Gods

In what many people today call primitive societies, people used to tell stories about gods. These stories have survived, not because of the ontological truth behind them, but because of their humanity. The gods were vulnerable, emotional, and essentially human, despite their supernatural powers.

Thor fought with his trickster half-brother Loki. Aphrodite was a vain and bad-tempered adulteress. Osiris is killed by his jealous brother Set. These were not an impersonal Ground-of-all-Being. Nor were they the Judeo-Christian God of monotheism; eternally good and unchanging. They are petty, squabbling, at times heroic, at times cowardly, essentially human gods.

Their myths are so important because they gave meaning to the mundane. Squabbling with siblings, fidelity in marriage, jealousy; these and others are the themes of day-to-day life. Who cares about the after-life, what am I going to do about my crops this year?

Today, we don't have gods, per se. Today, we have celebrities. Michael Jackson, Jade Goody, Pete Doherty, Brad and Angelina, Katie and Peter; these are our gods. These are the stories that glorify the mundane, that celebrate the day-to-day. As far as most are concerned, the stories might as well be fiction; no one knows these celebrities, we only know their stories. We cheer for Pete Doherty when he gets out of rehab, but boo him when doesn't show up to a gig. We love Madonna's music, but fuss when she wants to adopt another African child. We are a fickle audience to a pantheon of fickle gods.

Last night, Michael Jackson died. I was one of the many going back and forth between Facebook, Twitter, BBC News, Sky News and Reuters for updates. I wanted to know. I wanted him to be okay.

Why? I don't know him. I've never met him. But his story, and his music, have moved me. Realistically, it makes no difference to my life whether he lives or dies. But now that he is dead, it feels like a void. A story that we have been drawn into has ended abruptly, just as it did with Jade Goody a few months ago.

The difference between our gods and those of Asgard, Mt Olympus and the Egyptian underworld is that ours are real people. They have no power over lightning, love or death, but they have been thrust (willingly or otherwise) into our imaginations, wrapped up into our lives. Michael Jackson, a fragile human being like the rest of us, became the King of Pop! Stories of his excess, his chimpanzee, his court-cases, have entertained and beguiled us. We need stories; we need gods. But can a mere human cope with being elevated to the status of a god?

Perhaps the cults of the primitive gods were safer than today's cult of celebrity; not because the stories were more moral, or believable, or 'true', but because the characters of fiction can cope with slander, gossip and celebrity.

I mourn for Michael Jackson. Why? Because he was a god. I pray that God forgives us for thrusting the finite into the position of the infinite.

And I wonder, how different would Lucifer's story have been had he been elevated by his peers rather than (or as well as) by his ego? Being cheered on by his fellow angels, 'You are the king! We love you!', could his eventual fall from heaven, from grace, have simply been the result of one finite being trying to be something to everyone? If so, is it any wonder than Lindsay Lohan, Pete Doherty and Amy Winehouse are perpetually in and out of rehab? Is it any wonder that celebrity marriages don't last? Is it any wonder that those who were our heroes become villains, like the most beautiful angel in all of heaven becoming the prince of darkness?

He can Simply Die for a Song

I posted this quote from The Last Temptation of Christ years and years ago, but it's just come back to mind...

And you, liar, teller of tall tales: you trample all the Lord's commandments underfoot, you murder, steal, commit adultery, and afterward break into tears, beat your breast, take down your guitar and turn the sin into song. Shrewd devil, you know very well that God pardons singers no matter what they do, because he can simply die for a song...

I woke up this morning feel low. I'm struggling with some things revolving around close friends; feelings of guilt, anxiety, grief and so on swilling around my mind.

Rather than taking a shower and getting dressed, I picked up my ukulele and sang sad songs.

Having musically vocalised my thoughts, I now feel ready to face the day. I don't know about God pardoning sinners through music, but it certainly makes it a lot easier to pardon oneself.

The Preacher and the Businessman

There was once a fiery preacher who possessed a powerful gift. Far from encouraging people's religious beliefs, he found that from an early age, when he prayed for people the result would be the individual's loss of all religious conviction. When he prayed for people he found that they would often walk away having lost all of their religious beliefs, beliefs about the prophets, the sacred Scriptures, and even God. Since this was the case he would, as you might expect, rarely pray for others and instead would limit himself to sermons.

However one day, while travelling across the country, he found himself in conversation with a businessman who happened to be going in a safe direction. The businessman was very wealthy, having made his money in the world of international banking. The conversation had begun because the businessman possessed a deep faith and had noticed the preacher reading from the Bible. Because of this he introduced himself and they began to talk. As they chatted together, the rich man told the preacher all about his faith in God and his love of Christ. It turned out that although he worked hard in his work he was not really interested in worldly goods.

"The world of business is a cold one," he confided to the preacher, "and in my line of work there are situations in which I find myself that challenge my Christian convictions. But when confronted by such situations, I try, as much as possible, to remain true to my faith. Indeed, it is my faith that stops me from getting too caught up in the heartless world of work, reminding me that I am really a man of God."

After listening carefully to the businessman's story, the preachers responded by asking if he could pray for him. The young man readily agreed, not knowing what he was letting himself in for. And sure enough, after the preacher had said his simple prayer, the businessman opened his eyes in astonishment.

"What a fool I have been for all these years," said the businessman. "There is no God above who is looking out for me, there are no sacred texts to guide me, there is no spirit to inspire me."

As they parted company the businessman, still confused by what had taken place, returned home with one less item than he had left with. But now that he no longer had any religious beliefs to make him question his work and hold it lightly, he was no longer able to continue with it. Faced with the fact that he was now just a hard-nosed businessman working in a corrupt system, he began to despise himself. And so, shortly after his meeting with the preacher, he gave up his line of work completely, gave the money he had accumulated to the poor, and started to use his considerable expertise in helping local charity. One day, years later, he happened upon the preacher again while he was walking through town. The man ran up to him, fell at his feet, and began to cry. After a few moments he looked up at the preacher and said, "Thank you for helping me to discover my faith."

( - Pete Rollins, in The Fidelity of Betrayal)

How much of my religion is just a safety blanket? How different would my life be if I let go of the comforting images of Heaven and an all powerful God who fights on my side? How much more deeply would I be leaving if the here-and-now took priority over the to-be-fulfilled?

"God, rid me of God!"

- Meister Eckhart

Jesus vs Satan

I have a confession to make. One that perhaps a Christian youth worker should not make, but here it is nevertheless: I love South Park.

South Park is offensive, yes. And it is crude, yes. But it also provides us with a biting social commentary on topics like politics, the culture of fear and religion.

As I write, I'm watching an episode in Season One, in which Jesus meets Satan in a boxing match. The episode portrays Satan as a 450lb behemoth, the ruler of the under-world, and Jesus as a 100lb scrawny weakling with a cable-access show. In the end of the episode - WARNING: SPOILER - Satan takes a dive, being the only person in South Park to have placed a bet on Jesus to win.

Very obviously, Trey and Matt, the show's creators, aren't Christians and have little agenda other than the dismantling of societal norms (read: offending people). But in this episode, they accidently make a very profound theological point; and end up with an almost pseudo-Biblical narrative.

Satan's power is the power of the world. He displays his might with fire, lightning bolts and physical bravado. He is, by Earthly standards, very powerful indeed; not someone to be toyed with. We see this throughout the world; corrupt leaders, natural disasters, genocide, nuclear stockpiling; the power of evil is indeed impressive.

Jesus' power, however, is near enough invisible. Those who see Earthly power as ultimate (c.f. Nietzsche) have no hope in Jesus. He is, at least apparently, weak.

Where I part with Trey and Matt is in Jesus' response to his own weak force. In the episode, he tries to beef up, trains, exercises so as to beat Satan at his own game. In my understanding of the Biblical story, Jesus does not try to fight Satan. Instead, he subverts him with weakness. The strength of God lies in his passion; his vulnerability.

Satan may indeed be a mighty oak, but even the strongest of oaks can be felled by a great wind. Meanwhile, the smallest of daffodils will bend and twist in the wind, but will remain rooted.

Jesus' power is not one in competition with other powers. It is one that subverts every power by acting beneath it; gently calling the powerful from their thrones to a world of reciprocity, forgiveness and vulnerability. The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the little children. These things are revealed to the simple-minded. Mustard seeds, lost sheep, buried treasure...

God does not defeat Satan by brandishing a bigger sword. He defeats him with a gentle, but inextinguishable call to love. To the Nietzscheans, Satan has won. But to those who hear and listen to the almost inaudible call, there is no victory to be had; how can someone who has taken his place as the lowest of things be beaten?

Rumi's Prayer

O God, make our stony hearts soft as wax;
make our wailing sweet and the object of Your mercy.

- Rumi (from Sunlight)

A Manifesto of Hope

There is chance that everything I believe in, everything I hope for, everything I put my faith in, is a lie. But I would rather die for the lie of love than live for the truth of hopelessness. With that in mind, I put together this manifesto:

I will live to help others experience love.

I will speak with words that encourage, praise and build up, rather than criticising, complaining or judging.

I will act to show warmth, acceptance and tolerance.

I will stand up for the bullied, the slave, and the shunned.

I will allow myself to experience love.

I will walk slowly, sit quietly, breathe deeply; listening for love's voice, even if I never hear it.

I will allow myself to feel pain, to retreat, to cry, when I need to.

I will eat well, sleep well and exercise.

I will express, create and speak my thoughts.

I will experience life; not a shallow counterfeit.

I will not buy into celebrity culture.

I will not spend more time in front of a screen than I do outdoors.

I will experience art; music, film, paint, clay and marble that speak to the soul.

I will not let the past speak for the future.

I will reduce the negative impact I have on creation to a minimum; walking, not driving, reducing energy consumption, buying ethically.

I will allow myself the luxury of curiosity; I will listen to birds, I will watch bugs, I will wander off the wall-walked path.

Above all; I will keep on putting on foot in front of the other; even when despair, or panic, or apathy make me want to stop, blindly trusting that I am walking towards something, and that it is something good.

Self-Fulfilling

"What you think, you become."

- The Buddha