The practice of self-purification among the Jews was another point of contention between Jesus and the Jewish authorities, which shows us the interconnection between faith and reason. The Jews had very elaborate rituals for purification on various occasions as a consequence of their faith in God and as a means to be in good relationship with Him (Mark, 7:1-23). Jesus argued that their external observances were in vain, if these did not proceed from an internal attitude of purity emanating from a pure heart. He quoted Isaiah 29:13 in order to stress the insincere attitude of the devotees who pay lip-service to God with hearts far away from Him (Mark, 7: 6-8). What is important in a human being is what comes out of his or her heart, considered as the source of all thoughts, intentions, plans, projects for the future etc., that flower forth into specific actions purifying or defiling him or her. Nothing that accrues into a person from outside, whether bodily, mentally or even spiritually, can purify or defile a person unless it is accepted personally by each individual. That is why even the free gifts of God like faith and grace as well as the Holy Spirit of God Himself must be accepted by each one personally in order to grow spiritually. Similarly, purification and defilement can take place only by one's personal involvement originating from the seat of one's intellectual, mental and spiritual powers, generally designated as the 'heart' in the biblical language. For the same reason, eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person, according to Jesus, in spiritual terms, although hygiene might demand such a practice for health reasons. This ruling of Jesus brings into sharp focus what constitutes a human being in his or her inmost reality arrived at by each one by combining faith and reason. For, what does or does not purify or defile someone bodily may be gathered by reason, whereas what purifies or defiles a person as the image of God is obtained only from faith!
Faith in God and in Jesus himself was a crucial theme of his teachings and in fact his entire life, death and glorification demanded it from every person confronted by him down through the centuries. Yet, reason and logic had a prominent role in the ministry of Jesus so much so that even the most learned doctors of law of the time were confounded by his words of wisdom. The same wisdom was able to explain profound mysteries in simple terms through parables, allegories, similes etc. in such a way that even the simple folks as well as the children were able to understand Jesus and relish his words. This shows that Jesus never demanded blind faith leading to ignorance and superstitions, fertile breeding grounds for human abuses practiced by several unscrupulous men and women throughout history, but was ready to give reasons as arguments of persuasion. The fact that faith itself is not grounded in reason, being a gift of God freely to be accepted by us, is not contradictory to what has been said above.
The importance of inner purity is evident from the fact that without it a person's mind becomes clouded, ruled by passions arising out of the stimulus we receive from external objects. A weak mind is easily subdued by even simple temptations of life and gradually we fall into a state of no return. Once we are unable to sustain clarity of thought, our rightful place as masters of whatever we come across is easily robbed by external circumstances, our own passions, unclear thoughts etc. enslaving us under the grip of innumerable vices. As Jesus said about the state of a person exorcised of an evil spirit becoming worse afterwards because the mind was kept empty and unoccupied (Matthew, 12: 45), we become completely under the spell of uncontrollable forces. The antidote to avert such a pathetic situation is to keep our heart (including our intellect, will power, emotions and the five senses) under control with inner purity.
Faith in God and in Jesus himself was a crucial theme of his teachings and in fact his entire life, death and glorification demanded it from every person confronted by him down through the centuries. Yet, reason and logic had a prominent role in the ministry of Jesus so much so that even the most learned doctors of law of the time were confounded by his words of wisdom. The same wisdom was able to explain profound mysteries in simple terms through parables, allegories, similes etc. in such a way that even the simple folks as well as the children were able to understand Jesus and relish his words. This shows that Jesus never demanded blind faith leading to ignorance and superstitions, fertile breeding grounds for human abuses practiced by several unscrupulous men and women throughout history, but was ready to give reasons as arguments of persuasion. The fact that faith itself is not grounded in reason, being a gift of God freely to be accepted by us, is not contradictory to what has been said above.
The importance of inner purity is evident from the fact that without it a person's mind becomes clouded, ruled by passions arising out of the stimulus we receive from external objects. A weak mind is easily subdued by even simple temptations of life and gradually we fall into a state of no return. Once we are unable to sustain clarity of thought, our rightful place as masters of whatever we come across is easily robbed by external circumstances, our own passions, unclear thoughts etc. enslaving us under the grip of innumerable vices. As Jesus said about the state of a person exorcised of an evil spirit becoming worse afterwards because the mind was kept empty and unoccupied (Matthew, 12: 45), we become completely under the spell of uncontrollable forces. The antidote to avert such a pathetic situation is to keep our heart (including our intellect, will power, emotions and the five senses) under control with inner purity.
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