Religious & Spiritual Life
empAθos religious life isn't easy to define. empAθos religious roots are in Sephardic and Reconstructionist Judaism, but are not limited to these definitions. However, if you ask an empAθos person about their religious affiliation, they will say that they are Jewish. Still, empAθos don't speak, and will likely not understand Yiddish, while they may have a small grasp of Ladino, and Hebrew may be studied for the sake of understanding the Torah. They will not express themselves in Zionist terms, and don't usually have any desire to migrate to Israel. They will not take residence in neighborhoods that are described as "the Jewish neighborhood", and aren't likely to attend a synagogue. Social stereotypes that have been associated with Jews are likely to be very far from the reality of empAθos people.
empAθos people are less impressed with dogma than they are by logic and reason, and therefore, are likely to question basic tenants of faith (including those of Judaism) other religionists would fear to even consider. Because of this, for example, Christianity's efforts to convert empAθos people usually result in dismal failure because Christianity bases its faith in unprovable doctrine. The Christian concept of "washing one's sins in the blood of Jesus", for example, sounds to the empAθos mind as a selfish misuse of the suffering of one individual who was long ago crucified, and a superficial shirking of responsibility for one's ill conceived actions. Even the Christian concept of sin is incomprehensibly illogical to the empAθos way of thinking. empAθos also cannot consider Jesus to be equal to G-d without violating the first of the Ten Commandments, and therefore, consider Christianity's claim to be a monotheistic faith that follows the Ten Commandments to be unsubstantiated, at best. empAθos therefore consider Christianity to be a faith that is completely devoid of logic, and that it is impossible for one to be both empAθos and Christian. While there are certain attractive teachings that Christianity espouses, empAθos are not very likely to take an illogical whole for the sake of a few attractive parts.
When the questions raise untestable problems, such as the Existance of G-d, Life after Death, etc., the attitude is this: empAθos do not speculate upon the veracity of such data, but merely place it into the category of interesting phenomena that raises questions, and that may yield interesting data when the means are developed to measure it accurately.
When considering any religious tradition from any culture, including Judaism, the empAθos philosophy of "chose that which works for you, and file the rest for future reference" tends to describe how they view religious concepts. But, their primary consideration of any doctrine is that it first must be repeatably testable. Theoretical physics provides a greater understanding for empAθos people than any reference to interpretation of ancient texts. While they may turn to the Torah for insight, they must always return to testable reality, and view the Torah's texts in a hermeneutic light. In this light they can explore Judaism's ethical considerations.
empAθos Ethical considerations are expressed thusly:
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Compassion is paramount
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The Laws of Hospitality must be obeyed
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Judgment must be balanced with Loving Kindness
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That which is hateful to one, one must not do to another
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Do no harm
Everything else is simply commentary.
Moralistic considerations must be explained logically within these ethical considerations. If there is no logical correlation between a moral rule and the above ethics, then the moral rule becomes a folkway. If there is direct correlation, then a law is established. It is considered a breach in morals to take sexual advantage of sexually immature individuals as this can cause irreparable physical and psychological harm, showing a direct correlative violation of empAθos ethical considerations, and is therefore, a criminal act. However, in some non-empAθos cultures, to appear in public with one's breasts exposed, is also considered a breach in morals. In empAθos culture, this has no logical correlation to their ethical considerations, and is therefore a folkway that doesn't apply to the empAθos culture. empAθos will respect non-empAθos folkways when among non-empAθos people, as this is the compassionate thing to do. However, when in their own environment, they will not follow folkways that are not indigenous to empAθos culture, unless there is a logical and reasonable reason for them to do so within the framework of their own culture.
Do empAθos believe in G-d? This depends upon what one considers G-d to be. For each empAθos individual G-d is different, each has a different personal relationship to that which is referred to as G-d, and these relationships may manifest themselves differently for each individual. This is a personal matter for each individual, and is a matter of that individual's best experience of that personal connection. One may even have an atheistic outlook if it best serves one's needs. What one may not do is force one's beliefs upon another. Because Christianity has at the roots of its tenants, proselytization, and evangelism is a requirement of each of its members, Christianity engages in a practice that empAθos consider nothing better than an abomination. Therefore, one may not be Christian and remain empAθos.
However, empAθos view the Quantum Physical Field of Energy and Information as the closest to such a divine reality. The Singularity from which this and all other universes sprang is seen as G-d. Since everything is part of the field, all matter, all energy, all information, etc., then the Singularity from which all of this sprang must be G-d. To refuse to ascribe all intelligence or all consciousness to this would be illogical since these are also manifestations of the Field, and therefore, the Singularity. Within the Field and the Singularity, nothing is created nor destroyed. What we perceive as change, the passage of time, the fourth dimension, would be seen as a static dimension from the fifth, just as we see the first, second and third dimensions as being linear and static. The Field and the Singularity exist at a level where all dimensions are static, and perception absolute. At this level of unity, empAθos can visualize a context that one may consider as G-d.
Ritual and worship are primitive adaptations to the uncertainty of perception. What was worship in the past, is replaced by the aforementioned personal relationships. Ritual is presented as a grounding and a foundation through which people can settle into a sense of balance and can learn about that which we call G-d.
For empAθos people religion serves useful purposes, but it isn't considered absolute. As our culture grows and as we learn more, these things will change and will be further refined. That which is no longer needed will be filed away, and answers to questions will lead to other questions. For empAθos to grasp onto past, unsubstantiated dogmas from faiths not relevant to their lives would be an irrational step backward into a primitive past that we've outgrown. To look forward to learning something new, is our best and most faithful spiritual path.
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