Well, I enjoyed writing my first blog so much, I thought I'd do it again.... More greeny, eco, tree-huggy issues? I can almost hear my long-suffering friends ask. But no, not today! (Probably).
Now here's the thing. The prime minister of Britain loved having the Pope come to call. The 'farewell' speech he made was a triumph of style over accurate content, but it got me thinking nonetheless. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11366518 to see it, or http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2010/09/19/cameron-tells-pope-you-have-made-britain-sit-up-and-think/ to read it.
I mean we humans love religion don't we? In the sixties the Beatles may have claimed that they were more popular than Jesus, but take a poll over the last 4,000 years and I think we'll find that religious belief has been more popular than, well, almost anything else at all. It's pretty easy to see why. We humans do a lot of thinking, and once you start thinking about the fact you might actually die and stop being able to think at all, it's a neat idea, that if you behave yourself, you get to go to heaven (or the equivalent), reincarnate so you can come back and have another go, meet with your dead relatives and friends and sit around watching lions and lambs frolicking together. It certainly takes the fear out of death!
Also, if you believe we are hierarchical animals just like, say wolves and cute little meerkats, then we like to have someone at the top to take the strain out of decision making. We like hierarchy so much we even invent invisible 'top dogs' to plonk on the top of the pile. Not for nothing do we hear 'Our father', 'king of kings' - you get the idea. And, by golly, this religious thing has really worked.
It's a pretty powerful thing that will send Christians on crusades to hack Saracens to pieces and of course to have those Saracens do a fair bit of hacking themselves - not to mention flying into tall buildings in the name of an invisible top dog you've never actually heard bark, or to drown the woman who knows about herbal remedies in the village pond in the name of a boss you've never even glimpsed. It's true - faith is a powerful motivator.
But here is the problem those old religions have. I like to call it the update conundrum. I quite like the idea that religious beliefs are impervious, steadfast and unchanging. I don't suppose that all-knowing top dog would, say, go to the trouble of making rules on tablets of stone if he didn't expect them to last. Religions are full of texts telling us what we can and can't do, and evidentially people like to have rules to follow - I mean, nobody is going to be persuaded to drag a load of very heavy stones from Wales to Stonehenge if they didn't buy into the importance of it all. And then came modern life....
Suddenly, we humans can mostly all read, watch TV, 'stumble-upon', sign up to Amnesty International, enjoy the freedom of speech, sexual orientation and choice of holiday destination and all manner of things which by their very existence take us further away from accepting unquestioning faith. So here's the conundrum. Do the big religions of the world modernise, listen to the breakaway priests who want gays recognised in the church, allow women to lower their veils, knock celibacy on the head, open drive-in churches and lots of other ideas to make religions more appealing to the modern person. I don't like it.
You can only dilute something so much before you lose the taste altogether.
Here's a thought. Maybe these religions are obsolete! Oh no!!! What about our needs? What about the horrible fear of life being pointless, existential angst being assuaged by the promise of a fabulous hereafter? What about a world without a big Dad in the sky? We've tried to calm ourselves in the growing absence of a god by buying lots of things, drinking lots of shots, and making like the Romans as the empire collapsed. Not really working though.
Here's another thought. Maybe the druids had some stuff just right. Nature as a god? Stewardship of our planet and respect for life. It certainly ticks some of the boxes... do you think people might feel better with that as a purpose? I think so. I'm not talking about sacrificing small mammals at the foot of large oak trees. Just understanding that our future, as in the lives of our children and grandchildren, is in our hands. If we look after our planet that future has a chance. (Oh joy, I can slip in the tree-hugs now!!)
Being aware of our impact on the planet will not lead to an afterlife watching vegetarian crocodiles giving swimming lessons to ducklings, but it will mean we have a purpose - a purpose conceived in the modern world, from modern science and without any inbuilt contradictions. It's true we can't actually see or hear the overall effects of man's bad ecological behaviour on the planet - although we can see and feel some of it.
It's true, we don't actually know exactly what the future holds if we keep on doing the same. Uncertainty, and lack of definitive proof just about characterises old religions - religions people have been prepared to kill and die for. So doesn't that make eco-responsibility an ideal fresh and new candidate for us to throw the full weight of human faith behind. I don't like waste or conspicuous consumption, but in this case I say.... Chuck out those tired, old beliefs and LET'S JUST GET SOME NEW ONES!
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