An exclusivist stance in one's religion is where one believes that one's spiritual path is the only and true spiritual path and that all other spiritual paths are false and wrong. This is human nature. We each develop ground to stand on and then have a tendency to think that if all others stood on similar ground, their problems would be solved.
An exclusivist stance takes it a step or two further: all others SHOULD take this stance and this stance only. The richness and complexity of life SHOULD follow a single track. All eggs SHOULD be put into one basket and that basket is mine.
We all know the abuses that have followed that stance in Christianity. Lands claimed, people slaughtered, children taken from their homes and forbidden to speak their native tongue, and so on. Though the outward abuse has died down considerably, the attitude amongst exclusivists is still the same: I am going to heaven and you are going to hell.
As a cosmotheandric zen baptist, I take an inclusive stance. We are all members of the Navel Tribe. We all arise out of the Great Mystery we call by many names. Each individual is at a certain level of understanding, of awareness. Each of us is an embodying of the Mystery. The Mystery has birthed us, is birthing us, and the Mystery will take us home.
An exclusivist stance takes it a step or two further: all others SHOULD take this stance and this stance only. The richness and complexity of life SHOULD follow a single track. All eggs SHOULD be put into one basket and that basket is mine.
We all know the abuses that have followed that stance in Christianity. Lands claimed, people slaughtered, children taken from their homes and forbidden to speak their native tongue, and so on. Though the outward abuse has died down considerably, the attitude amongst exclusivists is still the same: I am going to heaven and you are going to hell.
As a cosmotheandric zen baptist, I take an inclusive stance. We are all members of the Navel Tribe. We all arise out of the Great Mystery we call by many names. Each individual is at a certain level of understanding, of awareness. Each of us is an embodying of the Mystery. The Mystery has birthed us, is birthing us, and the Mystery will take us home.
The exclusivists seem to be popping up all over, even in the views of friends I once thought to be quite flexible and open. I know first hand that time will harden our hearts if we allow it to happen, but I am surprised when I see it in the eyes of those I love.
ReplyDeleteA recent encounter brought this realization before me. My first reaction was frustration and even some anger. Then I remembered that you cannot force someone to see your point of view. In fact, that attitude was exactly what pissed me of to begin with. So I offered what love I could, and moved on.
Who knows, maybe in time love will help open the closed hearts behind the exclusivists. For my part, I know it has worked for me often, and for that blessing I remain grateful. In the meantime, I continue to do my best to keep open to the love that breathed me into existence.