Becoming more faithful in the community is important

Religion views - by Art Carney

Primitive shamans and the priests of early civilizations provided ideologies about life and living that contributed much to the survival and progress of man. Throughout history, religion has been the glue that held people together in common beliefs and attitudes that allowed for a peaceful coexistence that had a civilizing influence on man. However, in this age of intellectual enlightenment and multicultural societies, we are able to understand our place in the scheme of things in ways that were questionable to our grandparents and unimaginable to our distant ancestors. As a result of our newly found modern vision of the world, some of the religious beliefs of past generations need to be reevaluated.

In the light of scientific discoveries and new perspectives about human life and living, many New Age proponents deny the existence of a Supreme Creator who intervenes in the affairs of man, but even so, it is possible to see there is something "Godly" about mankind itself. Such a perspective is blasphemous to some, but to others, it reveals that the "goodness" most people attribute to God is really only an aspect of man that is expressed through human culture. In other words, the benefits we derive from our culture are analogous to the "goodness" of God.

We humans have the advantage of language, which enabled our more complicated cultures to mingle, merge and evolve into modern civilizations that are able to bring about our "highest good." Civilization can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Our survival and progress, as well as the "miracles" of modern science, result from cultural "blessings" that include our means of earning a living in a free and secure environment. Without the cultural systems of religion, politics, economics and education that have always enhanced the quality of human fife, mankind would have been damned to extinction long ago. It was not a "God" who enabled man to survive, but the "godlike" aspect of people working together in a cultural setting.

The spirit and essence of this New Age "god" is the accumulated human knowledge that is presently being utilized in the laws, customs, and traditions of modem life. This "god" is not perfect by any means, but it has had a slow, steady improvement through the ages, and aside from the subtle aspirations and acquiescence of the flock-like majority who guide cultural trends, this "god" has no purpose, no plan, and no power of its own -- but even so we cannot live without it, and we cannot change it except in bits and pieces that occur over time.

For the most part, we are blessed by the goodness of our culture, but sometimes we are cursed by its imperfections, such as are expressed in some national or ethnic ideologies that lead to war, genocide or slavery. There are also certain religious elements that are inclined toward discrimination, intolerance and bigotry, but it is the political or religious extremists who resort to terrorism that are the bane of human culture. But culture is such that even extremists may serve some positive cultural purpose, such as "forcing" an examination of the majority conscience, which could possibly lead to a New Age ideology or some type of existential religion. Civilizations evolve from both good and bad human experience.

While it is beyond our individual ability to control or manipulate our culture to any great extent, we are still free to do our own thinking and to live our own lives as we see fit. In general, though, we must live within the laws of physics (which cannot be broken), and the laws of nature (which cannot be ignored), but above all else, we had better learn to accommodate the "ways" of our culture if we are to have any semblance of a worthwhile life, because it is true that man cannot be an island unto himself.

With some amount of respectful regard to organized religion, it would be well for all of us to become more "faithful" citizens of the community, By attending civic meetings, obeying the laws, being a good neighbor, paying taxes, and honestly preparing for election day, individual people could strengthen the "godliness" of our culture.

In addition to these "sacred" communal obligations, the pursuit of our own "holy" personal goals and objectives also bodes well for the future improvement of this "god" we are all indebted to.

This column is the opinion of Art Carney.