Earned Authority

2006-2-22 05:39:00

Woody writes:

"I'm going to let you in on a little secret. You know who the biggest beast is in these parts? I'll tell you, he's the Initiate Joseph John Dewey. And what a wonderful beast he is, very good at his job pulling the proverbial wool over people's eyes."

JJ:

I think authority in relation to the Beast needs clarified here. Authority by itself is not the Beast. Authority has a positive side and is used by all servers from the Hierarchy of light on down. The Beast is powered by unearned and unjust authority (that takes the place of the God within) and is blindly obeyed through fear or complete thoughtlessness.

I don't think anyone here follows or obeys me because they fear me or obeys me without thought. For one thing I do not seek obedience.

Let's go back the analogy of the two Spanish teachers. The first is appointed and approved by a powerful board to teach one class and another is rejected by the same board and not allowed to teach through the school system. This second one runs a small ad and attempts to teach a class in his home.

Now Jim wants to learn Spanish and decides to check out the two teachers for he wants to learn from one who actually knows the language well. He takes a Mexican friend along with him, visits the first teacher and says:

"I want to learn Spanish, but want to make sure you are a qualified teacher. Therefore I would like my friend to ask you some questions in Spanish to test your ability."

The teacher looks back in alarm and replies, "How dare you question my ability. Do you know who I am? I am not only authorized by the powers-that-be to teach, but I have certificates to show you that I am more than qualified."

"That's fine," said Jim, "but I just want to know if you can actually speak it correctly so I can be assured I will learn it well." "My reputation speaks for itself and I do not have to prove myself. Now get out of here or I'll have you banned from all classes in this school forever."

Jim leaves, but then pays a visit to the second teacher. "Why do you tech from your home?" he asked. "The other teacher we visited had magnificent settings provided by the powers-that-be."

"The teacher replied, "I am not accepted by the powers-that-be so I have to work with what I have."

"The most important thing is that you have a good working knowledge of Spanish," said Jim. "Would you care to demonstrate your knowledge by having a dialog exchange with my friend?"

"I would be happy to," said the teacher. He then proceeded to carry on a conversation with Jim's Spanish-speaking friend. After a few moments Jim asked his friend how the teacher did.

"He did great," said the friend. "He speaks flawlessly and with a perfect accent. This man will know of that which he teaches."

Jim therefore selected the second teacher and enjoyed learning from a tested authority. Each time the teacher taught him a new element of the language Jim found he did not have to consistently test or question his authority, but as he progressed in knowledge he did apply tests from time to time to make sure the teacher was adept in the higher grades of the language.

Conclusion:

The first teacher used the unearned authority of the Beast. The second used a legitimate authority which he demonstrated and was not a part of the Beast -- neither were his students under the power of the Beast in this particular area of life.

"We are more ready to try the untried when what we do is inconsequential. Hence the fact that many inventions had their birth as toys."
-- Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)