8.0.11.1 Reasonable Expressions of our Commitment

Version 1.3 December 2016                                         (Previous Version)

Many of us are familiar with religious expressions of commitment.

Traditional Religious Response

To us, each of these responses is unrealistic.  There is no God for us to worship, no God who has done us any good turns or favours or who can answer our prayers.  But they say:

1.     We are humbled before the power and the glory of God;

2.     We are awed by the majesty of God’s creation;

3.     We praise the Lord (God, Jesus, Krishna or some other deity);

4.     We give thanks (to a God or a representative of God);

5.     We ask for favours (from a God, a Prophet, or a Saint).

A Reasonable, Natural, Rational Response

Each of the responses below is realistic.  We don't appeal to the supernatural or raise any other unrealistic hopes or expectations.  Just as we cannot insist that God must answer our prayers, so we acknowledge that sometimes our own responses aren’t as effective as we would like.  But we can still promote hope and resilience.

We strive to adopt these responses and the attitudes they imply because these are not only consistent with reality, but they are effective in helping us to lead more fulfilling lives.

1.     We feel humbled by the majesty of nature, the immensity of the universe and our relative insignificance in comparison to the vast forces of nature, life and history;

2.     We are awed by the complex intricacy of the natural world, and then the achievements of other human beings, the greatest amongst us and the most humble and resilient;

3.     We praise all those who have struggled and fought for what we have that is good, including security, human rights, and the enjoyments that nature now provides;

4.     We give thanks for our good fortune, to those who precede us who have made it possible, knowing that some of it is due to luck, some due to the support of family and community, and perhaps some due to our personal strengths and persistence;

5.     We ask for the continued support of our community in our struggle to face the world as it is; we look within ourselves for the strength to carry on; and we hope that we will be provided with opportunities that we can take to achieve our goals.

We phrase the Bronze level summary of this insight as follows: