To make matters even worse, there is also the problem that in a divided world, one man's sinner is another man's saint. In dealing with the deceit and incompetence of the Bush administration, for example, "one man's finger-pointer is another man's whistleblower" (1), one man's "patriot" is another man's blind fool. One man's "freedom fighter" is another man's "terrorist" (in spite of the Bush administration). One man's windfall is another man's ruination. One man's slut is another man's angel.
This is an empirical fact of life in a divided human world. Recognition of this fact is where the nascent Christian world view begins, outside of the world of religion and capitalism. Nascent Christianity is hard-core empiricism, no supernaturalism required. One must accept that empirical reality in order to transcend it. It is the only way to avoid self-righteousness and belligerence. It is the only way to nourish wholeness and oneness. One must accept that fact in order to see the need for knowledgeable and compassionate efforts directed at human unity, a global democracy and world peace.
The world is divided in half by maternal and paternal cultures, east and west, respectively. The western cultures are based upon god-given, absolute laws designed to achieve "order" (i.e., Abrahamism: Judaism, Romanism, Islamism) a way of life unrelated to human knowledge. The eastern cultures are based upon a politically-correct ethics designed to achieve "harmony," a way of life unrelated to human knowledge (Hinduism, Confucianism).
In other words, all of the ancient world cultures, all of the traditional "isms," are only half human, male-dominated matriarchal systems in the east and male-dominated patriarchal systems in the west. What the world needs now is a people-dominated human knowledge-based democracy designed to achieve freedom from fear and ignorance by honoring human rights.
Human rights happen to be nascent Christian in origin and they have no relationships to western religious systems and no relationships to eastern ethical systems - outside of embracing both in the name of nourishing human. "In Christ there is no east and west." Nascent Christian human rights are directly related to empirical human knowledge. The Christ was profoundly aware of Abrahamic and Roman despotism in action. Despotism defined the Biblical era. Nacent Christian values are Hellenic in origin, derived in the same way as are the values of science and natural philosophy.
The values beneath democracy are dialectic human values that transcend eastern and western cultural values (2). For those people interested in a caring and thoughtful world, a world dominated by compassionate and knowledgeable people, human rights and democracy are the only viable options around. The alternative is the half-human reality that all people currently live with on a daily basis. We do not need more sinners and we do not need more saints. We need to be global citizens, we need to be a People.
"And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to bloom." - Anais Nin
Readings
1) Michael Grunwald, In Defense of Finger-Pointing, Washington Post, February 19, 2006.
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/17/ar2006021702497.html)
2) Gerald M. Lower, Jr., Dialectic Synthesis and Enlightenment, Jefferson's Eyes, Turtle Island Books, 2003. ( ) ISBN 0-9747128-0-9.
Dr. Gerry Lower lives in Eugene, Oregon. His website is at www.jeffersonseyes.com and he can be reached at tisland@blackhills.com.
This is an empirical fact of life in a divided human world. Recognition of this fact is where the nascent Christian world view begins, outside of the world of religion and capitalism. Nascent Christianity is hard-core empiricism, no supernaturalism required. One must accept that empirical reality in order to transcend it. It is the only way to avoid self-righteousness and belligerence. It is the only way to nourish wholeness and oneness. One must accept that fact in order to see the need for knowledgeable and compassionate efforts directed at human unity, a global democracy and world peace.
The world is divided in half by maternal and paternal cultures, east and west, respectively. The western cultures are based upon god-given, absolute laws designed to achieve "order" (i.e., Abrahamism: Judaism, Romanism, Islamism) a way of life unrelated to human knowledge. The eastern cultures are based upon a politically-correct ethics designed to achieve "harmony," a way of life unrelated to human knowledge (Hinduism, Confucianism).
In other words, all of the ancient world cultures, all of the traditional "isms," are only half human, male-dominated matriarchal systems in the east and male-dominated patriarchal systems in the west. What the world needs now is a people-dominated human knowledge-based democracy designed to achieve freedom from fear and ignorance by honoring human rights.
The values beneath democracy are dialectic human values that transcend eastern and western cultural values (2). For those people interested in a caring and thoughtful world, a world dominated by compassionate and knowledgeable people, human rights and democracy are the only viable options around. The alternative is the half-human reality that all people currently live with on a daily basis. We do not need more sinners and we do not need more saints. We need to be global citizens, we need to be a People.
"And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to bloom." - Anais Nin
Readings
1) Michael Grunwald, In Defense of Finger-Pointing, Washington Post, February 19, 2006.
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/17/ar2006021702497.html)
2) Gerald M. Lower, Jr., Dialectic Synthesis and Enlightenment, Jefferson's Eyes, Turtle Island Books, 2003. ( ) ISBN 0-9747128-0-9.
Dr. Gerry Lower lives in Eugene, Oregon. His website is at www.jeffersonseyes.com and he can be reached at tisland@blackhills.com.
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