 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
THE
MODERN
SPIRITUAL MELTING POT
A
Snapshot of Issues
Some folks say we can never really understand the times you're living in until they're already over and done with, and you have the luxury of 20/20 hindsight. Well, that hardly does us any good at all now, does it? So therefore, your faithful and dedicated team of LiveReal Agents has decided to try a hand, well, at trend-spotting . . .
(LiveReal
Editor's Note:
What are some of the challenges
Modern Trend: A smaller world As far as the world goes . . . it seems that what was once a worldwide cultural Tower of Babel, a patchwork quilt with all the patches in different places, is now much more of a closely-knit community blanket, so to speak. It used to take months to cross an ocean; nowadays, it's hours. Due to technology (airplanes, the printing press, telephones, television, satellites, internet, etc), the music, ethics, religion, art, etc of different cultures are coming into closer contact: The Buddha's "Diamond Sutra" isn't restricted to a Tibetan mountaintop, but is available now to Joe Bob and Louise in Tyro, West Virginia. Even being able to talk every day, with your buddy in California while you're sitting in Boston is, evolutionarily speaking, a pretty recent phenomenon. The way some people describe it, the world is "shrinking," at least, culture-wise. This is a new experience . . . which leads to: Another Trend: Whatever the heck it was that happened back in the 60's and 70's, we're still feeling the rumbles from now, with modern America throwing old time-tested (a.k.a. "old-fashioned") tracks of tradition (what tradition?) overboard, and floating, unanchored, into culturally uncharted, or at least less charted, territory: A 68% divorce rate (depending on who you ask), television, the condom, the decline of the nuclear family, MTV, Ritalin, moral relativism, "Jesus: The MiniSeries" . . . like it or not, some pretty fundamental things are changing pretty radically.
Modern Trend: Culture Collision In the old, old days . . . there's "my" culture here . . . and far, far across the hills, "their" culture. Used to be, we would live in our neighborhood, hang out with our people in our communities, and whenever we would encounter any other tribe, group, clan mob, or culture that was different than our own, well, the basic strategy was, attack, conquer, and plunder. Use war and combat to take them out, before they take you out. This strategy, nowadays, no longer works. We are much more sophisticated (now it's road rage) - and the culture of "peace," physical nonviolence, and tolerance has, at least for right now, dominated the modern scene and driven most of the "violent" types to the sidelines or jail. Which means, instead of physical meshing, it's cultures clashing, melting, merging, mixing, colliding, synthesizing, challenging, threatening, and maybe, well, learning from each other. And so, same for religion: before nowadays, different religions within various cultures have either conquered all the others in the neighborhood, or, have been either locked in a stale debate for centuries, keeping a respectful distance from each other. But really, who is "the other team?" both teams are thinking. The really personal nature of the whole matter of religion often makes it a pretty volatile issue, striking so deep a chord in us that, well, it's often impolite to talk about in polite society. But still, with "the world getting smaller" . . . is it possible to go from a stance of respectful distance, to respectful dialogue? Prime example of the modern spiritual melting pot: www.belief.net
Modern Trend:
Modern-day America is experiencing an explosion of interest in Eastern religions and teachings - Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and others. Christianity remains the norm for most, but still, as they say, questions still arise . . .
Somewhat Modern Trend: In one corner . . . religious faith is the rock-solid worldview for millions, for centuries. In the other corner . . . "science" has produced some undeniable successes (who can deny the technological genius of "The Clapper"?) . . . and the two fields of thought haven't always been all too friendly towards each other.The relationship so far has been pretty tense, explosive, full of more than a little antagonism, ridicule, forced recants, executions . . . So, are the two fields incompatible? Who is right? Will one "win" over the other? Do the two fields fit together? Overlap? Should we trust our heads, or our hearts, both, or neither? If they fit together, how? Which brings us to . . .
The Failure of the Enlightenment:
Centuries ago, a new breed of person called the "scientist" began feeling very excited and optimistic about using "Reason" to lead humanity to a new state of freedom, happiness, progress, wisdom, harmony, etc etc etc. Science has been raging, full-steam ahead, ever since. So, how has it turned out, so far? Well . . . now we have telephones, medicines, cars, airplanes (which bring people closer together, or splits them further apart?), cell phones, automatic windows, Hiroshima, Auschwitz, computers, World Wars I and II, worries about global warming, condoms, monster tv's with millions of channels complete with reruns of "The Brady Years: Behind the Scenes," Viagra, water fountains with touch-free buttons, Extra-Extra-EXtra Strength aspirin, diet pills, really realistic video games, antidepressants and side effects, bottled water, seat belts, infommercials . . . On the surface, things are really different: we fly and drive around, swallow new pills, we've successfully postponed many deaths, we spend our time surrounded by clever gadgets and working to buy new ones, we're surrounded by more creature comforts than practically anyone in history could have ever imagined . . . On the other hand, things are, essentially, the same. The same as they ever were, anyways: we're born, we eat, sleep, work, and die. There you go. To go further, science can't even really completely answer, say, a basic question like "What diet is best?" . . . or even conquer the common cold. The human condition, overall, is very much the same, thanks. Whether or not "The Enlightenment" really has completely failed or not, we definitely still have some serious issues unresolved. Others elaborate on these issues . . .
Modern Trend: Mass Identity Crisis I, am a Presbyterian who doesn't really believe in God. Modern Trend: A flood of choices Used to be, your father was a farmer, your grandfather was a farmer, your great-great-grandfather was a farmer . . . so for the most part, for better or worse, the road was pretty well laid out for you. Nowadays, however, you can become a doctor . . . lawyer . . . yogi, priest, network engineer, celebrity, unibomber, social worker, business tycoon, janitor, swami, porn-site operator, Trappist monk, world traveler, nun, plastic surgeon . . . Definite benefits to facing a billion choices and wide-open horizons. Still, an overload of choices ("and you'd better not make the wrong one!"), without being anchored and grounded, a clear sense of priorities and how things work . . . can actually, sometimes, be a bit disorienting, a burden, an anxiety-producing disorienting burden at that, and with a million new choices always in your face, it can produce a definite aversion to making any commitments whatsoever.
Current Crisis Within Organized Religion Traditional religion is facing many divisive issues in themselves: the decline of denominationalism, the rise of fundamentalism, mass moral confusion, literalism verses interpret . . . interpretational . . . um, interpretationalism . . . the relationship with science, controversy over the role of women, morality and sexuality, homosexuality, multiculturalism, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Gnostic Gospels other taboo texts . . . Efforts such as Vatican II, have kicked in to gear . . . but what is really happening? What are the fundamentals they all agree on? Are traditional traditional religions are on the decline? If so, what would replace them? On the other hand, are the institutions simply growing and evolving with the times? If so, what will they evolve into?
Do-it-Yourself Theology, "Pick & Choose" Religion One trendy fashion consists of not aligning oneself with any particular tradition, teaching or group, instead proclaiming oneself to be a uniquely one-of-a-kind individual, who cannot be "labeled" or grouped with any "ism" or group of beliefs. While extreme individualism has its definite advantages, this is also, in a sense, can have the effect of "putting the inmates in charge of the asylum." One is then free to simply believe whatever one wants to believe and reject whatever one wants to reject, which is all too often a recipe for self-delusion and the perennial "head-up-the-arse" syndrome.
Religion and New Generations According to some reports, some mainstream denominations are experiencing a serious shortage of new ministers, priests, and preachers to fill the pulpits (see here). Because of retirement benefits or health plans? Because of job perks and retirement options? Because of a lowering of status for "spiritual leaders"? Because of an overall lack of interest in spiritual matters? Because science and business are attracting the most talented and intelligent individuals? Because religion itself, at least when taken seriously, is increasingly seen as some form of delusional extremism? Because younger generations somehow can't seem to find the same "faith" that for older generations seemed to come naturally?
Simultaneous Overload and Poverty of "Wisdom" "I have a funny relationship with wisdom. This is, I believe, because I have been born into a funny moment in the history of the stuff - a time when there is both more and less of it available than ever before, and when getting wisdom for oneself is both an unprecedentedly promising and an unprecedentedly hopeless project.
"Screw it. I'd rather be shallow." "You can talk about any intellectual concept, and it is up for grabs, because anything can mean anything, any thought can lead into another thought and thus be completely perverted. But when you get to the actual physical act of sexuality, or of bodily disease, there's an undeniable materiality which isn't up for grabs. So, it's the body which finally can't be touched by all our skepticism and ambiguous systems of belief. The body is the only place where any basis for real values exists anymore." - Kathy Acker One major result of the aforementioned (?) trends results in what we refer to affectionately as the "Girls Gone Wild" crowd: the somewhat uncomfortable position, chosen by a huge number of ever-increasing individuals, who say, in essence"I don't know, and don't want to know; I don't care, and don't want to care; I don't think about it, don't want to think about it, and don't even want to think about not thinking about it."
In Conclusion We are living in interesting times. And well, if America is in fact something like a "modern spiritual melting pot" . . . then well, being at the meeting point of many different perspectives in a country with freedom, may just provide fertile ground for a unique brand of American wisdom, and if we survive the confusion, we just might harvest something pretty great . . .
"It's
all a question of story.
Related Articles:
|
|
||
copyright © LiveReal.com. All rights reserved