“Religion inspires man to live courageously and joyfully on the face of the earth; it joins patience with passion, insight to zeal, sympathy with power, and ideals with energy.  [UB, 99:7.3]

Thought Adjuster: “There is a huge contrast between love-infused passion and cruel fanatism.  Just as every quality finds its counterpart in a corresponding flaw, such is the ‘hate-love’ relationship between these two demeanors which, indeed, are at the Antipodes of each other.

“By definition, a fanatic outlook or behavior exhibits excessive enthusiasm, unreasoning zeal, or wild and extravagant notions on some pet subject. Our God is a passion-driven God but His passion is fueled by the ardent affection He feels toward all His creatures—not by an angry sense self-righteousness or a superiority complex that would lead Him to force His creatures into submission.

“From the above quote about religion, you can see how necessary it is to mitigate the fires of passion with the soothing waters of patience, the zealous driving force with the wisdom of insights, the potential destructive power of such strong energies by sympathy, empathy, and compassion toward others, and the life force which fuels your action with the compass of pure and divine ideals.

“Jesus was passionate in promoting the divine agenda behind His human incarnation.  However, His passion was always supported by positive and uplifting emotions—never by the destructive attributes of hate and anger. This is the reason why—no matter how hard His detractors tried—it was impossible for them to find Him at fault. 

“Dear ones, how do you lead your life?  How do you interact with others?  Are you unyielding as to your opinions?  Does your belief system leave any room for revision?  Beware of close-mindedness, as it slams the door of your heart shut, as well as puts you in great danger of doing harm onto others—notwithstanding your best intentions.

“Looking at the planetary history, the tragic side effects of fanaticism are undeniable.  You can still witness them to this day in the utter destruction they leave in their wake.  Please, scrutinize your own behavior for any hint of fanaticism and ask Me to help you in excising it from your being, thus making room for the wonderful influence of Love in Action—a far cry from the ugly temper tantrums that spark off hate-driven initiatives.”