Values Based Belonging

 

I believe that humans are social animals driven primarily by compassion, not greed. Cooperation, not competition, is the basis for all the extraordinary accomplishments of our species. That is why we have created a god based on love and mercy, not power and domination. Greed and other self-defense mechanisms are only triggered when we experience the world as a hostile place. 

I also believe that we have been told that the purpose of life is to get ahead as much as possible. That can only happen at the expense of other people. Because some will experience it as an overwhelming burden, an unachievable goal, they lose hope and give up. They may feel less worthy or discarded by the world. Perhaps they turn to crime, drugs or self-harm for relief. 

Every once in a while someone comes around who can see clearly that we can achieve more with compassion and cooperation than with greed and power. God wants the whole world to be saved. No one is expendable. Jesus had the solution, but people couldn't get out of fear mode long enough to actually try it. They kept focusing on their own circumstances instead of the community's. Once in a while, someone will start a food pantry or a clothing drive. Those are nice, but they treat the symptoms of a broken world, not the cause. 

Jesus says things like: "Seek first the Kingdom of God," "Love God with all your heart" and "Love one another." 

What he means is, the solution for us is to accept that community, not individualism, is the way, the Way of Jesus. We need to quit idolizing power and wealth and collectively find ways to make sure everyone is cared for.

Science and Religion

 

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Almost all modern religions are based on some kind of scripture often rooted in ancient oral traditions. Religion deals mostly with the supernatural or spiritual way of understanding the world. 

Some form of science has also been practiced for thousands of years, but most major breakthroughs have occurred in the last 500 years or so. Science deals mostly with an understanding of the world that can be observed or measured.

Anyone with a social media account will know how difficult it is to separate fact from fiction, truth from lies. Extraordinary imaginative abilities are not reserved for modern day science fiction writers. The ancients possessed them in rich measure as well. The lines between fact and fiction were as blurred back then as they are today. Making lies masquerade as truth or mistaking fiction for reality is timeless. Deliberately or accidentally confusing one for the other is easy and happens all the time. 

If we want to know something about events in historic times, we go to the archives. We look at multiple sources to get as close to the truth as we can. Sometimes new evidence appears and the stories have to change.

If we want to know something about prehistoric times, we go to archeologists with expertise in extracting the stories behind artifacts. Sometimes these stories also have to change when new technologies and techniques become available.

The bottom line is that people are storytelling creatures. We have an ability to think in abstract terms far outperforming any other species and we are not afraid to use it - for good or for bad. Thinking critically is essential. Indiscriminately accepting everything you hear or see is hazardous. 

The Bible is an impressive collection of stories collected over centuries. There is history, fiction, fact, drama, poetry and possibly many other genres causing great debate, even wars, about what is what. Interpretations are seemingly endless.

The Golden Rule

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Is the Golden Rule in the Bible? Yes, it is. It can be found in Matthew 7:12 and in Luke 6:31. It can also be found in other places. Most major religions have a version of the Golden Rule. You could say it is practically universal.

There are three major versions:

1. Positive, e.g. Do to others as you would have them do to you

2. Negative, e.g. Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you

3. Neutral, e.g. What you wish upon others, you wish upon yourself

What difference does it make how it is worded? As it turns out, quite a bit, actually.

Apparently, the neutral version is the oldest. It implies some measure of reciprocity. Relationships are transactional.

Then came the negative version. It is individualistic and self-centered. You can do whatever you want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone, it seems to say. The big question is, how do you know when and how your actions impact others? Self-centered individualists aren't likely to recognize that everything you do impacts someone somewhere.

The gospel writers both use the positive version. It exemplifies the command to love one another. It is other-centered, pointing to the community. It is not just aiming at maintaining peace or cordial relationships, but actively being a blessing for others, to enhance their lives, a relationship like that of family. 

The difficulty is that humans, by nature, have a survival instinct that causes compassion to yield to self-preservation at the slightest hint of attack. How do you eliminate this fear of attack? By loving one another. Recognize that love is an action, not a feeling. Actions can be controlled, feelings cannot.

Origin of Religion

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For at least as long as we have written records, people have had questions like: Where do we come from? Why are we here? What sets us apart from all other species? What do we all have in common? What causes natural disasters?

Just about every culture or people group has some kind of dominant religion. Opinions about exactly what religion is vary widely. There is even widespread disagreement within religions with the same label. Take Christianity for instance. There are major subdivisions such as Orthodox, Catholics and protestants; thousands of protestant denominations alone.

What is religion good for? Although it may change over time, religion explains the unknown like where we come from and why. Most religions have a creation story and sometimes also an end of time story or version of a perfect world. It provides some of the glue that connects us with one another, the cooperation we may depend on for survival. It provides a reason to live. It may provide a social structure or moral code.

Some say that, since religion is part of human nature, in a sense we all worship the same god except we do it in different ways depending on where we are and when. The details of religions may be different from place to place and change over time, but fundamentally the same for everyone.

Paradoxically, while religion may bring us together and give us a sense of belonging, religion has also caused some of the fiercest divisions among us.

The Kingdom of God is Possible

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 The transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture had some serious consequences for the early humans. On the positive side, the food supply became more reliable and accessible. On the negative side, property rights now had to be defended and the fields had to be worked. Soldiers and slaves would do that. Faced with these new challenges, families united into tribes and nation states. Leadership became more concentrated onto fewer hands. Instead of individuals competing for resources, nations led by kings commanding powerful armies began to rule the world.

As pressure from the outside and corruption in leadership from within increased, the Jews thought the best defense was to get a strong king too, a strategy that had already proven to lead to nothing but destruction and suffering. Voices in opposition were ignored so sure enough, that's exactly what they got. 

The arrival of Jesus into the chaos rekindled a hope for what could have been. Here was a man with radically different ideas about how to fix the world. Using language familiar to the Jews, he told about a different kind of kingdom, the Kingdom of God, a world freed from domination, violence and greed.

For us today, it is plain to see that the Kingdom of God still has a ways to go. Famine, war, poverty and conflict seems to be on the rise rather than in decline. What is the holdup?

Tolstoy published The Kingdom of God is Within You in German in 1894 after it had been banned in Tsarist Russia. That title is a direct quote from the King James Version of Luke 17:21. Newer translations interpret the Greek word for "within you" to mean "in your midst" or "among you." In other words, it is up to us, but perhaps not the way you might imagine. One thing is for sure, using more force, domination and calling each other names isn't going to do it. The first step is to believe. Believe that a different way is possible. Next, identify and quit doing the things that harm or separate us from one another. Commit to always be on the side of compassion and love. Make that the foundation for everything that you do. Do nothing but that.

Private Property

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When you have lived as long as I have, you will know that the world is quickly becoming more complex. Going back far enough, the world's population was only a fraction of what it is now. People lived on hunting animals and gathering plants in nature. There was very little that was individually owned. Everything was communal. That began to change when people discovered that cultivating the land yielded larger crops with less effort. Some began to claim exclusive ownership of pieces of land and the crops they had planted on it. These claims of exclusive ownership resulted in a need for defending against rival claims. Without a doubt, private property creates division and enmity among us.

After a while a succession of superpowers took control of all available land. By the time of Jesus, it was the Romans who laid a heavy burden of taxation upon most of the then known world around the Mediterranean Sea. 

Fast forward to the 21st century. Since the industrial revolution in the 19th century, people are increasingly becoming wage  earners first in manufacturing and more recently in service oriented jobs. Instead of collaborating about hunting animals, we now compete for the highest paying, most prestigious jobs. After the abolition of slavery, the rich have built an elaborate scheme of runaway consumption and production to continue to extract wealth from the poor and the middle class.

Rich people live in rich neighborhoods behind guarded gates. Poor people often live in substandard rental housing. Unlike poor people, the rich have access to first class healthcare and education. Without a doubt, private property and the pursuit of wealth and power continues to separate us. 

The idea that a God outside the universe created and controls it and everything in it originates in an era without the science and knowledge we have now. Whether God is a supernatural being or a creation of the human imagination it doesn't change the fact that the world today is a far cry from the Kingdom of God the ancient writers recorded and Jesus proclaimed long ago.

Separation - Both Cause and Solution

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 As Jesus pointed out, much of the suffering in the world can be attributed to transfer of wealth and power from the masses to a tiny ruling class. Relationships have become increasingly transactional. Even the marriage relationship, becoming one flesh, has become disposable with fewer than half actually making it. We have become separated from one another. Division and competition among us only serves the rich and powerful. Their messaging machine will try to convince you that the solution is more accumulation of wealth, but it isn't. Wealth and power only makes it worse. No wonder mental health has become the biggest concern among our young people. 

Paradoxically, the solution is also separation. Resistance is futile. It only generates more conflict. "Come out from among them and be separate," says Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:17 quoting Old Testament writers calling for restoring our relationship with God. His values are the opposite of the world's. He loves us and only wants what is best for us. We need to build a new church based on those values. I believe returning to something similar to the early church model with collective stewardship and everything in common is essential for the survival of the planet. A totally moneyless society may not be achievable in the short term, but we can take some steps in that direction today.

In modern terms, the church we need to build is a community or network of communities intentionally gathered based on Jesus' message of surrender and sacrifice where everyone contributes as they are able and receive as they have need. I am convinced that such a society is possible when you approach it with a servant's attitude.  It does not mean a return to primitivism, asceticism or poverty. It will mean abundance for everyone, not just the few, but it won't happen no matter how loudly you proclaim it or pray for it. What you need to do is make it happen. Show them with your example. Start gathering and start building.