© Roger M Tagg 2011
Welcome to FROLIO – a new attempt to merge philosophy and the "semantic web" . This website is under continuing development.
During one of their many conversations when they were staying with their mutual uncle Reg Venables, Clare Venables and Martin Andrews were arguing whether everything that happens in the world is 'God's Will' and part of 'God's Plan' - or just a random occurrence, caused (at the most basic level) by 'atoms bashing into each other'.
Uncle Reg said that someone had told him that there was an 'Answers from God' website - and even a number you could call up on Skype.
Martin said that this sounded very silly, but it reminded him of the Greek oracles, where there was a priestess sitting behind a hole in the wall, and who gave out mysterious answers - rather like those in astrology columns - that could be interpreted in several ways. But Clare suggested that they should give the Skype service a try. "After all, whoever is running it is probably someone who has thought about it fairly seriously, otherwise word would have got round that it is either a complete joke or some extreme sect looking for gullible converts."
So Martin and Clare got on the computer, did a bit of searching and called up a Skype address.
When someone answered it was a smart young American man with gleaming white teeth, wearing a suit and tie. He said "God himself is busy answering other calls right now, but if you tell me your question I'll write it down and wave it in front of him. Hopefully he'll get back to you shortly.
However Martin and Clare hadn't been waiting more than a couple of minutes when they got a call back, but rather than another human figure, all they could see on the screen was a blinding light with streaks of colour. "Hi guys" a voice said. "I'm really glad you've asked that question. It's one that I think your human race has only just got round to taking seriously. I have to say, I've been disappointed by some of the claptrap I've been hearing on this topic from some of your so-called experts. Most seem to push some extreme position, whether it's on one side of the argument or the other. Anyhow, since you've asked me the question, I will give you an answer. It's a bit of both."
Clare and Martin both looked puzzled, but God went on. "OK, I realize that this sounds impossible, but look at it from my point of view. You've heard of the 'Big Bang' I presume - your scientists' current theory about your universe started. Well, I must let you into a secret - it wasn't my first try. Some time earlier, I'd tried to create some other universes. Well, I must have got my parameters wrong, because they all expanded too fast and there was no chance for anything like life as you know it to form. I tried building in knobs and levers so that I could control things as time went on, but it was too difficult. So when I created your universe, I not only got my parameters right, but I also decided that I should let the whole system sort itself out and not try to interfere directly. I left any adjustments to the intelligence of whatever living creatures evolved out of the cosmic soup. So if you ask 'what's my plan?', I say 'that's it - I've designed a self-organizing universe, with lots of checks and balances. Now it's up to you lot to keep it going as best as possible'. My plan, therefore, is that you are responsible, and that you have to learn to live with uncertainty."
Clare asked "So, you don't have a complete running sheet of what is going to happen to whom, and when?" God answered "You mean like some cosmic script, or a fully pre-ordained schedule of fate? No, that's certainly not my plan."
Clare said "What about all our prayers to you? Do you mean they are all a waste of time? Do you mean that you can't - or won't - do anything to change the script?" God replied, "I'd never say prayer is a waste of time. It's just that a lot of you treat it as an opportunity for begging to change the script you imagine exists. That's like a student who says to the teacher 'I really need to pass this exam, so please give me extra consideration'. What prayer should be about is understanding what's 'Good' - what goes along with My nature. You remember my motto: 'Peace on earth, goodwill towards men' - which I would extend to all living creatures and things. The point of prayer is to open your mind to the pursuit of understanding what the Good means in your particular situation. There is no absolute scientific or logical formula to decide what is Good, like 'greatest happiness of the greatest number' or 'minimize suffering, cruelty and the seven deadly sins' - although these may all be good starting points or rules of thumb."
Martin then switched the line of questioning. "What about all these different religious institutions and sects? Are some nearer to your message than others? What about those that don't worship a Supreme Being?"
"Well" said God, "these religions aren't my invention. They are just what your various social groups have dreamed up - sometimes to serve their purpose of controlling ordinary people, and sometimes to serve their leaders' ambitions and interests. Personally, I don't worry as long as they are committed to the Good - and to be fair, most of them are, most of the time - although of course there are always a few bad individuals. I do worry though about outbreaks of mass hysteria and fanaticism - that's a failing you humans especially have to learn to cope with. I also worry about 'tribalism' - the idea that 'we' are right and 'they', the outsiders, are wrong and inferior. And I also worry about what I call the 'pseudo-life' of all your human institutions; they get stuck in ruts of thinking, they can't entertain the possibility that they could ever have been wrong, and are over-attached to their authority over others and their continued existence. Even more than humans, they don't like thoughts of decline and death!"
Following up this point, Martin asked "OK, but what about all these different prophets and founders of religions? What about claims to be 'Son of God', 'The Last Prophet', 'The Enlightened One' - and of course 'The Chosen People'?" "Good question", said God. "I'm always happy when some particularly good individual human comes along and shakes people out of their ruts of thinking. I hope there will be many more in the future. Over your race's history there have been many that I can pick out: Confucius, Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ and Mohammed are probably the biggest names, but there have been many others less well known to your history. It was the Jews themselves that called themselves the Chosen People. I wouldn't totally blame them, as they were one of the first to ditch multiple gods for a single, uniting one. They didn't get it all right, but it was a good start. However Hindus also did a good job in this direction. Jesus Christ was a big star because he put the emphasis on saying what being Good to your neighbour - or 'all mankind' - was all about. If he really referred to me as 'Father', it was maybe a justified metaphorical illusion. But I think his followers didn't do a good job by peddling all that magical stuff like virgin birth, rising from the dead and so on. And some have definitely over-emphasized the role of his mother."
"What about Mohammed?" Martin asked. God replied "He too made a terrific difference to people in his part of the world, and his message was Islam - which means surrender to the will of God. And following what I said earlier, that means surrender to the spirit of Good. But that doesn't mean surrender to the agendas and hate-filled rhetoric of some of the religion's leaders. On the good side, Islam kept alive the great thinking of ancient Greece and developed knowledge which Christian countries have developed further in the last three centuries. But somehow the religion then seemed to turn in on itself in the face of the European Renaissance - something that also happened in Japan and China - including, though separately, in Tibet.
"I've got a slightly different question" said Clare. "Aren't you worried about the dropping off of religious participation and the rise of atheism in some parts of the world?" God answered "What I'm more worried about is the drop in consideration for others, the lack of reflection, the lack of personal respect for those who think differently, the fanatical following of various 'isms' as the answer to all social problems and the low priority being given to 'value', 'quality' and the Good. If religious observance is falling off, that's largely the institutions' own fault."
Clare said "You don't think people should have some faith, and something to inspire them beyond everyday concerns?" "That's a really hard question" said God, "because some of these things are really psychological needs for you humans, not something that is 'required' from outside. It can be a problem because your human institutions - including religious ones - realize they can play on these needs to gain some control over you. They may say that you 'should' show loyalty to the group, enthusiasm for 'our' group's cause, and faith in 'our' leaders and their doctrines. And this is often a very good thing. But 'faith in what'? Faith that I, God, will fix it for you? Faith that any old fairy story is 'true' in the same sense as Newton's laws of motion are? I know you humans like a good story, just as you like to dream dreams - but you need to be able to recognize when a story is just fiction, or a dream is just wishful thinking. My idea of 'faith' is 'faith that following the Good will serve best in the long run, rather than grabbing what you can for yourself now'.
It's similar for 'inspiration', your need to look for 'the other' beyond your own self. I know that humans can be inspired emotionally by lots of things, like fine art, beautiful views and sunsets, poetry, music - even stained glass windows. And these can all be aspects of the Good, though not necessarily the central message. But I'm not so happy with the 'Alleluia brigade', 'speaking in tongues', 'signs and wonders', drug-induced visions, extreme fasting or bodily self-mortification. Not all induced inspiration steers you towards the Good. And I'm not keen on extreme mystics who see magical symbolism everywhere, or on people who indulge in excessive contemplation. I prefer to see 'engagement' with the world."
Martin then said "I'm conscious we're encroaching on your valuable time, but I'd like to ask one more question. What incentive, what motivation, have individual people got left to encourage them to follow the Good, since that's what concerns you the most? We used to believe in a wonderful heaven in an afterlife, or fear a fiery hell something like an underground mining disaster, or a bombed building. But lots of people don't believe in that any more. And is 'reincarnation' as in some Eastern religions, any better?"
God replied "I'm really glad to be talking to you two - you have the spirit I'm always happy to see. My general answer is 'different people have different needs - and different channels - for motivation at different times in human history'. That's because your species' knowledge of how this universe works is often changing - usually, but not always, for the better. I think you should distinguish external motivation - 'carrot and stick' if you like - from internal - or 'self' motivation. A favourite saying of Socrates was 'know thyself'. But it seems many of you haven't taken this on board - not even Socrates' own brilliant pupil Plato. To be self-motivated to follow the Good, you certainly need to know yourself, your strengths and weaknesses, and you need to learn, through your own life with its ups and downs, how and why the Good is your best policy. However most of you get seriously sidetracked, whether it's by your fights to survive, your lack of control over your animal instincts, the barrage of persuasive information that hits you, or the mass hysteria of fashion or hate."
"Back in the old days of your so-called civilization, lack of reliable knowledge led people to look to magic and dreams for overall direction - by what you might today call a 'board of directors' of mythical gods. Then you moved on to a single supreme being - of which you have two varieties. One is the remote, stern and authoritarian dictator; the other is the closer, loving but still judgmental father figure. I don't think much of the first style, unless most people are pretty ignorant, thoughtless and willing to be led. But even the second style seems to be becoming less in tune with your modern thinking. So a better option to move to is to have a human to act as an example, someone you can all respect and follow, like Jesus Christ or Gautama Buddha. This relies much less on magic and fairy stories. However even this can become too institutionalized - or even hijacked; and it may not give enough importance to personal responsibility."
"I've probably gone on long enough. I agree that fanciful ideas of Heaven and Hell - or threats of being re-incarnated as some lower form of life - won't wash for many humans these days. That's why I quite like the idea of the Christian 'Father, Son and Holy Ghost' - I see it as representing evolution in human beings' personal motivation to follow the Good; the Holy Ghost means the 'spirit' of Good. Up to now, the Holy Ghost hasn't had equal billing in the Christians' 'film of life' credits. But since it represents the 'self-motivation' option, I'd like to see it come in more. In fact that's how I like to see myself these days."
"One final thought. I also regard myself as - to use a human phrase - a Revisionist. I am all for gradual development and improvement. I have the greatest respect for humans who can put different ideas and experiences together and 'revise' current thinking. That's how you can make the Good work best. So ... I'll say cheerio to you both, always be personally responsible, and go for peace on earth and goodwill to all."
When Clare and Martin recounted this to Uncle Reg a few days later, Reg said "I've been following up who runs that Skype service. It seems like it's a philosopher of religion in a university, who is doing research into the future of religion in the 21st century. He's trying to encourage a wide range of different views from members of the public, and Skype chats are one of his methods. However, it appears that the guy himself is widely regarded as an atheist. But from what you've told me, once you strip off all the partisan rivalries and myths, maybe that is really where it's all at."
Index to more of these diatribes
Some of these links may be under construction – or re-construction.
This version updated on 29th September 2011
If you have constructive suggestions or comments, please contact the author rogertag@tpg.com.au .