With the news of the religious
whackadoodle emanating from Republican presidential candidates,
Lucius Flatley and the coffee shop regulars were inspired to an
hour of deep discussion this week on that very subject.
They began with Job, an early Israeli farmer who, because he
suffered terrible reverses, asked, “Why, God?” They then moved on
to a modern singer, Peggy Lee, who sang, “Is That all There Is?”
These two folks expressed a question people have addressed ever
since man invented thinking: What is the grand design for life, the
metaphysical rationale for existence, the purpose of man and his
ultimate fate? Is there good, and why is there evil?
In simple terms, the coffee klatch asked, “Who writes the
rules?”
For most of the grand sweep of a person’s life on earth, the
traditional answer has been religion – a distinguishing
characteristic of the species. However, since the development of
science a couple of centuries ago, non-religious eccentrics have
been offering an alternative that casts solid doubt on the
frailties and inconsistencies of religion. Known as secularism
(agnosticism and atheism), this alternative accepts life lived
without instruction from a supernatural agency. Since it is a child
of science and rationality, it should be able to coherently argue
its case, but it is here that the rubber meets the road. For many
folks, it fails to convince.
In this regard, religion has an advantage. It does not need to
explain. God is unseen; his ways are inscrutable and beyond human
understanding. In fact, God answered Job to say that his answer
could not be understood. (He apparently failed to answer Ms. Lee,
so we can only assume the same answer to the wistful
chanteuse.)
Secularism says that man must create his own values. In some cases
these values have achieved a level of benefit never reached by
religion – abolition of slavery, Social Security, civil rights,
Medicare (same sex marriage?). But it does less well with
metaphysical concerns. How can man morally navigate his way through
the progression from a hunter-gather society into today’s
interrelated complexity? Grasshoppers and grubs have been replaced
by broccoli. Oxen have given way to nuclear power. Tom-toms have
become Fox News.
With or without proof, religion does have a case. It is attuned to
a human need. Religion offers completion – a “fullness” – that
secularism lacks. Once God is chosen, life acquires meaning for
those who need such inspiration. Religion cannot only fulfill, it
can also bring out the best in humanity – inspire great acts of
courage and generosity. It can also inspire acts that are
completely reprehensible. Just as Stalin misused Marxism, so can
religion be used to mutilate women or conduct crusades. For every
Mother Teresa there seems to be an Inquisition.
When faced with terror and incomprehension, it is natural to find
explanation using symbols, especially those with human properties.
The gods of the Greeks ran the full gamut of human weakness as well
as of goodness. However, later figures of worship progressed toward
“goodness.” The two most recent worshipfuls – the Carpenter and the
Camel Trader – represent an advance toward “goodness,” even though
many people have seriously perverted their messages.
Religion has many of the characteristics of conspiracy theories. It
is easier to look forward to streets of gold or 72 virgins than to
nothingness. Humans find security in patterns of behavior that
represent authority. The mystery of the Roman Catholic Mass is
comforting. The Ten Commandments in town hall is an attempt to set
standards.
When the coffee meeting closed, the thinkers were still undecided
between God and science, but were willing to accept that the two
approaches may be cousins. Each serves the same principle of
evolution. The extraordinary success of Homo sapiens is due to
intelligence, language, the ability to manipulate tools – and
co-operation. Only by altruism could man advance on the
evolutionary ladder, and it seems that such progress may have more
than one parent.
Devil’s Dictionary
Atheist: A person unable to believe in things for which
there is no evidence and is thus deprived of a means of feeling
superior to others.
Rodney Quinn, a former Maine secretary of state, lives in
Gorham. He can be reached at rquinn@maine.rr.com.
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