Occasionally, any compassionate responsible person of faith has to study in order to more fully understand the roots of the religion they affiliate with. Sooner or later one runs into conflict between what they understand as a believer and what is going on around them. Perhaps the moral code is unclear as to what to do or believe. Sometimes the rule seems to contradict a different rule placed elsewhere in the holy scriptures. In other cases, the scriptures seem to be devoid of any guidance in the specific issue. Perhaps the issue did not exist when the scriptures were set down or revealed as the case may be. Often it’s technology that creates the dilemma, giving humans new capabilities to do good or evil without any moral guidance to decide between the two. Certainly it’s technology that can multiply the effect of good or evil…
Anyone who goes down this path realizes quickly that discrepancies and inconsistencies exist among the sources of our moral foundations. These inconsistencies amplify when new awareness of the Universe is revealed by developments in science. The more traditional keepers of the faith revert to literal interpretations while others wade through the difficulty of squaring the essence of faith with new information that was not available when the scriptures were canonized. A dichotomy develops among the faithful, often labeled as “liberal”or “conservative”. There is a third group that becomes indifferent to this tension and simply looks for north on some other moral compass.
This is the reality I find myself in as I started down this path of understanding the role of humans in the Creation of the Universe. Fortunately, for me, there are others who have blazed this path and in certain places, the path is wide and straight. But for some reason, this story has yet to become mainstream in the narrative of modern religion. My goal was simple enough – to find specific scriptures in the Judaeo/Christian tradition that celebrate the sacredness of all Creation. This awareness is constantly revealed to me anytime I enter the wilderness and it is as real as anything I know. Its truth is unequivocal in my soul, received from the breath of the Creator directly. And yet, this truth seems to be silent among the faithful as evidenced by our social and political divisions on human compassion and the very health of our home, the planet Earth itself. Certainly, I felt, the scriptures would provide some clarity on which to build a case for a “new story”.
Alas,
My search for definitive spiritual proof among the canonized scriptures held sacred in the Judaeo/Christian tradition has proven…. complex. There are scriptures that celebrate Creation and God as Creator but the difficulty comes in understanding the role of humans, either as caretakers – or as “managers” of the Creation to be exploited as an asset in human endeavors. And, I am not alone. This struggle has been ongoing for thousands of years, led by those who are much smarter, and more spiritually advanced than I am. A simple search for scriptures that celebrate Creator and Creation has led me, not to a quick and easy destination, but on a journey that will prove to be more valuable as the path unfolds. One thing I have found is that this journey does not end, for me or for humanity at large. This is because Creation itself continues to unfold or dare I use the word “evolve”. And the role of humans within the Creation unfolds with it. It unfolds continuously because our ability to understand the origins of Creation itself is merely decades old. What we have learned about the universe has exploded in the last 90 or so years with exponential growth just in the last 50 years. And of course, our theology is struggling to keep up. It unfolds too because our technology has given humans the power to directly impact and influence this evolution, a condition that began with the industrial revolution.
The time for a re-convergence or a “new communion” between science and religion is now and it is imperative. Our long term survival as the human species will depend on how we respond to what is going on around us. Just a few months ago, I said to some friends that I believed the planet doesn’t really care if we kill ourselves. Earth will simply do as it has done for millions of years. It will reset and life will take a different direction… whatever that life becomes. But that is not completely true. The writings of Thomas Berry and the work of Brian Swimme have changed that perspective. The arrival of humans epitomized the development of consciousness. Swimme said “It’s as if the Universe knew we were coming”. Whether the ability of humans to control the evolution of our planet was ordained or acquired is no longer the point. We now have that power.
Humans are unique in that we alone among the Creation have the ability to contemplate where we came from and why we are here. We also have the technology to inform this awareness and it gives us the power to control our own destiny. Our moral and religious institutions must catch up quickly in order to provide the moral frameworks in which we are to wield this power, for we will surely kill ourselves without it. Historically, discrepancies between science and religion have taken hundreds of years to resolve. We no longer have that much time.
I believe this will be inherently difficult within the Judaeo/Christian tradition for reasons we will debate in the future. I don’t presume to have the necessary education, experience or even the moral authority to take on this debate. The fact is that it scares me. But I do know reality confronts us and we cannot simply revert to our more conservative interpretations of scripture and the traditions that have brought us to where we are. The theologians and the philosophers have framed the discussion. The astrophysicists an the quantum theorists have provided us with data and insight. The debate must now ensue in the mainstream, alongside the myriad of social and political issues with which we must come to terms as believers. Sometimes it’s the passionate, less authoritative, unqualified among us that herald “change is coming”.
Venga, Vamos!
I am, that I am not…
wildsabbath.com 