{"id":1699,"date":"2016-03-14T23:53:29","date_gmt":"2016-03-14T23:53:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thenewagesite.com\/?p=1699"},"modified":"2019-09-08T22:05:33","modified_gmt":"2019-09-09T03:05:33","slug":"the-principle-of-authority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenewagesite.com\/index.php\/authority\/the-principle-of-authority\/","title":{"rendered":"The Principle of Authority"},"content":{"rendered":"

For those who are firmly on the path of spiritual evolution one of the most fundamental and important lessons is the principle of authority. When I Googled “what is a principle<\/em>” I got these definitions:<\/p>\n

prin\u00b7ci\u00b7ple<\/p>\n

1. a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.<\/p>\n

2. a fundamental source or basis of something.<\/p>\n

An authority, whether it is a person, a book, or a state mind is something that you trust to give you reliable\u00a0knowledge and guidance. Probably the most important fact about your authorities is how you came to accept them.\u00a0What you accept as valid authority sets the foundation of \u00a0your belief system and everything you believe or know about the world proceeds from that choice.<\/p>\n

Young children naturally tend to accept<\/em>\u00a0parents as their first authority. \u00a0Parents are larger, more powerful, and – if good parents – have a track record of giving the child nurturing and protective guidance. As the child grows older parents and\/or society may appoint<\/em> other authorities. The child is told to trust and respect authorities such as teachers, doctors, nurses, police and possibly priests or preachers.<\/p>\n

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. \u00a01 Corinthians 13:11<\/a><\/p>\n

As we mature we may find that some authorities are\u00a0reliable, and some\u00a0not so much so. To “put the ways of childhood behind [us]<\/em>” we have to learn to test authority.<\/p>\n

To question authority is essential for spiritual progress<\/span><\/h2>\n

“Question authority<\/a><\/em>” was a popular slogan in the 1960s and is a slogan that everyone who aspires to spiritual progress must take to heart. To learn to question authority is essential for spiritual progress.<\/p>\n

Probably the simplest test is to recall past performance.<\/p>\n

Perhaps\u00a0you had a math teacher who\u00a0could do the math herself and show you how to do those same calculations on your own. Maybe you had an\u00a0art teacher who\u00a0could produce interesting art objects and give you workable instructions on how to express your own ideas.<\/p>\n

Those are examples of\u00a0earned<\/em> authority. A person earns\u00a0authority by demonstrating competence and ability. When you have faith in an earned<\/em> authority it is based on something real and tangible.<\/p>\n

Accepted and\u00a0appointed authorities can become earned authorities. On the other hand we may become disillusioned when these earlier authorities don’t turn out to be so trustworthy after all.\u00a0Maybe in church the\u00a0preacher taught chastity on Sunday \u00a0but then you found out he was having affairs with different married women in his church. That is what you might call a false authority, or in more common parlance, a hypocrite.<\/p>\n

You need to learn to test an authority…<\/span><\/h2>\n

There are a lot of false authorities in the world. Saying one thing and doing another is epidemic in many areas of human life, especially in politics and religions. That is why you need to learn how to test an authority before you place a lot of faith in it.<\/p>\n

You can use logic\u00a0or just plain common sense. You\u00a0can use your mind to evaluate whether something really makes sense, or is just an appeal to our emotions – sucker bait making promises that can never be delivered in reality.<\/p>\n

Most of what has been said above is for the most part not a great revelation. Using past experience and our minds to think through things maybe doesn’t sound too spiritual. Recognizing fakes and liars again may not\u00a0seem\u00a0too spiritual.<\/p>\n

It is easy to say “use your mind<\/em>” but hard to do. Con men and politicians spend a lot of time and money trying to figure out what you desperately want to hear and how to convince you they can deliver it.<\/p>\n

You are responsible for the authorities you accept and the consequences of that acceptance. You are just as responsible if instead of choosing authorities by a rational and discriminating process you just blindly accept the authorities you inherit from your parents or from society. You are also responsible when you turn a blind eye to the clear failures and hypocrisy of your authorities.<\/p>\n

One way or another you have to choose your authorities, either by unthinking default, by emotional longing, or by\u00a0trying to figure our the facts\u00a0for yourself\u00a0as much as is possible and testing your authorities.<\/p>\n

In the next post we will talk about\u00a0more about the principle of authority and how important it is for you to come to fully understand it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For those who are firmly on the path of spiritual evolution one of the most fundamental and important lessons is the principle of authority. When I Googled “what is a principle” I got these definitions: prin\u00b7ci\u00b7ple 1. a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-authority"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Principle of Authority - theNewAgeSite<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The principle of authority explained\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewagesite.com\/index.php\/authority\/the-principle-of-authority\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Principle of Authority - 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