4. When is the Iceberg coming?

[31 January 2021]

If we are to compete with the agenda of Domination (National and Big Business) and the rampant pain and inequality this has always produced, we would have to clearly agree, as a world majority, about the type of future Human Society we wish to create. There exists, however, a major divide in World Views between religious and non-religious perspectives. Effectively 86% of the world professes to be religious in some form (graph below). This is huge and without this cohort joining to focus on a common goal the chance to fashion a hopeful future for the Earth will remain frustrated!

It is this realisation that causes me to gently challenge religious thinking first. There are two religious beliefs in particular that I would like to address. For this week let us look at The Belief that the World is Ultimately Doomed.

Some interpretations of Holy Scriptures have led many to believe that there is ultimately no hope for both the earth and humanity. It is a belief that the World is a sinking ship that cannot be saved and will very soon be brought to a doom laden end. A common religious belief is that humanity is, both individually and collectively, terminally corrupt, and the focus is on saving people from it one at a time. It sees the world like the Titanic, sinking fast, and the focus is very much on sending out rescue boats to help the drowning, pulling individuals from the sea into our religious life boats. Truth be told, there is even a secret, often unconscious, annoyance when we see other boats trying to do the same; these boats don’t look quite the same as ours and, even if they do, ours plays trendier music.

This is not a judgement on whether this viewpoint it right or wrong, by the way; this is merely an analogy to explain the primary focus. The religious mind is absorbed by the belief that these are The Last Days. This does often come from a genuinely loving viewpoint, from sincere people trying their hardest to save what they believe are the ‘lost’ because they believe the world is doomed. In fact, some are very surprised that God hasn't already come to sort it out. Surely, they think, it must be soon - look how bad the World is!

[A gentle note here for non-religious people - to please bear with me through the excessive use of the word God, I am largely addressing religious individuals at this point. You may very well be thinking, “Seriously, - they think like that?”, but the process of deconstructing one’s patterns of thought takes time.]

The problem with this scriptural interpretation is that God does not seem to be in a hurry?

If you are a person of faith, just suppose that The End is not coming in the way your interpretation of scripture imagines. Certainly, thousands of years have passed since these text were written, so we may have to open our minds up to the possibility that there will be thousands more. We also, as religious people, reproduce like rabbits (I confess that I have five myself… kids, not rabbits), which is somewhat ironic if we believe the World is literally going to end any day now. Should we not, at least, have sympathy for those children and grand-children who must live in this world? Can we change our focus? Can we unite with other religious and non-religious outlooks? Could we even combine our values? I am not suggesting we all have one religion (there are more than enough of those already), but to find a commonality of focus towards Compassion and Love.

It's easy to buy into this narrative of Humanity’s existence as something God has given up on, but what if God is actually still very invested in this planet? What if They actually spent billions of years (or just six ‘days’) creating it, and really don’t want to give up on it? There is only one problem on the planet anyway: Humans. If we can get our act together (with Their help, of course) then maybe this beautiful, utterly unique planet doesn’t need to be purged, or burned, or utterly destroyed just yet!

Maybe God's plan actually involves winning? Redemption actually working? This beautiful ‘Planet Experiment’ continuing for a good while yet.

Am I being provocative? Yes, a little, because this doom-laden outlook is destructive when it comes to attempting to grow a consensus, to build a long term plan, to really make a genuine effort to save this planet. And it divides us from the young, who are so sincere and passionate and in need of Hope as they begin their lives.

The first generation “followers” believed that doom was imminent, and so, therefore, has every generation since. Thousands of years have already passed and it begs the question, are we in danger of not learning? Are we placing our faith in ourselves, in our ability to interpret one small aspect of a holy scripture, rather than in offering Hope and Purpose to this world?

Apologies

1. To any religious people who do not feel I have represented faith fairly. I apologise sincerely – I have no intention of causing hurt, but passionately believe that both personal and religious inspection is important at this time.

2. To those of non-Christian faiths who do not see the World as I have described in such negative ways!

3. To any non-religious friends who are probably quietly banging their head against a brick wall in frustration!

Bear with me! Jonathan