On Respect, Love, and Fear

[Lojo613 1882]

On Respect, Love, & Fear

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Praise be to him, Sovereign of the Stars, Father of my Fathers, King of Kings, Well of Mercy, and Grand Architect of the Cosmos, GOD. It is with eternal reverence and awe that we give thanks to you and follow your divine plan.

 

To Preface this work, there are two words that are used throughout this work that are often interchangeable in Common, but are given two distinct meanings here. These are demand and command. Demand as appears within this work shall refer to a command which is enforced under threat of violence, destruction, or other form of force by the power that issued it. A command is a law which may or may not be enforced by the power that issued it, nonetheless stands despite the choices of those that the command is issued to.

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Respect

      What does Respect mean? Respect is a noun and means two things, to not interfere or intrude upon, or to show esteem and admiration towards.

     

      How does one show Respect? Respect can be shown in two ways, either by remaining at distance to prevent intrusion, or through the proper payment of admiration.

 

      When should one Respect? Respect ought to be practiced in the first form of the noun with caution and common sense, for not every situation can be handled with silence and distance. Respect in the second sense of the noun ought to be practiced always. All things are worthy of admiration, for on contemplation of the smallest ant, does she not lift stones far greater than her to build her nest, and upon contemplation of the lame man, does he not overcome all odds to simply move from his bed? With meditation one realizes that everything in this universe is amazing, the rolling hills and the soaring mountains, the tranquil forests and babbling brooks, the birds who fill our skies with song, the elderly who tell us of our past and the young who hope to inherit the future. Therefore, we ought to afford everything respect.

 

“For I have given to you a theater of virtue, and I have ordered the estates of the world. And you shall be without pretense or conceit, for before the mountain, the ant and the aurochs are equally small” (Virtue 7:6-7)

 

To respect, is to be humbled, as is commanded by the Lord, and understand that we are all equally distinct.

 

      Does GOD demand respect? No, GOD demands nothing of us. To demand in itself implies that unless we acquiesce to a command, we will be punished or forced to follow this command. We are granted by His divine grace the gift of free will. As such, GOD allows us to choose whether to embrace His Virtue, or stray from His Light. GOD does not destroy or punish those who defy His will, rather, GOD ends Evil where it spreads and corrupts the good, but Evil more often than naught is its own punishment. Know this, that the Lord in His infinite power may bring us all to heel and demand anything of us, but He does not. Rather, the Lord commands, and we are given the choice to follow.

 

”Among them lay Saul, uncovered and foul, trampled by the sin he wrought. And Horen glowed with the light of the tabernacle and of GOD. Horen wept for his people, for the sinful could not approach him. He went into the tabernacle and spoke with his wife, who advised him of the sin that corrupted the world.  Horen went out of his tabernacle and found that in their wrath and wickedness, the unholy had slain each other. They lay upon the ground with the body of Saul, and the whole camp was unclean.” (Gospel 2:41-46)

 

Know that the Evil wrought by Saul destroyed itself, for Evil in anathema to the Work of GOD.

 

“But Joren Son of Horen was never to be found. In his grief, Owyn went into the greatest city of Edel, and reproofed the wicked for seven days, until every servant of Iblees lay dead at his feet, and he collapsed. The Lord saw the penance of Owyn, which was the death of the unrepentant. And Owyn was made again as the light of his blade, and the great city was destroyed.” (Gospel 5:17-20)

 

And while the Lord may have granted Owyn the power to destroy Evil, even then, it was not by act of GOD that the city was destroyed, rather, it was by the choice of Owyn, with the Mercy of GOD. 

 

      Should we respect GOD? Yes, for if we can find it within ourselves to draw admiration from any source, we must also grant esteem to Him who created all things. While the Lord does not demand it, He has commanded respect be granted unto Him as it is the foundation of Faith. To be Faithless is not to call upon the wrath of GOD, but to reject his Mercy and Light, thereby condemning yourself to the Void through your distance from Him. 

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Love

      What is love? Perhaps the hardest word to define, as its forms are boundless, and meaning to each individual wholly unique. Yet at the same time, love is universal. So, from the limited and singular perspective of the Author, love shall be defined as caring for the wellbeing of another greater than one cares for oneself. To understand whether you love, you must ask whether you are willing to do for another even at the detriment to the self.

 

      What are some examples of love? The love between a man and wife is a perfect example. The man and wife ought to be willing to die for each other. Another example of love is the love of a fellow, be they neighbor or stranger. If one saw his neighbor on the road, and knew that he himself had to expend his wealth and time to aid him, yet still assisted, that would be an act of love. 

Has GOD commanded us to love our fellows? This is complicated, mainly due to the wording of the Canticle of Charity. The Canticle of Charity commands us to give our abundance of spirit to our fellows, but this abundance of spirit is not definitely defined save for it is His Word. 

 

 “And so I have placed into your hearts the blessings of abundance: the virtuous wealth of the spirit. And as I have given to you this blessing of My Word, you shall also give unto your fellows. For I have placed into your heart a wealth of virtue, and I have created for you a garden of abundance. And you shall give your fellows the abundance of the spirit, which is My Word. For the abundance of the spirit is never divided, but multiplied.” (Virtue 2:5-8)

 

His Word is the abundance of spirit, but this marks the only time GOD has commanded us to act upon our fellows in the Scroll of Virtue. It is possible to draw inferences based upon the wording of the Scroll, assuming that the abundance of spirit extends to aspects of His divine self, those being Mercy and Love, which ought to be afforded. As noted in the Proverbs of Ex. Godfrey, GOD is often rendered as Charity, or as translated by Fr. Humbert, Love. The Flexio Caritas, as interpreted by Humbert, assumes that within the context of Love as defined earlier in the Essay, can be translated similarly. The Proverbs expand on commandments not written in the Holy Scrolls, but otherwise implied through the connotation of Love, GOD, and Charity. That by sharing the abundance of spirit, which is His word and spirit, we therefore must indulge in Charity and Love. 

 

“God is Love. Therefore, to be in his love, love as he loves us. Pray for your neighbour, even your enemies; pay your debts, but forgive those indebted to you.” (Proverbs 5:1)

 

The Proverbs are of the Ex. Godfrey, but are not necessarily considered divine revelation. They do serve to extrapolate on meanings within the original Flexio of the Holy Scrolls, and provide examples through the parables by which we as mortals may better follow his will.

 

      Has GOD commanded us to love Him? No. While it is not a command within the Scroll of Virtue, it is a prerequisite to salvation in Paradise as written in the Scroll of Auspice.

 

“This is the promise of GOD to the World, that it shall belong to the virtuous, who love Him.” (Auspice 3:17)

 

So while GOD has not commanded us to love Him, love of Him is an eventuality of those who are virtuous that shall inherit the World. Thus, we do know it is the will of GOD that the virtuous that inherit the World must also love Him.

 

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Fear

      What is fear? Fear as an emotion is far more primal than love. It is an anticipation or awareness of danger. Fear comes, unlike love, to all beings. Fear is instinctual. We are all born into this world screaming, and know fear even before we know the love of our Mother. Fear, unlike love, is not caused by goodness or wickedness, rather, it is the result of the natural system which makes up the World. For example, all living things know fear, but whether they have the capacity to love is debatable. To truly love, one must learn. Fear, on the other hand, is an emotion all too readily at hand. There is a duality to the word fear, in both common and Flexio. Fear may also be defined as profound reverence, or awe, in both common and Flexio. This may be disregarded in this case, as the root of the word comes from a common place, which is the first and arguably original definition of fear, and always implies that with reverence, there must also come a desire to avoid the dangers of His retribution through awareness. 

 

      Does GOD command us to fear Him? No, at no point in the Holy Scrolls does GOD command that we ought to fear him. Once again, we must turn to the Proverbs to understand the role that fear plays within Canonism.

 

“The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom, and humility a diadem of glory, for He is Wisdom itself: the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. God hath said: I am the Way the Truth and the Life. Therefore, get you Wisdom, hark to the Word of God, and hark to my word, for I pass on what hath been given me.” (Proverbs 1:1-2)

 

The word fear in Flexio is translated as timor, which among other things also holds the connotation of respect and awe. The word itself has a double meaning, and while fearing something does not necessarily imply awe, the word would also be used in the same context to describe a child’s fear of his father. A father, much like our Heavenly Father, has the fear of his child, rather than merely the respect, because a child knows that the father may use force to discipline and teach the child. 

 

      Should we fear GOD? Yes, at least initially. As stated by Ex. Godfrey, The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom. A child fears his father because of the awesome power and ability to use it that his father wields compared to the child. The father commands us to fear, and may punish us for straying because as children we cannot comprehend yet the complexity behind the commandments of our father. As we age, the fear of our father changes as we come to understand the truth and reasoning behind his commandments. There comes a time when the child no longer fears the retribution of the father for running with the blade, because they have come to fear the act itself. To fear GOD is to inherently ascribe to him the respect and honor that He is due and obey His virtue for fear of retribution. This is Wisdom, but only the start. As we contemplate the Scrolls, we grow in our understanding of His will, and fear inevitably will fade and be replaced with love.

Does GOD give us reason to fear? Yes. He is mighty and infinite. GOD at times is described as being wroth with specific individuals and retribution does befall those that stray from the path. Retribution is not necessarily destructive though, instead it is the revelation of the destruction wrought by sin. Sin is a blight, and GOD may destroy those infected with it that they may not wither His garden. Yet, this is not always necessary.

 

“So the Lord was wroth, and uncovered the imperfections of the Sons, so that she would know her folly. And the first woman wept, and was humbled, for all things are imperfect before GOD. And she did as she was bidden, and rose to the Sixth Sky.” (Gospel 1:45-47)

 

The wrath of GOD is often not directed in a destructive manner. Rather, the punishment is often the sin itself. GOD reveals how the sin has delayed Paradise or ruined the beauty of His creations, and we suffer by our own hands. 

 

 “The Lord saw Godfrey’s good work, and the forces of evil divided themselves. Plague swept the lands of iniquity, and walls crumbled before Godfrey’s armies. And he was joyful to be King of Men, and lo, the sons of Horen prospered under one kingly banner.” (Gospel 6:38-40)

 

The Lord sent forth Plague to sweep the lands of wickedness, and crumbled the walls before Ex. Godfrey’s armies. Such is His destructive might that it will not be stayed forever, and shall at times sweep away corrupted lands. Thus we fear Him, that He might sweep us away for our sins, or cast the burning lamp of truth upon us and reveal our iniquities.

 

      Should we forever fear GOD? No. The Lord does not desire fear, nor does He command it. We begin our spiritual journey as children, and only through deep contemplation of His will do we gain any spiritual maturity. Those that have read and contemplated the Scrolls will understand that sin is a cancer, which the Lord need not punish us for committing. Only when this disease threatens to overtake us all does GOD deem it necessary to cull the wicked. Those who know the danger of sin know that GOD is no tyrant, that to fear Him is irrational for GOD does not sweep away the righteous nor does He smite the sinful, for He is Mercy and Love and Charity and it is sin which smites the sinful. To understand this is Wisdom. As in the words of Ex. Godfrey;

 

“And His mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear Him.” (Proverbs 2:15)

 

Every generation begins their journey in fear. And all that are virtuous shall end their journey in love.

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Summary

The best summary of this Thesis is the last line in the above section titled Fear. A less compact summary is as follows;

GOD has commanded that we respect Him, but has not commanded that we love or fear Him.

To respect others is a sign of humility and essential for a virtuous life.

GOD has revealed through the scroll of Auspice that all the virtuous shall eventually love Him.

To love others is a sign of charity and essential for a virtuous life.

It is reasonable and right to fear GOD.

To fear GOD is to begin your journey towards Wisdom.

To love GOD, and lose your fear through understanding is to attain spiritual maturity.

-Goren

[thesmellypocket 1859]

“Excellent work.” Says Pius of Sutica.