Jesus vs Schweitzer
Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Albert Schweitzer, gives us a framework for understanding evil that is so beautiful in its simplicity that even a small child can grasp it: “Reverence for life affords me my fundamental principle of morality, namely that good consists in maintaining, assisting, and enhancing life, and that to destroy, to harm, or to hinder life is evil.”
In contrast, Jesus gives us the following thought on evil: “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.”
(Lk 11:24-26)
Whereas Schweitzer provides a clear, practical basis on which to live our daily lives, Jesus gives us confusing and superstitious ideas about evil spirits that are not only completely unhelpful but can be quite harmful as believers blame all manner of destructive behavior, sickness, or whatever, on supernatural “demons” rather than pinpointing natural causes.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Wonderful thought John. Who can argue with that morality? I think people instinctively know this; but then religion and other destructive influences layer themselves on us until our conscience is virtually non-existent and we become dependent upon externals to tell us what morality should be. This is so sad to me. I think of my cats; how when I nurture them and consistently treat them with kindness, they become gentle, loving animals. They do not need fear of hell, hope of heaven, or artificial "morality" to become what they should be. Are we really so different? I think the core of superstition is "creationism". I just came across an article about a brand new scientific discovery about the origins of life! Here it is:
http://technology.sympatico.msn.cbc.ca/News/ContentPosting?newsitemid=ribosome&feedname=CBC-TECH-SCIENCE-V3&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=True
Hi Janet,
It was of course from these natural moral instincts that were born religions/rules/codes of behavior, not the other way around. Sadly, these structures are often more concerned about power over others than nurturing life.
I think your cats are very lucky! And agree that we are not all that different from them. What a sweet world it would be if we all were simply kind to one another and our furred, feathered and scaled cousins. I think we will become more empathetic towards animals as more people come to learn about our shared history.
What frustrates me most about creationism is how it robs people of the joy of feeling the connection to all that exists and creates a sense of trepidation over new discoveries rather than fostering a thirst for them and the joy that comes with seeing the world a little more clearly. Creationism locks people into such a narrow view of reality and I am always left feeling very sad for them.
Cool article! Thanks for the link. How amazing would it be for scientists to unlock the mystery of the origins of life on earth in our lifetime?! That’s something I could see happening at any moment or perhaps never. But I would bet we figure it out in the next hundred years.
I could not agree with you more. Once the fear of new discoveries is abandoned, we are free to take this amazing ride called life, with all its wonders, bumps and bruises. I never felt the "miracle" of this life until I abandoned supernational beliefs (although I have not closed my mind to the possibility that there is "something" out there that we do not yet understand).
I had an interesting experience yesterday. I was with some aboriginal friends for dinner. They are not christian, but they believe in a Creator and are very "spiritual" in the sense that they still use a lot of magical thinking. I was eating mussels (yummy, although I know you disapprove, John). I made a comment that I was eating my great-great-great-great-grandparent, my ancestor. There was dead silence for a moment, and then the 15-year-old asked what I meant. I explained that we came from less complex creature and evolved into what we are today. I think my friend disapproved of what I said, but she was too polite to say so!
Post a Comment