choices.                                                            
                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                               
                         (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in      
                    (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)  
                                                                                                                               
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