These kinds of accusations tend to focus on my perceived egotism, pretension, hubris, and smugness, with the general implication that I view and present myself as someone who has his proverbial spiritual act together and vaingloriously advertises this lofty spiritual act to the world for purely self-serving reasons.
Allegations of spiritual pride lobbed against yours truly also address my apparent spiritual conceit and disdain, which is readily discernible in my sneering and supercilious criticisms of the misguided spirituality or absent spirituality of others.
To commenters who make such accusations, I offer the following response - have you ever stopped to consider that accusing another Christian of spiritual pride could also be categorized as an act of spiritual pride?
Conversely, has it ever occurred to you that excessive humility, spiritual self-debasement, passivity and meekness you espouse and promote also qualify as forms of spiritual pride? That our servile, suicidal societies, which are currently enslaving us all, might just be the creations of such servile, suicidal souls?
Don't misunderstand. I'm not trying to deflect the issue. If I have transgressed, I shall ponder the matter with God and if need be, repent.
Having said that, I do not believe spiritual pride is a purely negative phenomenon. Though it sounds paradoxical, pride does play a role in my belief in God.
I am proud of my belief in God. I am proud of my belief in Jesus Christ. I am proud of my ongoing mission to follow Christ to everlasting life. I am proud that I recognize God as the prime source of freedom and independence from the corrupting and entropic power of the given world. I am proud of the divine that is within me.
I am also proud of my attempts to adhere to the primacy of the spiritual, in my indisposition to worship anyone or anything except God.
This pride provides me with the inner strength needed to spiritually resist the power of society and the world, to not consent to spiritually prostrate myself before the world, society, and people, especially not before those who are actively, willingly, and blatantly opposed to God.
I am proud to know God exists because His existence enriches my own existence and the existence of the whole world.
I am proud to comprehend that God is a person and that this person has as much love and faith in me as I have in Him, and that he extends this personal offer of love and faith to all of his children.
I am proud of God's patience, fortitude, and forgiveness. I am proud that God has granted me - all of us - the possibility of adding something to Creation that He alone cannot. I am proud of the fact that God desires that we all become more like Him.
And I am proud of my attempts to discuss these matters on these pages.