What Does Faith Have to Do With It?

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Permalink Reply by Afriendof B on November 15, 2008 at 1:29pm

I wrote this a while back in response to a similar question. It isn't intended to bash religion or faith, just to point out that getting hung up on a "spiritual journey" in the name of environmentalism might make you feel better but doesn't solve anything.

The other day I was talking philosophy with a friend and the question of God came up. Where does God fit in my vision of how things are? In my typically flip way I said that God was irrelevant. The conversation stopped right there. I'd like to explain what I meant, and I hope my friend will read this and that we can continue talking.

My point is this...

If God created the universe then he/she created it to function according to laws and those laws apply to all of creation. We are not exempt. We should not use God or religion as a justification for trying to live in ways which are contrary to those laws. Religion, at it's core is about how to live with other people. It has been used to justify all kinds of terrible behavior. I haven't found anything in religion that exempts me from the laws of creation.

If God didn't create the universe then it is a self correcting system that tends toward balance. The laws work because they keep the system balanced. Actions that violate the laws tend to be eliminated as the system corrects it's self and returns to a state of balance. Our violating the laws of the system will result in our being eliminated from the system.

Neither one of these options require any intervention from the outside. God may have set up the system or it may have come into existence by random chance, but it is the system we live in, and we must learn to live by its rules.

My quest is to understand those rules and find ways to live in harmony with them. On this quest Gods role, or lack there of, is irrelevant.

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Permalink Reply by Julie on November 17, 2008 at 12:13am

hi friend,
your point about not being exempt is absolutely right on. not only are we just not exempt, it is our responsibility and obligation to care for each other and repair our world--and not because it will enhance or enlighten our spiritual path.

i can only speak about my own experience with and knowledge of the jewish faith, traditions and beliefs--and i'll skip the details here about my personal practices. i'm more interested at this moment in a theme in your fourth paragraph of a self-correcting system. i see a connection to your concept of elimination and/or correction by the 'system' to a few well-known stories in the book of genesis (i.e.: the story of noah and the great flood, sodom and gomorah, the tower of babel, etc, etc...). you say it so perfectly: "actions that violate the laws tend to be eliminated as the system corrects it's self and returns to a state of balance." yet we have different words to describe the source of balance. i invite you to explore role of semantics for a moment.

also, i think i know exactly what you mean in your second sentence, but i want to ask you to say a little more about the phrase "doesn't solve anything." even if someone does something in the name of environmentalism (possibly to boost themselves on a 'spiritual journey') and the result is in favor of our environment, do you think that 'solves' something (besides boosting their ego)?

i admire your hard work to live in harmony with the rules. your actions are impressive and well beyond the average effort!
julie

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Permalink Reply by Afriendof B on November 17, 2008 at 6:57am

I'm writing from my experience, so this may or may not be true for anyone else. What I have found when working with groups where religion, faith, and spirituality were a big part of their involvement in environmental issues it that those very things which drew people and helped them connect to each other, the spirituality aspects, often became a distraction or a source of conflict and rarely produced any guidance for concrete action. Exploring the semantic links between scripture and science, creating new stories that highlight our oneness with everything, and the thousands of other spiritually uplifting activities these groups did were great fun, very moving, and left us all feeling really to the universe. But when we went home to live our lives, they didn't translate into any kind of useful action. Another group I worked with got quickly caught by the differences in their spiritual paths and quickly dissolved into conflict. Pointless. There are many paths to god, it is a very personal thing, and shouldn't be a point of conflict. Yet it is one of the major points of conflict in our global civilization and history. I guess my main thought on this is that it doesn't mater what path you walk, if it works for you, but trying to motivate change or action by exploring the spiritual aspects of our place in the world is certainly a long, difficult way to get at solving the problems we face. Spirituality helps us build a connection with and love for the rest of the community of life, and engenders a desire to save the world. Frankly, the world doesn't need saving. Life will continue on this planet regardless of our actions. We are the ones that need saving. OUR daily actions are moving US toward being eliminated from the system. The system won't miss us. It will rebalanced and life will continue. Learning to recognize the divine in all things may stand us in good stead when we come to meet our god, but it does little to move us toward a way of living that will keep us from becoming extinct and allow us to continue to live as humans on this planet. Spirituality is an important part of life for many people, but it is a distraction in the context of planning and implementing concrete actions that may save our species from elimination.

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