The Alpha Quorum Show

077: RULES VS. RELATIONSHIP - Alpha Reverence with Dean Sanner

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The 18th century philosopher Immanuel Kant asked these questions: (1) What can I know? (2) What ought I to do? (3) What may I hope for? (4) What is man? These are the basic questions of philosophy.  The root of the word PSYCHOLOGY is  psyche, which is Greek for spirit or soul. An evolved man is many things, he is tender and he is tough. He is humble and he is confident.  He is grateful for what is and yet still constantly seeking.  Today we discuss REVERENCE. This is about deep respect.  This is about respect for life, respect for others, and has to do with the connections we can improve with a higher power, with other people, and even to the natural world. Reverence is about RECOGNITION of the purpose of life, the sanctity of life, the significance of life and it includes spirituality but not necessarily traditional religion.

Questions answered in this episode:

  • What makes it so tough for men to have their connection with a higher power?
  • Is there any obligation following belief?
  • What is religious practice do you do that does help you find that connection to your higher power?

    • Topics discussed:

    Reasons why men find it difficult to connect with a higher power:

    • Sometimes people find it difficult to have any concept of a higher power because they come from dysfunctional backgrounds such as having horrible, abusive, and distant fathers.
    • Some religious models have unhealthy perspectives. They do things to an extreme which is opposite to the biblical perspective of God wanting to have a balance.
    • When a person prays for something that didn’t happen, they don’t have the understanding of the purpose of prayer and that God is not a Santa Claus.
    • It all comes down to readiness of being connected to a higher power because nobody is going to be able to make you do it.

      • The obligation following a belief:

      • Find beliefs, systems, structures that work then study those and apply discipline towards them. It’s beneficial to people.
      • If religion is a vehicle that works for a particular man, apply with caution and be thoughtfully aware of how much influence it has on you.

        • Religious practice that can help men find the connection to a higher power:

        • Service (voluntary)
        • Offering
        • Efforts and Time
        • Giving and Sharing
        • Teaching the Fellowshippers

          • ATHEIST / AGNOSTIC

          How can a person like that explore spirituality? How can a person not interested in the traditional view of God improve their spiritual life?

          • It depends on what they are trying to achieve.
          • You have a decision to make in improving your spiritual life.
          • It can also start on sublime experiences.

            • Final words, when it comes to a man trying to mend a relationship with God:

            • One of the things that God says is that if you seek me, you'll find me. And if you want to find God, the first thing you do is look, and I think you can look in creation. Just like in Google, whatever you're searching for in life, you're going to find it.
            • We start with the rules, but eventually, in spirituality, things have to move beyond that.
            • There's gotta be more to life than just me, even if it's just others. We connect to God through relationships with others as well, because if he's truly created everybody and we're created in his image, then we can see him in other people.
              • ...more
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