Articles from the Religious Research Journal
Living in Love in a Time of Polarization
By Tom Hemphill
As I write this article, the United States has just re-elected President George W. Bush by a sizable margin. No doubt, among our readers there are those who rejoice at this victory as well as those who despair.
For many of us, perhaps the most troubling thing about the election of 2004 was the strong polarization of the country. Elections tend to be polarizing by their nature. However, America has historically seen itself as a vast middle ground, with just a few “extremists” out on either fringe. In 2004, it seems that most of us were solidly in one camp or the other, with very few left in the middle. This is indeed a significant change.
As I wrote recently in the Religious Research Journal (Oct-Dec 2003 issue) humanity is at a time of increasing polarization. As we move toward the new paradigm, there is to be a separation between those who seek to live with spiritual perception and values, and those who – however stridently religious they may be – lack spiritual attunement and are not acting in accordance with God’s will.
Many New Age thinkers believe that much of humanity (half or more of the total souls now incarnate on Earth) is poised to be moved out of the third dimensional “reality” that we have long known into a fifth dimensional existence. Christ spoke of this as separating the sheep and the goats – not that one is good and the other bad, but simply that they are different.
Other ancient traditions - Jewish and Mayan among them - speak of this time as the end of one age and the beginning of another. Dr. John Christopher Daniels, the spirit guide of Religious Research, clearly said that this event coincides with the Second Coming of the Christ, as prophesied in the Christian Bible.
As a minimum, such a momentous event calls for the clear division of human souls into one group or the other. It is not for us now incarnate to make this distinction; we lack the awareness and wisdom to choose. However, those who are in charge of humanity and Earth and see us truly as spiritual beings, can clearly determine those who are ready for a kind of “promotion” and those who need more time for learning in the particular “laboratory” (Dr. John’s word for it.) of a three-dimensional world.
Thus, it should not surprise us that our society grows increasingly polarized over such traditional battlegrounds as religion, politics and social values. Is it not interesting that exit polls quote voters as saying they voted for President Bush because of his stand on moral issues (abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research), yet those who voted against President Bush did so on ethical grounds (the war in Iraq, repeated deceptions, self-serving policies to benefit the very rich)? Not only are we polarized, but both sides base their choices on their understanding of religious or moral or spiritual priorities.
This is not going to change. We will not “come together after the election” this year. We can expect more, not less, polarization in our political life, our religious expressions, and our assessment of national and global priorities. Who is right? Time will tell.
The real issue in 2004 is not which candidate gets to rule for four years over the current mess, but how this chapter of America’s life will help us to move toward a time when the mess itself can begin to be redeemed, reformed, and brought in accordance with God’s values and God’s will. Surely the officials of both parties, at all levels, have compromised their spiritual values for political gain. Surely in this compromise they represent us, the voters. That is our sad truth.
So where does that leave us? What should we believe? What should we do?
The Old Testament – the holy book accepted as Scripture by Jews, Christians and Muslims, teaches, “What does the Lord require of thee, but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8)
That is still what is required of us – all of us Muslims, Jews and Christians. In every war today – terrorists in America, America in Iraq, the struggle between Israel and Palestine, and so many others – it can be argued that on both sides there is a painful shortage of justice, mercy and humility before God. If you and I genuinely seek to live lives of justice, mercy and humility, we cannot be far from God’s priorities.
The two great commandments (as understood by Christians) still stand – to love God with all that we are – heart, mind and spirit, and to love each human being as much as we love ourselves. Surely any of us who genuinely seeks to live a life of love – love of God and love for each other – cannot be far from God’s favor.
In a parable, Christ taught his disciples about a rich man who went away on a trip and then returned home. He said, when the master comes, blessed is the servant who is found doing the work that the master assigned. And so it is with you and me. We have work to do – the work of inner growth, seeking to live in accord with spiritual values, committing our lives to our purpose on earth as well as we can understand it, and living our lives among our neighbors in accordance with that commitment.
There are those in each political camp who see the leadership of the other camp as terribly flawed. You may see the leaders of whichever party you did not vote for as evil, small-minded and corrupt. Or you may see them as spiritually or morally immature.
It is fair to say that there are those in each camp who have compromised far too much of themselves for the sake of what they have gained. Yet, there are surely others, in each camp, who mean well, follow their cause, and believe they are doing what is right. For those whose ideas, opinions and assumptions are far different from yours, can you feel compassion? Can your compassion temper your judgment, your anger, your fear, your sense of betrayal?
Much of what was thrown at the voters in this recent election was fear-based – fear of terrorism, fear of the conservative Right, fear of the liberal Left, fear for our safety. Remember that where God is, fear is not.
When I was a little boy in Sunday School we learned to sing, “Praise Him, Praise Him, all you little children. God is love! God is love!” God is indeed Love. When I got older I learned that, “Perfect love casts out all fear.” And so it does. If we have cast votes based on fear, we need to re-assess in our own hearts whether we are living in fear or living in the conviction that God is still in charge. If God is in charge then ultimately neither Republicans nor Democrats but Love itself will be victorious.
The American Pledge of Allegiance claims that we are “one nation, under God.” And so we are. The elections of 2004 are behind us. No matter which candidate won, the presidency and this nation abide in God’s love and care – and are subject to God’s loving discipline – just as we have always been. We are in a new time, this time of transitioning to the new paradigm for humanity. As Jimmy Carter has written, “Our lives do not need to be limited by past experiences.”
I believe that the next several years will see far greater polarization, as people more clearly align themselves with the old fear-based way of thinking, valuing and acting, or the new love-based paradigm of thinking, valuing and acting. For those of us who believe that we are all One in God, the whole concept of the polarization of the human race is anathema. This transition will be painful for many of us to go through.
The bright beacon throughout these troubled times will be the love of God present in our world. Ordinary people – such as the readers of this humble little Journal – will choose to live their lives as lovingly as they can, confident in God’s presence, and committed to God’s will. As we do this we will find more and more comrades of many faiths, races and nations – as well as our Elder Brothers and Sisters from other spiritual realms - walking the path of humble service hand-in-hand with us.
None of us is here by accident. You are incarnate today because your soul consciously chose to be here on Earth at this time of great transition, to be among those who seek to lift humanity to a higher, more spiritually-attuned type of existence. You are here by choice. Your presence is to be a blessing here and now – to many and to yourself and to God. You have sacred work to do.
Dr. Carol Parrish, Dean of Sancta Sophia Seminary, has stated this so clearly:
“We do not have to “save” humanity; we have to “seed” it with new thought. We have to strive toward heart centeredness and create new responses to the old problems. We have to establish a kind of clarity within ourselves that will witness to something more as we bring ourselves into a discipleship that honors the guru within, the true Self. This is the kernel of truth that rules the human path. Humanity has struggled for ages to get to this royal moment, and you and I are the ones offered the opportunity to put it into action.
“We know what is ours to do. We reach within for the courage and dedication that is needed to fulfill our part in the moment. Let us complete 2004 grateful for what has occurred and ready to carry our light into the future – this world and the next.”
Amen. May it be so. The world is counting on us.