3. Morals
A more conservative friend of mine expressed some concern for me after learning that I love the work of Richard Rohr, James Finley, and The Center for Action and Contemplation (if you haven’t heard the podcast “Turning to the Mystics”, you need to do yourself a favor and check it out). This quickly led to discussion about my Christian panentheism, which is just a heretical sounding term for the belief that Christ is in all. You know, like Paul said (“from him and through him and for him are all things”). And we know how obsessed mainstream Christianity has become with Paul. I’ve got some issues with the man myself—and many have before me—but I believe he was onto something there in that passage. Still, like so many other passages of the bible, a defensible stance against unsanctioned conclusions has been carefully crafted over ages. Apologetics is so boring.
Anyway, this friend took issue with that panentheism, predictably, falling back on so many of the same arguments you and I have heard over and over. The counterpoints are grounded in existential materialism, which is falling apart at the seams in light of quantum mechanics; concrete thinkers of this ilk always hinge their arguments on interpretations of hot-button scriptures upon which Augustinian fan boys have always agreed, so it must be gospel! And by the way, almost all of those arguments fully depend on an infallible, inerrant, all-authoritative Bible (I mean there it is, in plain English, right?). ;)
“I am not God. You are not God. God made all things but He isn’t ‘in’ all things.”
“God is all powerful and all knowing, but He allows free will and rebellion so his goodness can be fully realized.”
“If I’m God, what’s to keep me from going into a house with a gun and killing an entire family right now?”
That last one really got me. Why, for the love of God, must the lack of a biblical model for morality necessitate a lack of any moral substance whatsoever in the world? It doesn’t, plain and simple. I once heard Frank Zappa defending an anti-theocracy stance and he spoke of a morality “rooted in behaviors”. The vast, vast majority of human beings spanning all creeds and worldviews—including atheism—can agree on a basic morality (or “ethics”, just so my atheist friends feel seen). We shouldn’t kill each other. We shouldn’t steal from each other. We shouldn’t have sex with kids. You know, common sense stuff.
I mean, shit, Romans 2:14-16 says, “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.” They are a law to themselves, and show it’s written on their hearts.
Listen, if you detected a little bit of snark at times in this post, I can assure you it’s lighthearted. This friend and I go way back, and their contribution to my life is massive. I have enough respect for that person to hear that viewpoint, to appreciate the place of care and concern from which it comes, but also to push back where I feel personal conviction to do so. I do not go around picking theological fights. I find them very dull. In this case, the friend asked a pointed question and I gave them an honest answer.
In light of that appreciation for my friend and for the caring place this debate came from, I’d like to encourage a call to compassion for anyone who fits a similar profile or who plays a similar role in your life.
This cannot be an easy time for the conservative Christian, if they are paying any attention to science. UFO’s and Quantum Physics are threatening to tear everything apart for them.
When you grow up with a religion, preached a certain way, and you’ve felt secure and safe in it, you are going to feel very threatened by any thoughts which challenge those fundamental doctrines (this goes for any deeply held belief).
We agree so much more than we think. It’s in our nature to polarize, but that’s tribal survival instinct and we need to evolve past that.
Rest in basic morality. Its existence is/was inevitable from the moment the first atom bumped into the next. You are the Law of God. How fascinating that your ego sometimes causes you to break it, and you know it when it happens! What can we learn from that and how can we grow with it?
—cheers.