I like it, for I see theism manifesting itself as an exploiter and oppressor. Theism (which I'm taking to loosely mean "belief in a transcendent being/consciousness") seems to be made manifest in three ways:
- Deism: God created, then has stepped back to let it happened. This makes God an irresponsible jerk who seems to take pleasure in watching his (sic) creation squirm and cry out in pain.
- Total order: God, being omnipotent, controls everything. However, this not only legitimates oppressive power structures (who model themselves off God), it also makes God responsible oppressing the poor and favouring the rich. If God controls everything, it's his (sic) fault and I have no responsibility (as I am merely a puppet).
- Semi-deism: God occasionally steps in, and will make it all OK in the end. This is the worst of both. God is responsible for oppression and is evil because he stands back when he could and should act (he didn't stop the Holocaust sooner, even though he could have). He (sic) is also an excuse for non-action and takes away human responsibility and agency as there is a 'promise' that it'll all work out in the end regardless of what I do now. This eventually results in omnipotence and total order, as per number 2.
Hi Stuart,
ReplyDeleteFirst time reader, found your blog looking up a name, looks very interesting.
Since it provoked a response in me, and because I like what I've read of your other posts so far, I wanted to comment on #3. I'd say that this is what my theism looks like to some extent, but that the implications are not necessarily as you put them. While this view can often be an excuse for non-action, I think that's a common heresy of ours. I would say things will work out in the end regardless of what I do now in the same sense that I would say I will eventually die regardless of what I do now. I can make that reality come true sooner, or to some extent later, by my actions, but only it and taxes are guaranteed. Both the fact of death and the faith of can be acted upon in the vein of "nothing matters" or "everything matters," and possibly anywhere in between.
The way these things reconcile in my belief is with God being in favour of partnership with us, wanting us to live up to our full potential. Since we're already in Holocaust Example Land ("Godwin's Law"?), there are many instances of (particularly faith-based) non-violent opposition to the Nazi regime that ranged from pitiful to wild--I offer no guess as to what the factors were--in how successful they were. I believe God was involved in empowering the people involved in this who were willing to be empowered this way. Perhaps, then, a) we don't see, remember, or understand holy intervention as often as it occurs, and b) large-scale occurences of this are as rare as large-scale groups acting in faith coinciding with other possible factors, like oppressors that truly would not change their minds. If the whole thing is designed for our learning and growth into a non-oppressive humanity, who is to say what the best path is, besides an omniscient God?
I think God allows our oppression and its natural effects, but that it weighs heavily on God's heart during this time in between creation and the day when we will have learned to overcome the fears that cause us to oppress one another by asking God to heal and empower (read: "save") us individually and as the human race.
Anyway, these are just my thoughts. All the best to you, I hope I have more time to read your backblog later.
Cheers,
Kev
Kevin, thanks for taking the time to post. Sorry I'm only replying 6 months later! Your intelligent and well-considered post is much appreciated. And I apologise for appeasing Godwin's universal greed - I've since stopped using Nazi examples! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm currently reading the primitivist/green anarchist John Zerzan, who claims that most of the history of humanity (pre-civilisation) was generally less stressful, more egalitarian (both in terms of gender and 'economy'), and consisted of no organised violence. So for (he claims) almost 2 million years, humanity existed in that state, compared to just the 10000 years where we've developed civilisation (and with it oppression and violence). This is increasingly the model anthropologists are using to map the history of our race, with increasing evidence all over the place.
That being the case (which I'll admit is an assumption, even if it is well grounded), how is God feeling right now? After so long of living in harmony, to get to our present crisis in just 10000 years (with the increasing species-extinction rate and the high risk of climate catastrophe by the end of the century) must be quite a shock!
Is God feeling powerless? Most of humanity seems to be feeling that way, and it's certainly a legitimate question to ask whether God is feeling helpless too. Maybe God's realising that he will have to step in soon, before too much is destroyed. Maybe God's decided that he won't step in, and he'll let 80% of the currently-alive species go extinct. And that when climate systems spiral out of control (as scientists a saying will happen if we don't change (and we won't)), maybe he'll just watch the billions of human beings starve to death as civilisation collapses?
If you believe that God will step in when he chooses to, don't you have to be happy with that? Of course, he may choose to step in and do something, but how much will you wager? Your grandchildren's food?
Sorry to be so dramatic. This is a very real struggle for me, as I am still looking for ways in which belief in a God can have positive effects in the world today. I see so much dis-powerment among Christians waiting for miracles that I struggle to see the value of the belief. If you can show me more then I would be greatly indebted.
Thanks.