Question 32 from
The Most Commonly Asked Questions About 
A Course in Miracles

By Gloria and Kenneth Wapnick, Ph.D.


Chapter 3: APPLICATION AND PRACTICE

32) A Course in Miracles teaches that anger is never justified. Does this mean I should never get angry, and that if I do, I am not being a good Course student or am not being spiritual enough? 

Jesus does in fact explicitly state in two places that anger (or attack) is never justified. In the introduction to his discussion of the crucifixion, he states: 

Anger always involves projection of separation, which must ultimately be accepted as one's own responsibility, rather than being blamed on others .... You cannot be attacked, attack has no justification, and you are responsible for what you believe (T-6.in.1:2,7).
And later in the text, discussing why forgiveness is always justified, Jesus teaches: 
Anger is never justified. Attack has no foundation. It is here escape from fear begins, and will be made complete. Here is the real world given in exchange for dreams of terror.  For it is on this forgiveness rests, and is but natural (T-30.VI.1:1-5).
Our answer here directly follows the discussion of the previous question, and goes to the heart of one's practice of A Course in Miracles. Jesus is not asking his students to be perfect; if they were, or even wanted to be, then they would have remained in Heaven -- the only home of perfection -- or would already have returned. The fact that students have need of A Course in Miracles is witnessing to their belief in the reality of imperfection. And imperfect people become angry and seek to avoid responsibility for their own choices. One can indeed say that the core thought of everyone's ego is to keep the individuality and specialness it believed it stole from God, but to avoid responsibility for it. Therefore, this avoidance can only occur by people blaming another for what they secretly believe they did, and thus attacking someone else for their sin. 

Jesus' purpose in the Course is to help his students accept responsibility for their projections onto others.  It would be most unrealistic of him to expect his students to have no attack thoughts, but it is a most reasonable goal to ask that students at least be aware of their egos' attempts to deny responsibility for being upset. Therefore, becoming angry does not mean one is not a good Course student, but becoming a "good" one means learning -- or even being willing to learn -- to be responsible for one's angry perceptions of others, and to be aware of one's own guilt over separation from the Love of God and the loving guidance of Jesus or the Holy Spirit. "Good" students thus would never seek to justify their angry thoughts or feelings; at the same time they would not be denying that they have them. This honesty allows Jesus or the Holy Spirit to help them change their minds, if they so choose. This is the gentle and loving way of understanding Jesus' statements in the text that we quoted above. 

Reproduced with the kind permission of Gloria and Kenneth
Wapnick and the Foundation for A Course in Miracles
 

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