Date: Sunday, 24 January 1993 21:47:21 MST
X-Mailer: TMail version 1.16R
From: "D. C. Sessions" <dcs@witsend.tnet.com>
Organization: Nobody but me -- really
Subject: In the proper spirit
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc
Distribution: world

Gani and I have spent a certain amount of time nodding and smiling
at each other in email, but this calls for a bit of contradiction:

In <1993Jan19.143528.8746@kth.se>, d89-gsk@nada.kth.se (Gani Skepi)  wrote:
# Fulfill can mean different things. It can mean he came to fulfill 
# the true law and then tell the Jews of that day, that they shouldn't 
# follow things mechanically....
# 
# You see the Commandments of God had become a bunch of "you shall not 
# do this you shall not do that" rules and thus the love and affection 
# of God had dissappeared. They had become just a bunch of rules. The 
# whole purpose with the commandments is to go back to the pure natural 
# state *if* a person has left it and from that learn righteoussness. But 
# this should be done through the affection and love a person feels for 
# God and his Creation and not only for the rules so to say. 

  Gani, you wouldn't happen to have any documentation for this claim,
  would you?  In contrast, I have a rather sizable body of material
  from approximately the time in question (early Common Era) which
  directly contradicts this claim of "mechanical" observance and
  "thou shalt nots."  The Pharisees were, for instance, downright
  poetic about their efforts to "call the Sabbath a delight."
  (An example is that of the recurring metaphor likening the Sabbath
  to a bride or a queen.)

# You can see that very good in (Mark 2:27):"the Sabbath was made for man, 
# and not man for the Sabbath." were Jesus (pbuh) adress himself against 
# Jewish formalism which went so far as to kill the spirit of the Sabbath.

  See above.  While there were undoubtedly those who always saw the
  glass as half-empty, it's a sad fact that the grumps we will always
  have with us.  By comparison, spend a Shabbat with a Chassidic
  family and you'll see what 2000 years of progressive stringency
  have done to the joy of Shabbat (clue: it isn't grim!)

  BTW: there is a point of view that holds that, in fact, Man WAS
  created for the Sabbath.  Sort of.  Or at least that mankind's
  reason for existence is the performance of the Commandments.
  (When you consider that enjoying life is a positive precept,
  this appears less radical than otherwise.)

# True faith is based on works *and* belief. A persons may look righteous 
# but that doesn't mean s/he *is* righteous. If you do something just be-
# cause other people should think you are a very religious person and not
# because you truly belive in it, then you are not believeing. Instead you 
# are a hypocrite!!!!! And it was this Jesus (pbuh) mostly turned himself 
# against....

  Here we have a basic parting of view.  I would side with both the
  Sages of old and modern psychology that if one ACTS in a certain
  way, patterns of thought will follow.  Calling the first steps
  along this path 'hypocricy' only serves to turn the
  willing-but-uncertain away from righteousness.

  I propose a for-instance: Shari'a dictates that you strictly
  avoid all pork products.  I rather imagine that you have grown
  up checking processed foods for ingredients like stearic acid
  and the like, or checking for a kosher certification which
  guarantees the same result.  This is a matter of habit, so
  that even should you experience a period of rejection (Heaven
  forbid) you would still maintain a kitchen where your fellows
  may safely eat.  Every time you shop, you would remind
  yourself of Islam, and thus maintain your ties to the
  community; the way would be eased for your return.

  The same may be said for set prayers, whether three or five
  times a day.  It is certainly preferable that prayers be said
  with a whole heart and all one's thoughts on the Object of
  those prayers.  Why, then, are the prayers set at fixed times?
  Would it not be better to pray only as the inspiration takes us?

  I don't know the Muslim answer to this question.  The ones I am
  familiar with are: that the very regularity of set prayer creates
  a pattern conducive to the proper frame of mind; that the habit
  of regular prayer makes one familiar with the language (literal
  or figurative) of prayer and thus the medium for expressing
  inspiration should it come; and that coming together for regular
  prayer cements the community.  (Others, too; brevity provides a
  handy excuse for a poor memory.)

  Many of the arguments for set prayer also apply to other ritual
  behavior.  Whether the act is dietary, hygenic, sartorial,
  sexual, or <whatever>, the act itself binds the individual to
  the community and reinforces his or her commitment.  Eventually,
  every act one performs from rising to lying down at night is
  infused with sacred association; in this ideal state the
  appropriate state of mind follows naturally.

--- D. C. Sessions                            Speaking for myself ---
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