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From: David
Category: Category 1
Date: 17/08/05
Time: 14:02:22
Remote Name: 222.153.250.144
That started it. When a then Moderator of the Presbyterian Church , but thereafter ,Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies uttered the words
" Of course man has no immortal soul ! " - That started it . But the resulting groundswell of protest from congregations all around starkly epitomised the fragility of the psyches of so many of the devout that we encounter all around us daily .
Initially he was charged by the Church with " doctrinal error " and, (wait for it) "Disturbing the peace of the Church" . Well they had to respond in some fashion ! That latter charge , tantamount to heresy , spoke volumes . But, as he stated, had he not made the statement it was only a matter of time before somebody else in a position of authority did . It is said that a prophet is not recognised in his own time .
Brutally but disarmingly honest about what he could in all conscience both believe and preach his resultant trial for heresy brought about a career change . Thousands of people world-wide are grateful for that outcome . He , like so many , saw Christianity at a crossroads and was not hesitant to articulate that fact though initially at great personal cost to himself and family . But what was the more appropriate or preferred action ? He even appeared to have difficulty mentioning the name God from the pulpit in years of sermonising . His book " Christianity without God " helps perhaps with the answer . Although he appeared to hold a radical or non-conformist view as to the Historical Jesus he yet put great value on those aspects of teachings attributed to that Jesus, as though to suggest that he viewed him as a possible seer or sage . As well as strongly politically motivated and a humanitarian for those times .
In fact the statement attributed to Jesus to the effect that "The Kingdom of God is at hand " he would probably have stripped it of any suggestion of symbolism , futurism or "other-worldly " connotation to instead read - That that Kingdom is evolving right here on earth now before our very eyes except that we choose not to notice it . For some perverse other reason we would prefer the occasion occur in some other life or fairy tale land . When we proclaim universal human rights . When we , despite inherent conservatism of the Church, emancipate women from male domination, subservience and patriarchy . When we as a society reluctantly ,but at long last, try to give fairness to homosexuals . When we abolished slavery .( Okay with the help of Bishop Wilberforce but also other secular leaders .) With those actions we are and have been creating step by step that " better " world perhaps predicted so many years ago in history . No! There was no divine intervention involved .
We now have to ask again what exactly were those precise words that Jesus was alleged to have uttered - given this present context ?
Every edition of Lloyd Geering`s books are bestsellers . Despite his disconcerting views he reflects a man , nearing 90 years of age , entirely at peace with the world . Again - are we realistic enough to wonder why ? According to this writer`s understanding , and , perhaps surprisingly ,he addresses Church congregations with his totally different message . Does that sound perverse ? He proclaims no personal God and would probably have difficulty explaining any God whatsoever or at least none with which we have had presented to us so far . I have not heard him state an exact personal position but would guess he has not thrown out the baby with the bath water . Nor did Einstein . Far from it !
In summary he can rest satisfied that he,of all theologians, has presented a saner and , therefore, more positive view of the world to us . And it shows in his alert and lively face . His dreams and hopes would only be shattered by the crass actions of religionists as we witness all around us . But it has always been that way down through the centuries . Nothing changes! Hysteria personified !
For those not familiar with his writings - he wrote
"Christian Faith at the Crossroads ".
"Christianity without God "
"Is Christianity going anywhere? "
"God in the New World " etc etc.
I highly recommend his books as he cuts through all the - - - to reveal but the obvious .
I forget the name of the particular book but when explaining how Jesus became God he presents a classic analogy to the late Princess Diana . It was primarily her death that brought forth a "massive and spontaneous outpouring of grief " perhaps unparalleled in recent years/centuries . Despite her brother`s wiser counsel and caution at her funeral that mourners must refrain from turning his sister into a saint . Yet the world did not listen and in fact in it`s momentum of emotion seemed totally unable to heed that advice . Classic crowd psychology ! Why? Had we read so much more into her life that simply was not there . There was no lack of writers etc to feed and perpetuate the frenzy . All that was missing was any element of politics if we are looking for parallels elsewhere .
In the end the world felt better for the experience . Nobody was harmed except perhaps the truth . But was that truly a casualty in the overall context ?
The deconstruction of the Myth of Diana did not occur till much later . I think it was a former Archbishop of Canterbury who seemed to start the difficult task of the Deconstructio process . A process whereby Diana`s humanity was restored from the fairy tale .
Was the world better off within the fairy tale? That is a deep philosophical question that perhaps only religionists would be best equipped to answer .