It is not a Perfect World

Recently the headline in Vancouver’s major newspaper said 70% of the people surveyed in British Columbia believe that humans will destroy the world as we know it within two or three generations.

I have shared these fears since I was a young child. Whether we destroy the world in a big bang by nuclear war; or by some slower method like depleting all the forests and oceans; or by simply polluting the land and the atmosphere by our filthy disregard for our planet, hardly matters.

Some say this danger is due to our colossal ignorance, so better education could save us. Others think we are fundamentally flawed and evil, so we need moral regeneration. The most pessimistic believe that humanity’s capacity for evil, (whether personal or corporate) knows no bounds, so that we are fatally bent on self-destruction.

My study of history suggests that things are not much worse today than a thousand years ago, or ten thousand years ago, except that our ability to do harm (to the earth and to each other) has grown immensely. But fortunately, we also have mostly stopped being cannibals, which is a fairly recent development. Slavery was outlawed only in the last two centuries, and the concept of universal human rights is a virtually new political concept, hardly known in previous centuries. Humanity has improved in some respects.

I am neither an extreme pessimist, nor a total optimist. Humans have certainly demonstrated their capacity for violence and destruction: in our homes, on the streets, by business methods, by unceasing warfare, and by ecological destruction. But since none of this is new, I am not terrified. Only the universal media coverage of our inhumane tendencies is really new.

But though the world is far from perfect, it is beautiful beyond any poet’s ability to describe. My little property at the base of a mountain has trees, flowers, shrubs and wildlife (even visiting black bears) that are exquisitely beautiful, even in the rainy winter months. The beach near our house has such immensely lovely scenes that one almost cries with delight and happiness! So the world is both lovely beyond description and also flawed by the presence of humans everywhere.

A young man told me recently that he does not believe in God because of all the evil in our world. My response to him was that in creating a world where human beings had free will to choose actions and attitudes, God indirectly permitted evil because people might choose to act violently, cruelly, and destructively. On the other hand He also thus allowed humans freedom to save lives, to write symphonies, to invent submarines, or to teach philosophy. This free will is mostly a good thing; without choice, we would be limited like animals or robots. The young man responded that he would rather we had no choice. It is certainly true that choice involves risk. The Creator has elevated the state of humans far beyond animals to be more like gods; our creative capacity for both good and evil is truly incredible.

One of my reasons for believing in a Higher Power is the evident design of the world about us. It seems inconceivable to me that this world has evolved by pure chance alone. Take the behavior of water, as an example. Water is a necessary exception to the universal pattern of constant shrinking of all the basic chemical elements as they grow colder. (These elements include copper, hydrogen, mercury, sulfur, gold, silver, etc.) They all grow colder when they change from a gas state to a liquid; as they get colder still, they become solids.

But fortunately water does not follow this universal tendency; it alone expands when it becomes a solid, or else our lakes and oceans would gradually freeze solid, starting from the bottom up, and the entire planet would soon be covered with ice! One little exception was needed from a consistent pattern in the laws of nature to make life on this planet possible. The very existence of our amazing planet with just the right temperatures, just the right amount of oxygen, just the right sort of vegetation amidst millions of inhospitable spheres shows the hand of an intentional designer.

I delight in the delicate beauty of all nature: in the ocean, the trees, plants, animals, sky, and with stars and galaxies beyond, all swirling in endless beauty. The Creator God gives me hope for the future of our imperfect world.

However imperfect this world may seem at times, it is also infinitely lovely.

Why I am not an Atheist

When I was a young student at Harvard, one of the most popular books on campus was “Why I am not a Christian” by Bertrand Russell. I devoured this book with glee, gratified by its sophomoric arguments, some of which I had already thought of by myself as a teenager living in rural Christian community. Russell heaped blame onto Christians for many of the world’s misfortunes, from the Crusades to the Spanish Inquisition. Russell’s book has thankfully passed into the obscurity which it deserves, but the argumentation it contained surprisingly still commands the attention of many academics, scientists and journalists.

However, now the target has been expanded beyond Christianity to include devout followers of any religion on the planet, who are all labeled “fundamentalists’. The front cover of Wired one of the technical magazines on the news stands in November 2006 proclaims:

“The New Atheism; No Heaven. No Hell. Just Science."

"Inside the new crusade against religion”.

The article begins “the New Atheists will not let us off of the hook simply because we are not doctrinaire believers. They condemn not just the belief in God but respect for belief in God. Religion is not only wrong; it‘s evil”.

I would not for one minute deny that many crimes have been committed in the name of religion; that is obvious. Whether the religious people so charged were truly following their own scriptures and teachers when they committed these offences is a separate question, too long to address in a short post. It could well be argued that the most devout of any religion do not hate and kill, but rather they feed the poor, care for the sick, and try to rehabilitate those in prison.

Whether religions are sufficiently tolerant is a harder question, and I suspect that often they are not. But then, who else in our world is sufficiently tolerant?

But those who pick up a sword should be prepared to be cut by a similar weapon. I could not begin to list all of the crimes committed in the name of Atheism, Reason and Science. But let me try to suggest their potential scope.

Let’s start with the French Revolution, which is perhaps the first modern example of a government officially pursuing the Rule of Reason. Its inauguration was accompanied by a huge bloodbath which forever immortalized the Guillotine. Whole classes of society were persecuted and exterminated. Vast mobs of unruly citizens attacked any available targets in unbridled class warfare. People starved, looted, and killed, until finally a dictator seized power and restored public order; but he then commenced wars on every front until most of Europe was consumed in a bloodbath. So much for the birth of government devoid of God and ruled by Reason.

But this movement was not squelched by the abject failures of the first attempt. In particular, Karl Marx, Lenin, and Stalin were fervent admirers of the French experiment, so no wonder that their government pursued similar means to reach their objective, using the pernicious slogan “The End Justifies the Means”. However, in Russian and China today you would hardly find anyone who would justify the terrible offenses committed in the name of Socialism, Reason and Atheism.

But the worst monster was likely Adolf Hitler; he was not the avid atheist as were Mao and Stalin, but he had no use for Christians or Jews, whom he exterminated in record numbers. And his Nazi movement extolled Science as never before. Indeed, the diabolical German Scientists in his employ threatened to enslave the planet with his bizarre ideology.

On the more positive side, consider the monumental achievements by believers of the major faiths, like Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, St. Francis of Assisi, and many other sublime souls. What about the role of innumerable religious leaders in caring for the poor; establishing schools, hospitals, orphanages; and in eliminating human slavery in most nations (which had been a universal curse in every society throughout known history)?

Finally, in response to the claim that religious people are plainly ignorant in their simplistic creationist beliefs, please consider that the greatest Scientist of the last 100 years, Albert Einstein, believed in a Cosmos designed by a Higher Intelligence, based on his own experience and observation. This theory is still a valid hypothesis, not just ignorant superstition.

Atheism is waxing stronger these days, particularly among the better-educated, academics and scientists. I have no issue with those who find religion difficult to comprehend and who wonder about the evils committed in the name of God. These are important discussions we need to pursue. But substituting a new ideology of atheistic intolerance is not progress.

Facing a Fathomless Future

Next month I will celebrate my 60th birthday with a big party with many friends, lots of music, a warm fireplace, stories and laughter. I have been doing this every five years since turning 50, since annual birthday parties would come too close together at my age.

The decade of my 50’s has been remarkably fine for me, and the next decade seems equally promising. My Father lived to age 95 and my Mother reached 97 last month, just before she died. Who knows, I might pass 100. Right now my health is better than it was at 50, thanks to early retirement, active swimming and gardening, plus a better diet. My wife and I are building a dream home on the Sunshine coast of British Columbia with countless guest rooms, lovely gardens, and a 3 minute walk to the beach.

But clearly, this can’t go on forever. My primary concerns are for my family and friends scattered literally all around the world. How will our civilization navigate the challenges of constants wars, spreading nuclear weapons, a looming energy shortage, climate change, and economic instability? There appear to be almost equal grounds for great hope or great despair.

At my age, long term planning includes a will and an estate plan, but that is not all. We all must face our own mortality, sooner or later. I got a direct chance to experience this last month with the death of my Mother.

I sat at my Mom’s bedside for the last 12 days before she passed into a coma and died. Since then, I have been reflecting on the span of her life and its implications for my generation.

Mom was born in 1909 in a small prairie town and traveled by covered wagon across trackless wilderness as a small child. She and my father watched the first cars and airplanes arrive, not to mention electric lighting, telephones, central heating, and all the other wonders of the 20th Century.

But she also witnessed the Great Depression of the 1930’s, two world wars, nuclear threats, and other potential global calamities. She raised ten children and at age 50 started university without ever having attended high school. She succeeded in realizing her life dream to become a teacher. She published her autobiography and traveled and spoke at large gatherings until last year. In some ways, she seems fortunate now to be spared from the immense challenges still ahead.

My mother lived her whole life with a simple faith in God, with wholesome values like frugality, honesty, and generousity to family and community. My Harvard professors taught me less about how to live my life than did the simple country folks who were my parents.

My Mother also died well. She died at home, surrounded by her children, grand children and great grand children, plus other family and friends. She enjoyed good health until one month before she died, when she had a stroke. She still laughed, sang songs, and looked almost normal until the end. In her final week, she had dreams/visions of Heaven and of countless angels which were so lovely that she didn’t want to return back to her normal world.

As a modern well-educated person of the 21st Century, I could easily discount her primitive mindset, which is not much different from older people of other faiths and cultures all around the world. As a young student I was an atheist and a complete skeptic. Now with decades more of life experience, I have glimmerings of a spiritual dimension beyond our ordinary waking world. I am more hesitant to throw out the wisdom that has been passed down to me from countless generations, regarding both life and afterlife. In future posts, I will explore some of these musings with you.

At age 60 nears, these ultimate questions loom larger for me, even though I have health, wealth and a world of opportunity still ahead. My future is bright, but seemingly unfathomable.