What is the Role of Emotion in Your Religion?

[Manoah]

On the one hand, many faiths call on us to worship with all of our strength, soul, mind, and heart. A faith divorced completely from emotion might be heartless and cold.

Yet emotionalism is rightly considered an unhealthy extreme. Here are some thoughts by Aldous Huxley that are likely to apply to many faiths because it comes from his universal treatment of religions in The Perennial Philosophy:

In the light of what has been said above, we can understandthe peculiar spiritual dangers by which every kind of pre-dominantly emotional religion is always menaced. A hell-fire faith that uses the theatrical techniques of revivalism in order to stimulate remorse and induce the crisis of sudden conver-
sion; a saviour cult that is for ever stirring up what St.Bernard calls the amor carnalis or fleshly love of the Avatar and personal God; a ritualistic mystery-religion that generates high feelings of awe and reverence and aesthetic ecstasy by means of its sacraments and ceremonials, its music and its incense, its numinous darknesses and sacred lights in its own special way, each one of these runs the risk of becoming a form
of psychological idolatry, in which God is identified with the ego's affective attitude towards God and finally the emotion becomes an end in itself, to be eagerly sought after and worshipped, as the addicts of a drug spend life in the pursuit of their artificial paradise. All this is obvious enough. But it is no less obvious that religions that make no appeal to the emotions have very few adherents. Moreover, when pseudo-religions with a strong emotional appeal make their appearance, they immediately win millions of enthusiastic devotees from among the masses to whom the real religions have ceased to have a meaning or to be a comfort.

From one of my sacred sources comes the idea that "to the pure, all things are pure," so in theory almost anything can be sanctified. Yet as C.S. Lewis said of Love, when anything is made a god, it becomes a demon.

What do you consider to be the blessings and dangers of emotion in your religion?

 

[sun rise]

From one of my sacred sources comes the idea that "to the pure, all things are pure," so in theory almost anything can be sanctified. Yet as C.S. Lewis said of Love, when anything is made a god, it becomes a demon.

What do you consider to be the blessings and dangers of emotion in your religion?

That's an excellent question. To me they are all true and all incorrect depending on the circumstances.

I would add the factor of who the person is. If someone is truly pure, then all things are pure. But if someone is wresting with impurities, then there is the risk C. S. Lewis referred to.

Part of the issue is that the English word "love" has many different forms of love all rolled into one. Greek has agape and eros to start with. The internet told me that the list of words for "love" are: The Ancient Greeks’ 6 Words for Love (And Why Knowing Them Can Change Your Life)

• Eros, or sexual passion. ...
• Philia, or deep friendship. ...
• Ludus, or playful love. ...
• Agape, or love for everyone. ...
• Pragma, or longstanding love. ...
• Philautia, or love of the self.

Another site has 4 words: philia, eros, agape and storge. Storge being translated as affectionate love for family. https://www.warrior.do/4-greek-words-for-love/

So adding all this up, I would write that the blessings are the power of positive emotion to motivate positive action. The danger of emotion is the power of negative emotion to motivate mistakes and negative action.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

On the one hand, many faiths call on us to worship with all of our strength, soul, mind, and heart. A faith divorced completely from emotion might be heartless and cold.

Yet emotionalism is rightly considered an unhealthy extreme. Here are some thoughts by Aldous Huxley that are likely to apply to many faiths because it comes from his universal treatment of religions in The Perennial Philosophy:


From one of my sacred sources comes the idea that "to the pure, all things are pure," so in theory almost anything can be sanctified. Yet as C.S. Lewis said of Love, when anything is made a god, it becomes a demon.

What do you consider to be the blessings and dangers of emotion in your religion?

Emotions, in relation to Dharma, are attachments. The idea is to channel our negative emotions to be positive ones that help others. They are important depending on what type but the emotions themselves aren't the source of the Dharma but the actions themselves. It's not based on emotions but on actions. Actions cause emotions rather than emotions action.

I hit someone, they are mad. Not all mad people hit. The former is psychological. Make a threat, the other trades. The latter can be controlled brought people don't believe they can. The Dharma focuses on changing our actions s so they won't make us and others mad.

Get rid of negativity that causes negative results for the direct opposite.

Outside of that, emotions in themselves are normal. Not specific to The Dharma.

 

[Nakosis]

On the one hand, many faiths call on us to worship with all of our strength, soul, mind, and heart. A faith divorced completely from emotion might be heartless and cold.

Yet emotionalism is rightly considered an unhealthy extreme. Here are some thoughts by Aldous Huxley that are likely to apply to many faiths because it comes from his universal treatment of religions in The Perennial Philosophy:


From one of my sacred sources comes the idea that "to the pure, all things are pure," so in theory almost anything can be sanctified. Yet as C.S. Lewis said of Love, when anything is made a god, it becomes a demon.

What do you consider to be the blessings and dangers of emotion in your religion?

Emotions IMO evolved as a way to create a physical response. Fear, anger to increase adrenaline prepare for flight or fight. Love, procreation/child care. Happiness to create a sense of well being, to negate the physical drain cause by other emotional responses.

Emotions are stimulations created mostly in the subconscious part of the brain for survival responses.

Sometimes these emotional aren't always appropriate, so awareness consciousness was developed for logic, rational thought to adjust for inappropriate emotional response.

We have instinct, then emotion which is a superior response mechanism to instinct, then rational thought which provides a superior response to either of the other two.

So blessings are improved survivability for the species. Dangers are inappropriate responses which threaten survivability. So logic and rational thought need to be developed to prevent inappropriate emotional response.

 

[ajay0]

Emotion is considered different from feelings in Advaita or nondualist philosophy.

Emotions as in likes and dislikes stem from the ego, while feelings of peace, bliss and joy stems from one's own inner nature or Self.

Intense liking or dislikes as in cravings and aversions result in the vices of greed, lust, theft, hatred, crimes of passion, destructiveness and so on. Likes and dislikes, or cravings and aversions, out of proportion, are the distinguishing traits of criminals, serial killers, mass murderers .

The enlightened ones like Ramana, Buddha are free from cravings and aversions, in tune with their true nature, and are hence reservoirs of peace, tranquility,joy where-ever they go.

 

[Vinayaka]

In my faith, emotion is something to be observed in oneself, and in others, with the aim of total emotional control in oneself.

 

[crossfire]

Building and cultivating the right emotions is part of Right Effort of the Eightfold Path: (Whether you classify these as emotions is another matter. I happen to.)
Magga-vibhanga Sutta: An Analysis of the Path

"And what, monks, is right effort? (i) There is the case where a monk generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the non-arising of evil, unskillful qualities that have not yet arisen. (ii) He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the abandonment of evil, unskillful qualities that have arisen. (iii) He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the arising of skillful qualities that have not yet arisen. (iv) He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the maintenance, non-confusion, increase, plenitude, development, & culmination of skillful qualities that have arisen: This, monks, is called right effort.​

 

[crossfire]

There are also the Four Immeasurables: the Brahmavihara in Buddhism

Metta: Loving-kindness
Karuna: Compassion
Mudita: Empathetic Joy
Upekkha: Equanimity--evenmindness/stability of mind​

 

[crossfire]

Here's a nice essay on two important emotions: Samvega and Pasada (Multidimensional sense of urgency and clarity and fearlessness)
Affirming the Truths of the Heart | Noble Strategy

 

[Twilight Hue]

I think Zen practice helps greatly with becoming more aware of the empty nature of emotion, for which in understanding by observing how our emotions are first triggered, the way it rises, sustainment and duration of the emotion , and how it subsequently dissipates would bring about that intrinsic ability on how you deal with the feelings , and finding viable ways to navigate through each episode in a fluid way that you don't become unduly attached to a point where it becomes problematic.

 

[Firemorphic]

It has it's place with everything else, it's part of devotion but not something to get egotistical about. Balance between reaching more pure states of consciousness combined with being an active participant in the world around, is important.

 

[tayla]

What do you consider to be the blessings and dangers of emotion in your religion?

Emotion is a human characteristic. The role of emotion is that it is part of being human.

 

[Kapalika]

Power.