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One should treat all creatures in the world as one would like to be treated - Jainism .... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you - Christianity .... None of you truly believes until you want for others what you want for yourself - Islam .... Treat not others in ways you yourself would find hurtful - Buddhism .... What is hateful to you do not do to your neighbour - Judaism ....
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Metaphorical Gold

September 1, 2007

The limits of my metaphorical language for God are the limits of my experience of God -  Paul McKenna, creator of the Golden Rule Poster

 Whether we call it western rationalism, scientific method, or just plain old hard nosed practicality, those whose worldview is based on observable fact have long been at odds with those who see the world through less cut and dried perspectives.

 And not without cause. The fight to bring logical process to our understanding of the world was long and bloody and its martyrs are many. The winning of that battle opened the way for monumental change on a global scale. And while we may argue that not all of that change has been good it would also be difficult to argue that we would have been better off without it.

 And yet the "practical" can take us only so far. The way of reason can answer only so much. Humanity is a species of art as much as it is of engineering. We create, not with calculations in our heads, but with beauty in our hearts.

 And so, just as unreasoning faith once was forced to give way to faithless reason, so we approach a time when reason will be forced to yield space to art and metaphor.

 It seems to me that the task before us is not to prevent that change but to embrace it in such a way that what has been accomplished by both its predecessors is not lost but becomes part of something greater than any of the three alone.

 Perhaps, in metaphor, the Golden Rule applies equally to our worldview as to our world.

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