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Why a Church for Sceptics, Agnostics and Atheists
Reason: There have been a lot of studies recently about the positive health benefits of religion. People who attend regular church services, pray regularly, etc. seem to live longer happier healthier lives. They appear to have better immune systems, and just generally have a pretty good deal. A pragmatist would join a church on this evidence if true to pragmatic principles. The problem with the deal is that it requires the acceptance of beliefs that are offensive, rationally, logically or emotionally offensive to some people. Virtually all the above effects can be rationally attributed to the power of positive thinking, the placebo effect, and positive socialization. It is unfair, unjust, and discriminatory to deny these benefits to some because of their lack of theistic or spiritual religious beliefs. This being the case, someone should design a religion for skeptics, agnostics, atheists and any others who might wish to participate which will not incorporate these offensive doctrines. Mission statement, to design a religion which provides the opportunity to enjoy all the mental, emotional, social and physical benefits of religious activity without incorporating beliefs which are logically, rationally or emotionally offensive.
The
Bible of Civilization
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Beginnings: This process began in the back of my mind some months ago when I started reading a secular volume which reminded me in many ways of the bible. So let us begin the design process with a bible. What is a bible? To determine that let us look at the bibles of some of the major religions. Ancient Greece, the epics of Homer (history of the siege of Troy, and of Odysseus journey home), Judaism, The Torah and Talmud (history of the origins of their world and people with commentaries), Christianity, The Old and New Testament; in the Old Testament, histories with commentaries, in the New Testament history of the deeds and teachings of the founder. Islam, the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Koran; same with additional Prophet. The bibles of Hinduism are a combination of history, commentary, and magical formulary; Buddhism, history of the deeds and teachings of the founder; Confucianism, history of the teachings of the founder, with later commentaries by Mencius; Communism, comments on history by the founder.
Obviously, a bible is either a history book, a commentary on history by a teacher or interpreter, or a combination of the two. Which of these three forms is superior? The answer to that is another question, why are bibles Histories or wisdom derived from history? Possibly because one of the main social science functions of religion is to keep the lessons of history alive in the minds of each succeeding generation. Let us ask Darwin. Darwin maintained in the "Origin of Species" that societies underwent evolution as well. Suggesting that societies with superior behaviors would outcompete and conquer societies with inferior behaviors. The vector for transmission of this behavior is very possibly religion. When Darwin wrote, he did not know of genetics, the vector for the transmission of biological changes. Thus we hypothesize that religion is one of the main cultural vectors for transmitting superior social behaviors, the behavioral lessons of history.
So which is the superior form, the history book, the lessons of that history compiled by a great religious leader or philosopher or a combination of the two?
I would think it intuitively obvious that the combinatory form is superior to either. This is an idea that is supported by the fact that most of the bibles of the major religions are combinatory in form.
A history book is superior to a wisdom book, as it is the original source of the wisdom. As times change fresh lessons can be learned by studying the original source, while the wisdom book is set, and harder to derive fresh lessons from. The wisdom book or commentary is the work of a superior individual, and appropriate guidance derived from the history. As such it is a superior guide for most over the original source. Both together make the best solution to the question of what a bible should be.
So, in rationally designing a religion the bible should consist of history and commentaries. It falls now to select the Bible of our rationally designed religion. One might choose from a multitude of histories. The problem is that most history books are either ideological or boring. A history book written by a scholar to advance his ideological interpretation of history violates the mission statement of excluding required acceptance of offensive doctrines. Boring is something to be avoided as much as possible as people should read the bible. For the history part of the bible, the choice made is "The Story of Civilization" by the Durants.
Why this work?
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1) The name, ‘The Story of Civilization’ gives the religion a name; The Church of Civilization. This is a very good name. Obviously members of the Church of Civilization are civilized people. Their religion might be different, but it can’t be all that bad. Good initial impression on anyone who asks what religion you are.
2) The motive for writing, most history books are written by people out to prove something; scholars wanting to advance their theory of history. Political hacks wanting to justify communism, capitalism, or whatever. This volume was written by an aficionado; a person who just loved history. Now, books written with hate inspire hate, books written in anger inspire anger, a book written out of a passionate love of history will inspire a more positive feeling in its readers. It is a more pleasant and psychologically healthy book to read. While the personal beliefs of the Durants are apparent in the book they are not advanced as doctrine. The work includes personal stories and anecdotes about many notables of history that make it entertaining and interesting. Even a source for bedtime stories for children.
3) The size of the work; this is a very big work. 10 volumes each approaching 1000 pages in length. As such it incorporates interesting stories, deals realistically with the faults and virtues of many different peoples, and provides a real education to those who read it. A less comprehensive survey of history could only provide patterns and not cover the detailed stories that provide material for human sermons. It provides a huge resource for sermons, teaching, and thought. It requires some time and effort to read, though it is fun. A teacher in a religion must have some source for his authority. A minister for a church like the one being designed can hardly claim divine authority. He can claim expert authority. Reading "The Story of Civilization" gives him a very legitimate claim to expert authority over the average man in the street. In addition, it allows for some humorous one-upmanship. The Baptist minister and the Speaker of Civilization are talking. The speaker lays the Bible along side "The Story of Civilization" and asks, pointing to the Bible, "Is this your tool for seeking the truth?" The Baptist minister replies, "Well yes." The Speaker says, "You know, my tool is bigger than your tool".
4) The book is a little old. Volume 1 was finished in 1934, and contains some factual errors in the section on anthropology among others. As such these errors make for sermons on the subject that the bible of the Church of Civilization is not divine writ, nor is it the revealed truth, it has errors honestly admitted to.
5) The book contains a historian’s wisdom. Volume 1 written in 1934 predicts a war with Japan five years before it happened, demonstrating the value of the study of history.
6) It is widely available in second hand bookstores for a modest price.
7) In the later volumes it is a work of partnership between husband and wife, giving dignity to life partnership.
The second step in designing the bible is to select the commentaries. Now, collections of commentaries are less likely to introduce offensive doctrines because they include multiple viewpoints. For this choice I choose "The Great Books of the Western World". This is a set of selected works from ancient Greece to the modern day. It is something of a standard set. It is widely distributed, and widely available in second hand bookshops. The older version with the two-volume syntopicon and the great conversation is preferred. The bible of the Church of Civilization is now complete. It is a most impressive bible indeed. Some might point out that the GBWW includes great literature as well as commentaries and histories. This is true, but A) some classify the other bibles of the world as literature rather than history and B) great literature is great because it has something real to say (teach) about the human condition, so great literature is a highly appropriate part of any bible. Other books should be included in the commentaries as the scope of the GBWW is limited by some of its assumptions. I.E. it does not include great religious works unless they are also philosophy, and it does not include the great books of other cultures.
Reading
the Bible
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On reading the bible. There are twelve
months in the year. Sermons and teachings should come from a different
volume of history and associated commentaries each month. This is not a
hard and fast rule, but any author or current event relevant to the message
can be quoted in the sermon itself. This means that there is not
generally any necessity to break the rule to introduce relevant material.
January, volume 1, February, volume 2, March volume three, April to September,
volumes 4-11, this will be 1 and 1/3 volume a month, in October begin with
Volume 1 again. In December, volume 3, then in January start with volume
1 again. The first three volumes are probably the most useful. As they
lay out primitive man, origins of humanity, origins of civilization, ancient
Greece and Rome, and cover India and the Orient. Read the associated Great
Books from that period in history, in January and October the two months
for volume one read the classics of India, China and the rest of the world.
The Old Testament belongs with the Great Books of the period covered in
Volume 1 or 2. The New testament belongs with Volume 3. The fourth volume
details the rise of Islam, and mentions many of the classic philosophers
from Islam. Their works should be read then, even though not included in
the GBWW, and the Koran belongs here. Reading the great religious works
helps understanding the events of the past and the people of the present.
Reading the history of each period will make the Great Books more understandable
as the names and nations mentioned should be more real and less puzzling.
The first year one might read only the Story of Civilization, and then
reread it and read one or more Great Books from that period in later years.
Having just completed reading all 11 volumes I can confirm that this is
quite possible. Reading around 12 hours a week, I completed all 11 volumes
by the end of September, and read parts of the GBWW. I averaged 25 pages
in the Story of Civilization per hour. My reading speed is probably not
exceptional. Interestingly, 9 months is also the period of pregnancy, so
one can connect this reading of the Story with rebirth. Not a mystical
rebirth, but an intellectual rebirth as a person. On rereading the Story
of Civilization, certain parts may be skipped. The books split the text
into large and small, and some might choose to skip the small text on rereading
to refresh the picture of that period in history while reading the GBWW.
Others may choose to skip specific sections such as architecture or music
when reading to place the GBWW in historical context. Some of the later
commentaries and literature in the Great Books deals with events in the
earlier volumes. Much of Shakespeare is based on Plutarch’s Lives and later
histories and will be appropriate to different months of the year. A person
who has read "The Story of Civilization" should be considered a deacon.
A person who has read all of "The Story of Civilization" and the majority
of "The Great Books of the Western World" should be called a Speaker of
Civilization. Study of these matters is not complete without discussion.
Regular discussion of the history and associated great books should be
a part of the church activity. Persons whose opinions in these discussions
are highly regarded might be called Respected Speaker. When starting a
Church of Civilization it is unlikely that anyone will be a qualified Deacon
or Speaker. Start reading with one person acting as Deacon or trading the
job week to week. If this catches on, eventually Speakers may be trained
in Yeshiva like gatherings. There is no requirement to complete this course
of study to be a member of the church. However, reading the Story of Civilization
on a daily basis may have some positive health benefits. Spending an hour
or two every day doing some routine and pleasant task that promotes positive
attitude and thought is good for you, so daily reading of The Story of
Civilization is recommended. For others not willing to do this, some people
may just feel better getting moral and ethical advice from a Speaker of
Civilization than from some other minister of some other church. Though,
a reading room open in the church to those who wish to come and read when
time allows is recommended. A couple of sets of the Bible of Civilization,
and several stuffed chairs and a facility for getting coffee, tea or other
minor refreshments. It is interesting here to note an amusing coincidence.
The third volume of "The Story of Civilization" is "Caesar and Christ".
In the suggested order of reading one will study Rome in March, the month
of Mars, and the rise of Christianity in December, when Christmas occurs.
Of course, both will be read in each month, but the Speaker may choose
to emphasize accordingly. It is a peculiarly appropriate coincidence. Another
amusing coincidence is that the reading begins in January the month of
Janus the two faced god of portals in Ancient Rome. As Janus looked both
inside and outside the door of the home to guard it, so in January the
church studies look at man before and after civilization began. Doubtless,
in a century or two, it will be discovered that "The Story of Civilization"
contains "Bible Prophecies" using the mathematical methods that produced
those prophecies recently. One skeptic site has found such ‘prophecies’
in Moby Dick. More notes on the reading of Durant and the GBWW are
in the Calendar of Civilization.
A couple of more notes on reading the Bible. I am reading "The Life of Greece" for the third time. The first time I just read through, and did not try to comprehend every detail. The second time I read with attention to certain specifics. This time I am reading through with a book of historical maps showing the world in different periods and am able to locate all the places mentioned specifically. This slows down the reading as I am stopping every few paragraphs to locate a place and put it in its relevant location to other places and events, but it adds greatly to the understanding. Geography; rivers, ports, mountains, plains, swamps, etc. is important to understanding historical events. If you are like me and able to just accept the fact that a lot of places and people are strange and not worry about it and get the general drift, then you might just read through as I did the first time, and save later readings for more careful study. If you are bothered by such things you might read the first time through with a map and encyclopedia. Encyclopedias published prior to WWII had a great deal more classical information and biographies than modern ones do.
The GBWW divides into literature and plays, histories, philosophy, mathematics,
science, and medicine. The literature and plays may be read, or watched.
Plays were meant to be watched, and watching Shakespeare is a perfectly
acceptable substitute for reading him. Literature and plays are best
understood in the period that they were either written or describe.
So, each will have two legitimate periods in the year to be read or watched.
History and philosophy belong to the period when they were written or the
period they concern. Thus Gibbon can be read either during the Elizabethan
age or Rome. Math and science works serve as exercise for the mind
and may be studied at any time during the year. Medicine belongs
to its historical period and should be studied cautiously. One would
not want to practice the medicine of Hippocrates or Galen today.
You will find that Durant provides a thumbnail summary of all the authors
of the GBWW, and you will find that you do not always agree with
his assessment of them. This is one of the values of having the modern
historian and the original works to study.
The Creed
of Civilization
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From the discussion of bibles it is possible
to derive an addition to the mission statement of the Church of Civilization.
A religion which provides the opportunity to enjoy all the mental, emotional,
social and physical benefits of religious activity without incorporating
beliefs which are logically, rationally or emotionally offensive, and which
teaches its practitioners the lessons of history.
One more issue is of interest at this juncture. Separation of Church and State is the issue. This was instituted in the US to guard against the Church taking control of the State. The religious controversies at that time in history were sufficient to breed mistrust between members of different religions. It created a real separation of powers in society. The Church taught basic values, the State made laws. In the 20th century there have been some very bad cases where the Church was destroyed, and with it this separation of powers destroyed. In NAZI Germany, Hitler and his in-group intended on eventually replacing the existing religions with a state religion. In Soviet Russia, religion was basically outlawed. In Communist China 33 million Confucians were put to death in the Cultural Revolution. Any power that challenges the state is anathema to a totalitarian state. The moral authority of the Church is a challenge to the State. The Church teaches the Citizens to question the actions of the State. So demagogues and totalitarians destroy the power of existing Churches. One of the main functions of a nonsupernatural Church like the Church of Civilization is to act as a moral and ethical authority independent of the State, and thus help maintain separation of Church and State. As doubts of the existence of God increase, and the power of traditional religions to act as a check on the power of the state decreases, this role becomes more important. The American system was balanced on this separation of powers. The current weak status of the church with respect to the state would have not been anticipated by our founding fathers. Without it, the state becomes the church, and whatever political dogma is current becomes the religion of the land. This is Nazi Germany, Communist China, or fundamentalist Islam all over again.
If one studies the constitutions of Athens, Rome under the Republic, and England as it evolved, it is clear that complex structures with many counters to abuse of powers are the best safeguard of freedom. Dividing powers not combining them best guards freedom.
Looking at the mission statement, it dictates a number of statements about Church Doctrine.
It requires that the Church not incorporate offensive doctrines. This is something of an absolute statement, and of course cannot be accomplished perfectly. Something taught would offend someone. It is doubtful that Creationists will find the study of history pleasant or enjoyable. It is doubtful that literal word of God believers will find the study of history pleasant or enjoyable. History contains a few too many insights into the origins of the Christian Bible to be comfortable to some people. Atheism is offensive to agnostics, as many agnostics maintain that it takes a leap of faith to deny the existence of God as much as it takes one to accept Gods existence. These are all belief systems; Creationism, Literalism, Atheism. Each contradicts another belief system. How do you include all without excluding all? From this paradox the first two lines of the Creed of Civilization.
"The Church of Civilization does not endorse any supernatural beliefs.
The Church of Civilization does not deny any supernatural beliefs."
The Church of Civilization is agnostic on all supernatural questions. Buddha maintained that it was impossible to determine if a Creator God existed. The Church of Civilization imitates Buddha’s example, extending it to all supernatural beliefs; God, Soul, Reincarnation, Demons, etc. The purpose is to create a Church where all can participate regardless of their religious beliefs or lack of them. As far as the Church of Civilization is concerned, a Jew, a Muslim or a Catholic could all be Speakers of Civilization. No renunciation of other faith is required to participate in the Church of Civilization. No declaration of supernatural faith is required to participate in the Church of Civilization. In this the Church imitates Hinduism, which happily incorporates all other religions into their own worship. Buddha and Christ both have been incorporated into Hinduism as Gods. Instead of incorporating Gods, the Church of Civilization refuses to exclude persons. What is required is respect for others opinions. The Church of Civilization is not a place to condemn others supernatural beliefs, or to push your own supernatural beliefs on others. These are not the subjects of Church teachings, discussions, or sermons.
It is also supposed to be a religion teaches its practitioners the lessons of history. This gives the next three lines of the Creed of Civilization.
"We profess the importance of the Lessons of History."
"We profess the importance of the teachings of the Great Men of History."
"We desire to avoid repeating the mistakes
of the past."
The affirmation changes from what the Church does to what the individual does. The first two lines require no personal allegiance from the member. He can be atheist, deist, or whatever. The next lines include personal commitment to the ideas expressed.
It is also supposed to be a religion that provides the opportunity to enjoy all the mental, emotional, social and physical benefits of religious activity. This requires hypothesizing how religious activity stimulates health. It also requires imitating the methods of religion, which hypothetically stimulate health. It is worth noting that according to some studies, people who sit at home and watch televangelists do not receive any health benefits from their religious faith. Those who attend Church services with other people do. Thus, it is probable that the act of getting together in common purpose with others who accept you is one of the healthful aspects of religion.
"We believe in the importance of harmonious association with our fellows."
"We gather to practice harmonious association with our fellows."
Another very possible reason for the health benefits of religious practice is that religion reinforces positive thinking. Believing that some all-powerful God is going to help you get by is bound to help you be positive when things go badly. Positive thinking is faith; prayer focuses it. Setting aside time on a regular basis to promote a positive attitude is one of the main missions of the Church. The Skeptics Dictionary definition of placebo is at http://www.skepdic.com/placebo.html among other things some Doctors believe that the entire effect of drugs like Prozac is due to the placebo effect. While I consider this and some other positions taken by hard line skeptics extreme, it does demonstrate the power of positive thinking. The Skeptical Inquirer has a page on the placebo effect at http://www.csicop.org/si/9701/placebo.html more of the same.
"We believe in the power of positive thinking."
"We profess the power of prayer."
"We have faith in the power of faith."
This aspect of harmonious association and promoting a positive attitude also relates to the agnosticism of the Church. Religious arguments are rarely harmonious and rarely positive. A person attempting to press their belief or nonbelief in God onto other Church members should be gently but firmly reminded that "We gather to practice harmonious association with our fellows" and that while practice does not imply perfection he needs to practice harder.
Darwin’s idea of cultural evolution implies lessons in history that may not be apparent to reason. Let us take an example from the Bible. It includes a clear description of digging a cathole to bury human feces by troops on the march. This is a good sanitary practice, followed by troops in the field today. It could not be scientifically explained in Biblical times. Traditional wisdom contains laws and rules, which experience has shown to be good, but which cannot be explained rationally. This is behavioral wisdom, acquired by cultural evolution. Such traditional wisdom is part of the conservative inheritance of moral teachings of religion. Its existence should be respected. Frequently a culture no more understands how its traditions maintain its existence than a cell understands the process of osmosis by which it survives. Thus, the fact that a rule or value is not easily understood does not render it valueless or mean it should changed.
"We maintain and support those traditional values which are necessary to a civil society."
This covers the issue with a statement broad enough that everyone should be able to accept it. It establishes the point that some traditional values are good, even if not understood. Faddish change to social standards is bad. It leaves the area open for argument, hopefully intelligent argument based on "The Story of Civilization" and "The Great Books of the Western World". These lines together establish the Church of Civilization as a religion, which serves the same social, personal, and cultural purposes as other religions. Of course, it does not pretend to point the way to personal salvation, but many claim that Judaism has no belief in the afterlife or next life either. It is in all things comparable to major and important religions of the world.
This is the Creed of Civilization, nice name, eh?
"The Church of Civilization does not endorse any supernatural beliefs."
"The Church of Civilization does not deny any supernatural beliefs."
"We profess the importance of the Lessons of History."
"We profess the importance of the teachings of the Great Men of History."
"We desire to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past."
"We believe in the importance of harmonious association with our fellows."
"We gather to practice harmonious association with our fellows."
"We believe in the power of positive thinking."
"We profess the power of prayer."
"We have faith in the power of faith."
"We maintain and support those traditional values which are necessary to a civil society."
Below is some discussion of traditional religious values. These are the opinions of the author of this document, not divine revelation.
Traditional Values
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The Golden Rule
This is a good place to talk about human social instincts and how they interact. After long arguments on the topic of ethics with my taking the Darwinian Natural Law side, I have concluded that for general discussion there are three such instincts. They are pecking order behavior, the territorial imperative, and reciprocity. The most important of these is reciprocity. It is expressed as the golden rule, "do not do unto others what you would not have done to you". It is sometimes presented as "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". The second version is practically speaking inferior to the first. When Rabbi Hillel was asked to sum up his religion in a sentence, he gave the first version to the Roman Centurion who asked him. Confucius (Kung Fu Tze) also gave the first version according to Durant. The difference is an important one. The first version prevents you from invading another persons life or space, do not. The second version licenses you to invade another persons life or space (do) if you imagine that you would like someone to do the same for you. The first version is much more practical and less dangerous than the second version. There is no guarantee that what you imagine you would want done is either what the other person wants or would actually be what you want if you were really in his shoes. The second version should be considered as applicable only to really, really good friends and then cautiously. The 'dark' side of the golden rule is, "do unto others as they do unto you". Aristotle and Confucious would support this, but limit it to just and proportional desserts, as would the Old Testament, Jesus set a higher standard practical for saints, superior in some instances for individuals, but impractical for states and law enforcement. Justice is the punitive expression of the Golden Rule or reciprocity. Justice without retribution is not justice and will not satisfy the instinctive needs of the people.
Another application of this principle of the two golden rules the superior and the inferior applies to lawmaking. Laws that say do not do unto others, i.e. laws against theft, murder, rape, assault, are wise laws. Laws which invade other peoples space to tell them how to live for their own good. Laws against drugs, alcohol, homosexuality, other religions, etc. assume a license to invade other peoples personal lives to tell them how to live. These laws are generally historically unwise and they violate one of the other three fundamental human social instincts. This violation of a fundamental human instinct means that people will instinctively disregard such laws as unjust.
The instinct that these laws violate is the territorial imperative. People all feel that they have a certain territory. A right to rule there. Their personal life is generally felt to belong to them. Violate that territorial imperative with a 'moral' law and you create a law which people feel a duty to disobey, simply to assert their dignity as human beings. The territorial imperative is a very important instinct, as it establishes the instinctive, emotional base for the doctrine of natural rights. Natural rights gives everyone a territory that it is just wrong to violate. This resonates with the subconscious and makes the concept strong. The concept is strongest in societies where real territories exist. Thus Aristotle noting that farming communities where each citizen owned his own land, were the second best population for a free republic or state. He rated nomadic peoples as the best, this is sometimes true or false. Nomads own their horses and homes and can leave any laws they disagree with. But they frequently develop into autocratic systems. You should read John Stuart Mills, "On Liberty" for a good dissertation about peoples right to a personal sovereignty over their own lives. It is in the GBWW.
If 'moral' laws violate the territorial imperative and represent an inferior and dangerous version of reciprocity, how are they emotionally appealing enough to get passed. The answer is in the third instinct, pecking order behavior. Every family and tribal group has a dominant male, and he can do anything he wants. This also resonates strongly with human instinct and feeling. There is a natural tendency to try to get this dominant male to force others to do what you think is right. This tendency may be stronger in the female than the male. The behavior of chimpanzees would suggest so. The state takes the place of the dominant male, and those who wish to do so seek to convince the state to regulate the behavior of others according to their wishes. This behavior, playing up to the dominant male to acquire power to dictate to others is pretty much the opposite of real democracy and republican institutions, but it is invariably exercised for the 'good' of the people. Since these laws are supported by one fundamental instinct and violate another fundamental instinct, they are always the source of trouble and generally fail. People simply will not obey laws like this unless they are enforced with a level of force destructive of personal freedom. People will obey laws that make sense in terms of reciprocity, i.e. we all treat each other the same by stopping at red lights and driving when it is green. They will obey laws that make sense in terms of the territorial imperative, i.e. a man's home is his castle. Laws based on pecking order behavior will not be obeyed unless a dominant male or equivalent is constantly flexing his muscles and enforcing them.
Pecking order behavior gives us caste systems, slavery, aristocracy, class systems, and tyrannies. It is the emotional/instinctual opposite of real liberty and freedom. Still, it is an important part of the social fabric, necessary in combat units, and organizational structures. It is just dangerous when people think that the state should act like a dominant male.
The kicker to the golden rule is, if you do something to someone else, you give them a moral, i.e. instinctive emotional license recognized by everyone else instinctively, to do the same to you. Hit someone and you are fair game to be hit, etc. Turnabout is fair play. Societies have all sorts of different levels of fair play. Torture, murder, theft, deceit, etc. have all been considered fair play in one society or another. The universal rule though is, if it is fair for person a to do it to person b, then it is fair for person b to do it to person a. Unless person a is higher in the pecking order, then it is fair for person b to do it to persons c, d, and e, who are below him in the pecking order. So, if in a society of equals, your actions license others to treat you the same way. If a leader, your actions to subordinates license them to treat their subordinates the same way. In either case you must rule your own actions or suffer the consequences of unwise action. Cheap shots may seem clever in the short term, but in the long term they are unwise.
It is important to realize the rules of fair play in the group you are with. Cheating at cards may be accepted until caught. If so, others will not object to someone cheating you, you are a mark until you catch on. In such cases it is alright to cheat them, as they would have done the same to you. No real hard feelings will exist, as it is a fair contest of strength, in this case cleverness, played by the generally accepted rules.
Sound complicated. Human society is. Still, the golden rule can help you to live a good life. If you consistently treat others by a high standard of fairness and ethics they will eventually feel that it is unfair to treat you differently. Thus, it is wrong to shoot medical personnel, as they are there to give aid not shoot others. It feels wrong and unjust.
Life is easier for everyone the higher the standard of ethics observed. So, set a high standard of honesty and fairness for yourself.
Slavery, Class and Caste Systems
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Pecking order behavior establishes a strong instinctive emotional base
for slavery, class and caste systems. After all, in nature someone
is always the boss. If you mess with the boss in nature he will bite
your head off, sometimes literally. So, this behavior prepares human
beings to accept these institutions as a part of their society. Virtually
every society in human history has had a variation of these institutions.
The problem is, as we look at the world today, we find blessed few slave and caste systems surviving in competition with systems where personal and market freedom are protected. Certainly none are doing as well, or acting with the efficiency and strength of a free system.
If slavery is so dad-gum natural, then why do non slave systems outperform and outcompete slave and authoritarian systems?
Let us compare the two systems on a couple of points. In nature the boss wins his place by ability and anyone who wants to is free without legal hindrance to challenge him for the top spot at any time.
In slavery the boss inherits his position or gets it otherwise and makes darn sure by various legal safeguards that if a slave challenges him the slave will suffer for it.
Hmmm, there seems to be a minor differene here. In nature the boss is boss because of ability the subordinate subordinate according to ability. In slave and caste systems the boss is boss because of social factors and the slaves ability is irrelevant and frequently wasted in a position where his talents cannot benefit him or society.
You see, slavery is not natural. The laws limiting lower class people, lower caste people, and slaves from challenging for a higher position in the pecking order do not exist in nature.
They suppress talent and ability and prevent people from contributing as much to society as they otherwise could. Since the talented cannot contribute to society in proportion to their talent, the talents of the population as a whole are underutilized compared to free systems, and slave systems are inferior to free systems in competition.
There is a caveat here. Discipline defeats chaos. Romans while free in many senses were far more disciplined than the barbarians they fought who were freer in some senses. Romans kicked their butt repeatedly despite monster odds against them. You need that old pecking order behavior some of the time, never forget that.
Another problem with slavery and subsistence workers has to do more with economics than natural law. A free market economy requires a market. The larger the market, the more vital the economy the smaller the market the more delicate the economy. For the most viable economy, you need 100% of the population to be able to participate as consumers. Slaves and subsistence workers cannot do this and thus weaken the economy. Pay them more and the money will pass through their hands right back into the hands of the producers, but the overall money flow will be greater fueling more innovation and invention and increasing the rate of creation of real wealth. Slavery and subsistence workers are a disadvantage economically and hinder a society's ability to create new wealth.
Marriage
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Generalizations about human nature, as
all generalizations will meet with exceptions, nonetheless, such generalizations
are possible with some accuracy.
Humans are not naturally monogamous, they are naturally matrilineal. I.E. human families like elephants and mice are naturally centered around the female line and members of the family tend to only have temporary relations outside that line to reproduce.
This is fairly well established,
Durant reaches this basic conclusion in Vol 1 of "The Story of Civilization".
Many tribal peoples in America were matrilinear and the adult male role
model was supplied by the Uncle and not the Father. Montesquieu in
"The Spirit of the Laws" notes that nephews were preferred as hostages
among the Germanic tribes over sons, as the tie of an Uncle to a Nephew
was stronger than that of a Father to a Son. In Egypt, property and
social rank descended from mother to
daughter, and brother consistently married
sister so the male could keep the inheritance. Apparently sisters
found this entirely acceptable.
Women, following their instincts or feelings do not mate for life. The idea of their doing so is artificial, a creation of more complex societies where accumulated property and economic issues made it necessary. It has evolved virtuallly universally in most relatively advanced societies.
Women, following their instincts or feelings
are not the least inclined to be faithful to a single man. This has
been established by
scientific studies that show that women,
leaving their boyfriend and going out alone experience an increase in libido
and sexual interest.
Another scientific study took tee shirts
carrying the scents of various people and had women smell them. The
attractiveness of the scent was related to two variables, the closeness
of the scent in genes which determine resistance to disease, and the pregnancy
or not pregnancy of the woman. Women found the scents of outgroup
males attractive when not
pregnant and unpleasant when pleasant.
Showing that the natural tendency of a woman, once pregnant, is to return
to the matrilineal group.
Society has evolved a lot of methods of maintaining marriage despite the fact that women are not really naturally inclined to it. The purdah or seclusion of women common in Ancient Greece, India, and Islam is one example. Various examples can be found among African tribes, and of course personal behaviors play a role.
Where society does not seclude the woman, an artificial seclusion maintained by the male is a logical natural evolution. The behavior a man attempting to impress a woman with how worthless she was so she would feel dependent and unable to leave him seems common. While in the Navy a lot of the couples I met seemed to display variants of this behavior. It is so common that likening it to possibly mortal physical abuse seems improbable.
What is right? Is marriage wrong because it is not really a natural human behavior? Does marriage injure women? Would the world be a better place if marriage were abolished?
In a natural tribal society, subsistence survival is the business of the day. These are dirt poor desperate societies at the mercy of nature. The matrilineal group is sufficient, no responsibility for the welfare of his own children exists for the man. The Uncle assumes this role and provides the minimal support that males supply in such societies. In hunter gatherer societies 70% of sustenance is supplied by the women who are perfectly capable of getting by without men except for their warrior and sperm donor functions.
As progress is made and wealth is accumulated questions of economic responsibility expand in importance. A man who works to support a child wants to ensure that it is his.
The Uncle is less likely to be willing to support his sisters children, and the husband insists on being sure that his children are supported.
To recreate a natural society we would have to change the rules, have Uncles assume the financial and personal responsibility for their sisters children that husbands now bear. Would that be fair?
Today, liberated women want the best of both worlds, they want the freedom to act on their feelings which lead them to dump men periodically, but they still want the man to assume the same financial responsibility for their children as though they were still living together. Is that fair?
Now as previously mentioned, women do not naturally form lasting relationships with men. Yet marriage has evolved in virtually all relatively complex societies. This provides a logical contradiction. If it is unnatural it should injure not strengthen a society and an institution that injures a society should prevent that society from competing successfully with other societies. So, on the face of it, the widespread existence of marriage is a logical contradiction.
So, let me analyze this. What is
more natural, for the woman to abandon her children for 8 to 16 hours a
day and go to work in a factory or an office, or for a woman to remain
at home and take care of her children. Which state comes closer to duplicating
a natural environment conducive to natural behaviors for the woman and
natural development for the
children?
Clearly marriage, though artificial approaches the natural state more closely. Logical conundrum solved. Because our modern system of employment is even more artificial than marriage, marriage provides a solution to the womans needs for support and ability to rear her children superior to single parenthood.
Satisfying nature is a part of the way to a happy and fulfilling life, regardless of what propaganda about 'womens' rights may say. A lot of women are pretty commonsensical about this, as surveys have shown. 67% of women in one survey would prefer to be stay at home moms if they had the chance. Women were a part of the workforce since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Suffragettes fought for a family wage, a wage large enough to allow the woman to stay home and raise her children without having to get a job, as well as the right to vote. Getting women out of the workforce and back into a more natural home environment was a triumph of womens liberation. Getting them back into the workforce was a triumph of ignorance of history.
It is clear that the majority of women would be happier as stay at home moms in a secure marriage. It is also clear that a large minority of women will be happier in the workforce. How to solve this is not clear.
Marriage does a number of things for women.
1) it supplies them with a man who works to support them. Liberated
women today are dying younger and more often of stress related diseases
than their mothers because of their role in the workforce. 2) It provides
s secure environment for their children. 3) It protects them from the danger
involved in constantly seeking new strange males for companionship. 4)
It reduces the rate of rape, as it reduces the assumption that any female
outside
her matrilineal kinship group is looking
for sex. 5) it reduces the rate of violence in society in general by stabilizing
males who are no longer out there looking for sex.
All of this comes at a price, women controlling their own feelings and instincts and settling for a man who is basically going to be less than perfect.
Liberated women do not believe that this price is worth paying. They believe in fantasies, and have no idea of the realities that marriage helps to protect them from.
Like people who want to revise or annul the Bill of Rights because they do not know what it protects them from, Liberated Women want to mindlessly abolish or change time tested institutions because they do not understand what benefits they confer, they look only at the sacrifices involved in maintaining them.
Marriage is not to be undertaken lightly. Most churches will not marry a couple until they have spent several weeks or several months discussing what marriage is about and realistically facing up to the problems and burdens of marriage. In ancient Israel, Rabbis held that a couple were not married unless the Ketubot (marriage contract) was signed and finished. In Rome, the father had absolute power to slay any member of his family at any time. His wife, his sons, his slaves, it made no difference. His power was absolute. Yet, in the marriage ceremony, he placed his head in a yoke alongside his wife’s showing that they shared the burdens of wedlock together.
The Church of Civilization should insist upon would be couples discussing marriage and its challenges. It should suggest a marriage contract modeled after the Ketubot. Most important, it should hold up the example of the Roman Husband bowing and bearing the yoke alongside his wife as the model of both partners in a marriage. Both should emulate the Roman Husband, who though gifted with the power of life and death, still bowed and accepted the yoke alongside his wife as symbol of matrimony. No real dignity accrues to those who shirk their proper duties.
Conjugal duties have always been a part of marriage. They should be discussed and accepted by those getting married in the Church of Civilization. Using sex as a weapon in marriage is like using nukes to settle a border dispute. It makes both partners miserable. Sex is a physical need. Women who deny their husbands sex for minor reasons will not satisfy this need. This will make them unhappy, and being unhappy they will punish their husbands by denying them sex. This will make them more unhappy. Physiologically, the burden of sexual performance rests on the male. The male’s ability to perform is not as reliable or controllable as the females. When the male is ready to perform the female should take advantage of the opportunity. A female who denies her husband sex when he is ready to perform and attempts to get it when he is unready will be sexually frustrated. The psychological burden of saying yes when unprepared falls on the female as the physiological burden rests on the male. Sex should not be considered a legitimate weapon for use in spousal disputes, and therefore both parties should accept conjugal duties. A dutiful wife can never be raped, as she would never deny her husband sex. Marital rape becomes a null question in a healthy marriage. A person who believes that marital rape is a valid question is a person unprepared to get married. Marriage involves a commitment to live with, and work to satisfy the needs of another person. Persons who are not willing to accept conjugal duties are obviously not ready to make the serious personal commitment involved in marriage. Tell them to live together, or whatever, until they are willing to make a commitment, or not. Marriage is not marriage without conjugal duties. The issue of conjugal duties should be considered an acid test of the couple’s actual willingness to make the commitment required in a marriage.
Promiscuity
Top
It is obvious to everyone today that promiscuity
is a health hazard. It has always been a health hazard. Promiscuity provides
a hospitable environment for STDs. This means that promiscuous societies
have more of a problem with STDs than societies that are not promiscuous.
In terms of health promiscuity is not a good idea.
Promiscuity works for men. A mans value does not change if he goes to bed with one woman or with a thousand women. In fact, the more women who want him, the more desirable he may seem. Look at Captain Kirk. For women the equation is different. Babylon was a society where every woman was required to have sex in the temple for pay at least once in their lives. Herodotus says that never was a society better organized for pleasure. Herodotus also tells us that when Babylon was under siege, the husbands strangled their wives, in order to save food. Some might suggest that the women, inflamed with patriotic fervor, asked to be killed in order to aid the defense. It seems more likely that in a society where sex in every form was commonly available from a hundred sources, the value of women, and of wives, was not great.
There is also the question of how much emotional investment a man can make in a woman. If the woman is promiscuous it is likely that she will dump him eventually. A society where men are routinely dumped by women will be a society in which men cannot afford to make a deep emotional commitment to a woman. Love, life partnership, marital love, simply cannot exist widely or commonly in a promiscuous society. This only applies to a society where promiscuity occurs after marriage. Many societies allow promiscuity prior to marriage and faithfulness afterward.
In the military it has been found that when a tank or other equipment is held in common, no one does the maintenance. When it belongs to a crew, or a person, that crew or person takes pride in it, and takes care of it in a manner to reflect that pride.
If you want someone to take care of you with loving pride you have to belong to that person. Promiscuity is a bad idea. It is bad in terms of health, and in terms of personal relationships.
Filial Piety
Top
One of the fundamental building blocks
of most ancient civilizations was filial piety. The respect of children
for their parents was emphasized in Rome, Greece, China, and in the Ten
Commandments. Children grow up to mirror their parents. If a child sees
his parents disrespecting their parents, chances are when he is old he
will disrespect his parents, in imitation of what he learned as a child.
Like father, like son. It is in the interest of the individual to practice
filial piety, and to encourage it in his children.
Is there any reason why parents should be required to provide support to their children, and children not equally required to provide that support to their parents when old and in need of it? If the laws in this area did not discriminate against the elderly, deadbeat kids would be as big a legal issue as deadbeat dads.
On the other hand, there is birth control. If children are legally seen as a safeguard to care in old age, it will encourage people to have as many children as possible. This is what happened in China. If this attitude is discouraged, and the state provides old age care, then prosperity will destroy the desire for children as it provides more and more diversions for those who might otherwise have become parents. Another point is that no one can afford to provide unlimited medical care. People can be kept alive far past any real being alive. The old must at one point or another be allowed the right to die.
This is an interesting question, and one, which requires much thought. On the balance, though, filial piety is one of the traditional building blocks of civilization. Let me repeat part of the beginning. Children grow up to mirror their parents. If a child sees his parents disrespecting their parents, chances are when he is old he will disrespect his parents, in imitation of what he learned as a child. Like father, like son. It is in the interest of the individual to practice filial piety, and to encourage it in his children. This is another example of the Golden Rule in action. Save that you are doing to others, your parents, as you would have your children do to you. In personal relationships, the positive golden rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, is quite possibly superior to the negative. Do not do unto others. There are two arenas of action here, law and the state and the personal life. Set a good example for your children in how you treat your parents, and insist that they respect your spouse. Do not let them play one parent against another.
Charity
Top
Charity seems to be a natural human instinct.
This appears from the fact that a majority of primitive peoples practice
charity even communistic sharing of goods to one degree or another.
For hunter gatherers, this makes sense. You get lucky today and share
with your neighbor your excess, he gets lucky tomorrow and shares with
you his excess. You have no real means of storing up excess anyway.
Civilization changed all that. The charitable impulse remained, but
so did the impulse to acquire, the need for power, and the ability to accumulate
vast wealth and authority. It is common to speak of the abuse of
greed and power, but it is not common to realize that the Charitable impulse
has been as systematically abused as these. Charity has been the
root of many of the greatest evils in the history of Civilization.
This is not because Charity is bad, it is because the way that Charity
is encouraged and practiced is unnatural and wrong. In nature, you
give Charity freely, not expecting that specific person to return that
specific amount to you in the future, but confidently expecting that when
you are in need others will share with you as you have shared in the past.
This practice survives commonly in many instances today. Your car breaks down and someone else stops, gives you help and refuses payment only requesting that you pass the favor along someday. This is a fine and decent behavior. It is one that should be honored and encouraged.
Still, this is not generally the way that charity is practiced in complex societies. Accumulations of wealth and power become so great that those who receive can never pay back. Charity becomes a one way action. It takes from the wealthy and insults the poor demeaning them as helpless dependents. The wealthy resent and try to oppress, the poor resent and demand more. State or Statelike institutions arise systematizing the distribution of charity as a right. A dependent class good for nothing but rioting in the streets becomes an ever growing burden on the state. Bread and Circuses become the major component of state policy.
Or, Charity is encouraged in other ways, the beggars become professionals, they delight in their cunning in defrauding the simple marks who give to them. They add theft to their bag of tricks, and again society is split into warring camps.
Systematic Charity is a great problem. People desperate and starving are a much greater and more immediate problem. The simple solution, a mistake much repeated in history to to make mistake one to avoid problem two.
A better system is to look at Charity in nature and realize that it was always meant to include the promise that the person who receives charity will return it. Not necessarily to the giver, but to another person when the opportunity arises. If the state must support a portion of the populace, that support should be contingent upon their spending the time they would normally spend working preparing to aid their fellow citizens. This uses the charitable impulse wisely.
As an individual it is better to give than to receive as explained in the Affirmation of Faith, and giving to charitable organizations of a persons choice is encouraged.
Signs
of Civilization
Top
Every church requires an emblem. The Church
of Civilization emblem may vary, but this document should at least propose
one. C O (f inside the O) (C reversed). This could be drawn in a number
of ways; the two C’s striking upwards like the wings of an angel, the C’s
larger than the O, the f inside the O drawn to look vaguely like a cross.
The variations are probably endless.
Hand actions activate parts of the brain not used by the voice. Learning with hands on training has advantages over book learning. Moving your hands when doing something gives it greater psychological impact. It is possible that the action of making the sign of the Cross or other similar actions in religious ceremonies increases their placebo effect by engaging more of the brain in the actions. In imitation of this the Church of Civilization should have a hand gesture to make like the Cross. Looking at the two C’s and tracing them in the air produces a horizontal figure 8. A horizontal figure 8 is the mathematical symbol for infinity. So, this makes a nice piece of serendipity. The infinity symbol becomes the cross of the Church of Civilization. This is meant for the hand sign, and does not totally replace the C O (f inside the O) (C reversed) that was the start and is quite appropriate for banners and other graphic emblems.
It is interesting or, dare I say it, titillating, to think of female members wearing T-shirts with the C Of reversed C on the chest.
The symbol of infinity, drawn as two C’s one reversed connected by glowing lines might be another very nice symbol of the Church of Civilization.
Stations of Civilization
In another of those interesting coincidences that have typified my
work on this document, there are implicitly 14 stages or stations in the
Calendar of Civilization. The first 9 months see 11 volumes, then
the first three volumes are used over, making a total of 14. Catholicism
has 14 stations of the cross, and you will sometimes see them illustrated
on the walls of Catholic Churches. This was unintentional, but it
does provide a theme for decorating a Church of Civilization. Though
choosing which subject from each volume to be illustrated in turn would
make for a fascinating choice, and will lead to some variation between
churches.
It is worth noting that the absence of ornament can speak as plainly to the heart as its presence. Simplicity can be as powerful as complexity. It depends on the individual and the congregation.
The
Calendar of Civilization
Top
Sermonology a
collection of notes in another html document listing suggestions for sermons
in chronological order as you proceed through the year and the Stations
of Civiliation
January
February
Valentine's (Penelope's) Day
The Feast of the Chestnut Mare
March
April
May
Tolerance Day
June
July
Independence Day
August
September
Labor Day
October
Columbus Day
Halloween
November
Archimedes Day
December
Christmas
The order of reading each volume and teaching the weekly lesson or sermon from the appropriate order will give a certain character to each month. As a general rule, the subject of each volume may suggest changes in Church decor and costume, giving flavor and meaning to each month as it passes. This regularity of the seasons, and the sense of order and reassurance it brings is one of the noted benefits of religion for many persons. Reading may be considered to include viewing when it comes to plays. The Church may want to show movies once a week in order with the Calendar to illuminate events as they occurred. Showing Shakespeares plays about Greece and Rome when reading about Greece and Rome, "Romeo and Juliet" and "The Merchant of Venice" would occur during 'The Age of Faith' or possibly 'The Renaissance". A brief discussion of the source that Shakespeare used for the tales, the historical events of the period concerned, and any glaring innaccuracies might be appropriate, then serve the popcorn and roll the film. Such a movie night is not necessarily limited to film versions of the GBWW. The Three Musketeers could be played during 'The Age of Louis the Fourteenth" or "The Age of Voltaire". Dinosaur films could be played in the first week of January or so, etc. Have fun.
Top Calendar
January will have
a lot of variety. It is the oldest volume, and thus probably is the most
at variance with modern opinion. This is not necessarily a bad thing as
a lot of modern opinion is highly questionable. Still, it will have factual
errors. These should be pointed out as a lesson in humility, in understanding
the limits of our understanding, and thus in treating others who disagree
with us with respect. Tolerance on the basis of the limits of human understanding.
It emphasizes the difference between the Church of Civilization and other
religions, as the Church does not claim divine revelation, or infallibility.
As it looks at people in primitive societies, lessons about the basics
of human impulse and nature are appropriate. October is the same volume.
Because it covers the transition from tribal man to civilized man, it is
a good month for the Affirmation of Responsibility discussed later. But
so is the birthdate of the person undergoing the Affirmation. The covering
of Ancient Civilizations, Egypt, Japan, India China, etc. during this month
will give it a special flavor and feel. This volume is also appropriate
for the Affirmation of Welcome for adult members joining the Church. This
part of the year should focus on the transition from uncivilized to civilized
societies. October should focus on the contributions of other cultures
like China to world civilization.
Top Calendar
February covers
classical Greece and Old Testament Israel. Ethics, politics, and the origins
of much of our society today. Great Books for February include GBWW volumes
4) Homer, 5) The Greek Playwrights, 6) Herodotus and Thucydides, 7) Plato,
8&9) Aristotle, and 10) Hippocrates and Galen. Volume 11 is Euclid,
Archimedes, Appollonius and Nichomachus. These are mathematical works to
be studied all year around by those interested in sharpening their minds.
Volume 14 is Plutarch’s Lives, and while he lived under Rome he was Greek,
and his biographies cover persons from volumes 2 and 3 of Durant. Ergo
he is useful in february, march, november and december. The Old Testament
is appropriate for this month as well.
Top Calendar
Valentine's (Penelope's) Day
Penelope was the wife of Odysseus called Ullyses in latin. While
he was lost for years trying to return from the siege of Troy, she remained
faithful to him. Though beset with suitors who tried to make her
forsake him she refused. The legend is that she told them she would
choose a new husband after finishing the tapestry she was working on.
She would work on it during the day, and unravel her work by night to keep
from having to choose. A nice story for Valentine's Day. This
was the first holiday I set in place, and the rest of the calendar was
unplanned, but coming as it does here, it resonates well with the rest
of the Calendar. Keeping the seasonal emphasis of the rest of the
calendar, Penelope is the earth, Odysseus the sun, and his absence the
winter. Penelope is in the winter of her life, i.e. a period of desperation
and depression. Beset by problems, the suitors, she keeps the faith
that her husband will return. In this sense, Penelope is, EveryPerson
in the dark winter of their lives. Her winter begins with a single
problem, her husbands absence, but soon, as it seems to happen to most
of us her problems multiply, as symbolized by the horde of suitors.
Her hopes seem slim, likely to be destroyed by her problems, even as the
suitors plan on killing her son. Then Odysseus returns, the suitors
are slain, as are the fair weather friends, the maids who partied with
the suitors, and all turns out (rather gorily) well. A nice tale
of faith rewarded.
Fasting periods are again a constant in most religions. As noted in the Affirmation of Right Desire, fasting is a technique of taking control of oneself, such control leads to a greater sense of control of ones life. Fasting has also been shown to lengthen average life spans. The question is, should the Church mandate a fast, or leave the technique just under the Affirmation of Right Desire as totally voluntary? Or should the Church suggest a fast but not mandate it?
This position in the calendar seems like a good one holiday wise. 1) It comes between Penelope's day and the festival of the Chestnut Mare. In Penelope's day we have a reminder of the need of keeping faith when in the winter of our lives, and in The Festival of the Chestnut Mare we celebrate the beginning of the end of humanity's winter of superstition with the end of human sacrifice as reason triumphs over superstition. The Fast ends in Feast. It gives a symbolic meaning to what is otherwise just an exercise in self control. It also provides a period when a lot of Church members will be doing the same thing and thus be able to support each other. Fasting is a good symbol of the deprivation of winter and fits right in here. It also relates to Thanskgiving, when we give thanks for what reason and science have provided. A fast here, in the last part of winter reminds us that before agriculture and food storage, primitive man could easily starve at this time of year. It is a way of remembering how reason and science have made life better for humanity.
On the other hand. Days are short, the weather is cold and fasting could reinforce depression. Fattier foods might be helpful in providing calories to warm the body. These are good reasons not to make the fast mandatory.
There are many varieties of fast. Not eating during daylight as in Ramadan, not eating meat as in Lent, etc. Any of these might well serve the purpose, and quite possibly, the choice of fast should be as individual as the choice of whether or not to fast. I think this should be seen as a window of opportunity to subordinate ones normal passions and behaviors to ones will, but that the choice of exactly how to do so should be individual. Of course, a fast following the traditional American calorie binge during the holidays is probably a good idea.
Top Calendar
The Feast of the
Chestnut Mare
(Sadly, as this holiday
celebrates the triumph of reason over human superstition in the end of
human sacrifice, it is inevitable that some silly people will take this
as an attack on Christianity, an attempt to invalidate Jesus sacrifice
on the Cross. While the Church does not affirm Jesus as Son of God,
or salvation through his sacrifice, this holiday has nothing to do with
that. If you accept Jesus, consider this. It was not God who demanded
Jesus sacrifice on the Cross. God sacrificed Jesus to save mankind.
Man did not sacrifice Jesus to God. It was people like you who would
not accept Gods loving and forgiving nature without such a dramatic passion
play. So, God sacrificed Jesus to your arrogance, your pride, and
your inability to attribute to God more forgiveness and love than you yourselves
possessed. You wouldn't have believed in His love otherwise.
Assuming that you believe in God and Jesus, of course. This holiday
is about God or the Gods not needing us to sacrifice humans to them, not
about God sacrificing his Son to our stupidity and arrogance. This
is addresseed only to those likely to attack the Church of Civilization
over this holiday.)
1) This idea is appropriate to February.
The first reading should come from Durants description of the religion
of Homeric Greece. Showing that human sacrifice was still practiced. The
next two readings will come from the great books. One from Plutarchs life
of Pelopidas and the other from the Old Testament. The abolition of human
sacrifice can be considered one of the milestones on the road to civilization.
In the Life of Pelopidas the story of how Pelopidas was told in a dream
to sacrifice a chestnut haired virgin before a battle and how a chestnut
mare appeared miraculously to satisfy the requirement without a human sacrifice
is told. In the Old Testament the story of how Abraham was told to sacrifice
his son and a ram miraculously appeared to satisfy the required sacrifice
without human blood is told. Both teach that God or Zeus does not require
human sacrifice. This is the lesson, one of the lessons of history. Pelopidas
goes on to defeat the Spartans considered undefeatable in battle up to
this point brilliantly showing that human sacrifice was not required. This
is a sub-lesson of a general theme of Speaking of Civilization, that being
that we are all born barbarians and only by education and attention to
the lessons of history can we become civilized persons. There is a second
moral here, the story of Abraham and Isaac is misused these days to teach
mindless obedience as a virtue. This is not what it meant at the time it
originated as such sacrifices were commonplace no unusual faith would have
been required for a father to sacrifice his son it was commonplace. This
shows how some churches have twisted their scriptures to mean things they
do not to promote their authority over their congregations. It is worthwhile
and important for Speakers to compare the great books and show lessons
like this, but attacking other churches is not the idea of the Church of
Civilization, so while this error may be legitimately pointed out it should
not be emphasized. Instead the role of other Churches in maintaining traditional
values should be mentioned as an aid to helping people be civilized. This
might be celebrated as an annual feast instead of a sermon. Presidents
day falls late in February, it might be a good day for the occassion.
Taste and smell trigger memory strongly, so providing a cake with chestnut
frosting in the shape of a horse to be cut up to memorialize the occasion
of mankinds turning away from human sacrifice would be appropriate.
As the seasons are then beginning to change from the darkness of winter
to the dawn of spring, it is an appropriate time of the year for this feast.
Turning from the darkness of human sacrifice to the light of greater humanity
to others.
Euripedes did an excellent play about Agamemnon
sacrificing his daughter for a favorable wind. It could be presented
as part of the festival, followed by a play showing the Greeks debating
human sacrifice before their battle, a chestnut haired girl wondering what
will happen next, and the arrival of the chestnut mare. A passion
play extolling the victory of civilization over barbarism.
Top Calendar
March covers Rome
and the beginnings of Christianity. Probably Rome should be emphasized
in March and Christianity in December when the volume is covered again.
In March the GBWW volumes are 12) Lucretius, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius
13) Virgil, 14) Plutarch again, 15) Tacitus Volume 16) holds Ptolemy, Copernicus
and Kepler, it is astronomy, and shows the evolution of astronomical knowledge.
It will probably not play a major role in the sermonology of the church.
Volume 17) Plotinus belongs here as well. The New Testament belongs here.
Top Calendar
April will cover all
of "The Age of Faith and 1/3 of "The Renaissance". April covers the dark
ages of Europe and the Golden age of Islam. It is a good time for teaching
respect for other religions as demonstrated by the high degree of learning
of Islam compared to Europe in this period. The death of this learning
due to religious fundamentalism in Islam is also an important lesson. The
GBWW volumes here are 18) Augustine, 19&20) Thomas Aquinas, and 21)
Dante. Here also belong the Koran, and various philosophers and scientists
of Islams Golden Age. With The Renaissance, you move into a volume devoted
to Italy. Volume 23) Machiavelli.
May covers 2/3 of Renaissance
and 2/3 Reformation.
Top Calendar
When the Renaissance ends, the Reformation
begins. This part of the year will be a favorite with Atheists in the congregation,
as it is a dark and terrible period, full of religious hatred and persecution.
Let it show the importance of tolerance and understanding. The only GBWW
from this period is volume 24) Rabelais. This is a pair of racy novels
depicting earthy humor and corrupt humanity, none of the works of the religious
leaders of the religious wars of the Reformation were found to have contributed
anything to the literature of the world or civilization worthy of inclusion
in the GBWW . There is a Sermon in that fact alone. Shakespeares
plays "Romeo and Juliet" and "The Merchant of Venice" fall into this period.
There are noted on the origin of the Story of "Romeo and Juliet" on pages
15 and 698 of "The Renaissance". The struggle between the "Montagues
and Capulets" is an extension of the historical struggle between the Popes
and the Holy Roman Emperors, Guelfs and Ghibellines that began in the previous
volume.
Tolerance Day
Top
During this month will come the story
of a man who started out as a promising Catholic, converted to Lutheranism,
and then drowned in the sea of hatred died miserable and alone saying he
didn't want to be either a Catholic or Lutheran, only a Christian.
The story is on pages 893 and 894 of the Reformation. It is a supremely
sad story, and one that should be remembered, as tolerance is a great value.
Servetus was burnt at the stake by Calvin for being a Unitarian at this
period as well. As there is no author but Rabelais in the GBWW from
this period, readings from John Lockes essay "On Tolerance" might be appropriate.
This could be combined with Memorial day, emphasizing religious and other
tolerance as one of the values our veterans fought and died for, or not,
whichever seems more appropriate and respectful. One of the things
Durant notes is "that horrible certainty" which justified the various sects
in burning each other to death in the name of their beliefs. Let
us on this day remark that the church is are pleased to not be THAT certain
about anything.
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June will cover 1/3
Reformation and all of Volume 7 "The Age of Reason Begins". After the Reformation
the Age of Reason begins. Here we see the beginnings of our modern intellectual
world. The GBWW here begin with volume 25. Montaigne, he lived a while
under the reformation, during the religious wars in France, and past them.
His book is superficially devout and deeply sceptical. There is probably
material for a lot of sermons in his Essays. Volumes 26&27 are Shakespeare,
good time for a play. Shakespeare actually can be used most of the year
as his plays are placed in various times and countries. Volume 28 belongs
here as well, it is Gilbert, Galileo and Harvey. These are scientific works
again, of academic interest for following the development of science, but
probably not that vital to sermonology. The stories of the men, their struggles
and persecutions, especially Galileo may provide some good sermons. Volume
29. Cervantes will provide good reading for the children and plentiful
material on human nature. Volume 30 is Francis Bacon. Some consider him
the father of modern science. Bacons discussion of the idols of the mind
from the Novum Organon are as relevant today as the day he wrote them.
Volume 31 contains Descarte (I think therefore I am (cogito ergo sum))
and Spinoza. Descarte falls in the Age of Reason Begins. Dumas story,
"The Three Musketeers" falls under Volume 7. Dumas was very proud
of the historical basis of his work. In fact he once challenged someone
to a duel for challenging it. D'Artagnan is still alive when Louis
14 comes to the throne and is the officer of the Musketeers that Louis
has arrest a crooked financier. This is mentioned on page 19 of vol.
8. Dumas story "20 years after" would probably fall under vol 8.
Dumas history is based on historical records, but the French court was
notorious for slanders, lies, and prejudice. In one of Dumas works
a historical figure will be a dastardly villan, in another the same figure
will be a tragic hero. It depends on whose version of 'history' Dumas
was writing from. Dumas historical fiction can be considered to be
fairly accurate reflections of the conspiracy theories of the time.
It is worth noting for a black pride moment that Dumas was 1/4 black.
Dumas father was half black and such a successful general that Napoleon
had him executed as a possible threat to his power. Alexander Pushkin
of Russia has a similar background.
Sermons:
Page 564 last paragraph ending on page
565 and including the first sentence of the first paragraph beginning on
that page is a reading detailing the death of Gustavus Adolphus in the
30 years war. It starts, "Meanwhile Gustavus took the field and defeated
Tilly at rain;" and ends, "Thereafter, greatness left the war." Another
reading begins on page 567, last paragraph, beginning, " Thousands of fertile
acres were left untilled for lack of men," and ending on page 568 with,
"at Zweibrucken a woman confessed to having eaten her child". Another
reading begins on page, 569 first paragraph, beginning, "Delays were caused
by questions of safe-conducts and protocol." ending with "meanwhile men
were going to their death in war." These paragraphs admirably demonstrate
the glory, horror, and vanity of war, and should be capable of inspiring
some great sermons. Lessons that strike me from reading 1 is the nobility
of persons on both sides. If you look at the pictures of Wallenstein
and Gustavus, they look so much alike they could be brothers. Both
are heroic commanders. Both fighting in what can be considered a
worthy cause, both with practical political as well as idealist motives.
You should read the entire section before speaking from these readings
to have the context clearly in mind. If Gustavus had lost, we might
be subject today to something like the Spanish Inquisition, denied
religious freedom or freedom of thought. Yet, his victory prolonged
a war that Wallenstein had almost won and created the continued horrors
of the second reading. This illustrates another lesson. It
has frequently been said that the most unjust peace is better than the
most just war. The horrors of civil war especially are ugly beyond
belief. When a soldier fights to preserve an existing system, he
is fighting for the peace and well being of order, for his people.
When a soldier fights to change a corrupt system he is fighting also for
the good of his people. In civil strife there are always noble and
decent men on both sides. The third passage illustrates the arrogance
and pride and vanity of princes and ambassadors too often the cause of
war and its continuance. These readings could make up the basis for
three sermons or one depending on the Speakers choice. There are
a lot more in this volume, but these are powerful.
Page 575, Durant leaves the horrors of
the 30 years war to look at scientific progress. The first two paragraphs
summarize superstition, ending with "The world is (every so often) coming
to an end." A good basis for a sermon. Later this section describes
the burning of tens or hundreds of thousands in witch hunts. Another
good basis for a sermon. Then it moves on to the heroes of the beginning
of the age of reason. One of these heroes discussed in the section
on England earlier in the volume is Sir Francis Bacon. In the GBWW,
his works are listed, and you will find a great many wonderful paragraphs
in "The Advancement of Learning", some of these paragraphs will serve to
illustrate the evils of superstion. Others common errors of ancient
scholars, and others the virtues and values of learning. Book 1 is
great and almost every paragraph is worthy of a sermon.
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July will cover all
of Volume 8, "The Age of Louis the XIV", an appropriate month for the Sun
king. It will continue with 1/3 of "The Age of Voltaire". This is highly
symbolic, the absolute dictatorship of the King of France advanced and
maintained by Richelieu may be compared to the sun beating down in July
and burning all it touches. A nice allegory of the evils of excess power.
I love these coincidences. Spinoza of volume 31 GBWW belongs here his Ethics
makes it into virtually every collection of great books. Volume 32 is Milton,
volume 33 is Pascal. Here we find a return to religion. Volume 34 is Newton
and Huygens, great scientific works. Newton left thousands of pages
of alchemical works behind, all useless to modern science. A lesson
here is that you cannot reject a persons teachings or thought just because
you find fault with part of them. John Locke of Volume 35 also belongs
here along with George Berkely. Jonathan Swift of volume 36 is split between
this and the next volume.
Independence
(Freedom) Day
It is an amusing coincidence that when
we study one of the great absolute monarchs of history we also celebrate
Independence Day. While the American State Papers do not belong here
under normal order, they should be used here for the Church picnic or celebration
of this holiday. Quotations of the bad things old Louis did are also
appropriate.
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August will cover
2/3 of "The Age of Voltaire" and 2/3 "Rousseau and Revolution". David Hume
of volume 35 belongs here. Laurence Sterne belongs here under the Age of
Voltaire. It should be noted that Voltaire and Roussea lived in the same
period and knew one another. So there is overlap in these volumes of the
GBWW as well. Henry Fielding’s novel "Tom Jones" belongs here as well volume
37 of the GBWW. Montesquieu’s "The Spirit of the Laws" belongs here. He
bridges from the age of Louis the 14th to Voltaire. His book was one of
the most important books on government in history. You will find him quoted
in "The Federalist".
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September will
cover 1/3 "Rousseau and Revolution" and all of "The Age of Napoleon". This
will be a controversial period in the Church Calendar, because the French
Revolution is covered in detail here. It is an atheist Revolution and under
the Terror, atheists become just as bloody and inhumane as Christians during
the Reformation. It foreshadows the genocide under atheist doctrines in
the Soviet Union and Communist China. Even Atheists should focus on tolerance.
Volume 39 of the GBWW is "The Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith, it belongs
here, though again Adam Smiths life overlaps the previous volume. Edward
Gibbons "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" belongs here, but may be
used with volume 3 as it covers the Roman Empire he is volumes 40 and 41
of the GBWW Emmanual Kant in volume 42 belongs here as well. Volume 43,
American State papers and The Federalist belongs here as well. Volume 44,
Boswell’s life of Johnson belongs here as well. Rousseaus works are in
volume 38 GBWW with Montesquieu. Volume 45, Lavoisier, Fourier and Faraday
belong in these two volumes, but again these are historical scientific
works, worth reading to develop an understanding of how science developed,
the sermonology here is seeing how knowledge advances step by step.
Pointing out the fact that even the greatest scientific minds in history
made mistakes can help regular people accept their own failings and the
failings of others. Volume 46, Hegel and volume 47 Goethe belong here as
well. Obscure philosophy and a great play.
Labor Day
It is another amusing coincidence that
Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" comes up in the month of Labor Day.
It is quite appropriate, as Mr. Smith was well aware of the dangers of
allowing the wealthy to dominate society and warned against it in "The
Wealth of Nations" there are appropriate quotations from him available
to celebrate this holiday.
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The remainder of the GBWW were written
after the period of history covered by Durant. John Stuart Mill in volume
43 belongs there with American State Papers. His "On Liberty" would be
appropriate for July 4. The other volumes may be used as appropriate. Note,
none of this is written in stone, and this listing is based on the 1952
version of GBWW, not the most recent which has seen some authors and titles
change. The Speaker is not limited to these books, but may choose others
in appropriate periods as he deems right. If there is ever a Senate
of Civilization as proposed below, the Church of Civilization will probably
develop a set of Great Books tailored with it in mind.
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October covers volume
1 again. Emphasis here might be more on the Civilizations of India, China,
Japan, etc, and in January focus might be on primitive peoples.
Columbus Day
On the month when we once more explore
the entire world we encounter the Great Explorer and Discover Columbus.
After thinking about the suggestion for a Halloween Party below, it occured
to me that a horribly politically correct Church day was highly appropriate
here. In "Our Oriental Heritage" Durant finishes with a couple of
paragraphs showing all the gifts to civilization that originated outside
of Europe. Having a religious service where children dressed in costume
step up and recite the gifts they give to Civilization would be cute, educational,
appropriate, and disgustingly politically correct. Oh well, nothing
is perfect. I still think it would be a good way to observe Columbus
Day.
Halloween
This is a great month for Halloween to
occur. A party where people dress up as persons famous or not from
the various ancient and oriental civilizations would be great. Egyptians,
Assyrians, Babylonians, Hindus, Chinese, Japanese, etc.
It occurs to me that some of the costumes, if historically accurate, mught be quite licentious. Many of these cultures had women going topless. This could lead to accusations of impropriety by other religions. The obvious answer to such criticisms is that Catholicism has its Carnivale, why shouldn't we?
Most religions have a day or festival in which normal rules are relaxed. Possibly such a festival might be a good idea. The Catholic Carnivale appears to have evolved accidentally from Lent, but the universality of such festivals suggests that they serve some purpose. This might be a good time for such a festival.
Amusingly, Halloween is traditionally the night when the dead come back from their graves to haunt the living. In a costume ball such as this, we are remembering the dead civilizations of the past.
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November volume
2. Ancient Greece. Here we emphasize the beginnings of science and
philosophy instead of the transition from uncivilized to civilized.
Archimedes
Day
This should be commemorated with readings
from Durant showing the great powers of the Ancient World backing down
from Rome. Then, the story from Plutarch of Romes siege of Syracuse
when the Romans faced the mind of Aristotle and became too terrfied to
approach the walls. It ends with Archimedes death, but it is a great
story about the power of intellect and science. The idea is to emphasize
the importance of science and knowledge. This could be done on Thanksgiving
day giving thanks for the blessings of science and rational thought or
on another day as appropriate. As the traditional story goes, the
Indians taught the Pilgrims how to grow maize, beans and squash, and this
new knowledge let them survive. Ergo, it is highly appropriate for
Archimedes days emphasis on the value of learning and science. See
the discussion of Jesus Day in December for more on this. At the
Thanksgiving Feast you can give thanks to science and reason for what they
provide.
It is neat to think of kids learning math and basic mechanics of levers, etc. on this day. The siege of Syracuse by Rome is an exciting theme, and introducing models of the engines used would be a great basis for teaching fundamental principles.
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December volume
3. Here we cover Rome and Early Christianity. Focus on the the birth of
Christianity is appropriate for this month.
Christmas (The
Festival of Lights and Faith)
There is nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas. Jesus was
a great and gentle teacher. His life and death changed the world
forever. His teachings are worthy of study and are included in the
commentaries read by the Church of Civilization. So, celebrate Christmas
as Christmas or Jesus Day.
Jesus is a delicate issue for the Church of Civilization. (Please note, the Creed was composed months before these paragraphs, please read it first) The Creed of Civilization states quite clearly that the Church does not affirm any supernatural beliefs. So the Church cannot affirm Jesus as the Son of God, as the Lamb which washes away the sins of the world, as a sacrifice by God for our salvation, or even as a path to salvation. In a proper attitude of humility, as a Church which does not claim any divine revelation, the Church does not deny these things either. This being the case, can the Church just ignore Jesus. Well, the Creed of Civilization says, "We profess the importance of the Lessons of History." That being the case we can hardly ignore Christianity, as one of the most powerful movements in history it must have some lessons to teach. Some of them are taught during the Reformation and on Tolerance Day, but a movement this strong must have some strengths to emulate as well as faults to criticize. The Creed of Civilization also says, "We profess the importance of the teachings of the Great Men of History." If you look at his impact on history, Jesus must be considered one of the Great Men of History. So, we not only cannot ignore him, we must place an appropriate importance on his teachings. What is there about Jesus that the Church can Affirm? The Creed of Civilization says, "We have faith in the power of faith.". Some might take issue with this, but it is unarguable on a scientific basis. The Placebo effect, i.e. the effect of belief or faith is so strong and pervasive that expensive and time consuming steps must be taken to eliminate it from various experiments and tests. Now, some will say that Jesus death on the cross proves the meaninglessness of faith. Well, Archimedes who relied on mathematics was also killed by the Romans. We do our best, as Archimedes did when fortifying Syracuse. When the hard times hit, we hold tight to faith. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Neither Archimedes or Jesus influence was ended by death. Archimedes became an icon long remembered of the power of the human intellect, and Jesus of the power of faith. The story of Jesus is a witness to the power of faith, and the history of Christianity is a witness to the power of faith. We can affirm Jesus as a personification of the power of faith, as we affirm Archimedes as a personification of the power of math and science. This issue of faith is one of the fundamental issues of the Church. Science shows the power of faith to heal, science is showing how a religious life style increases health and longevity. One of the fundamental purposes of the Church is to provide these benefits to reasonable people who have a hard time with some of the beliefs of other Churchs. You cannot have the benefits of faith without affirming it, and Jesus life and teachings make a powerful affirmation of the power of faith. If you look at Archimedes as symbolic of pure reason, and Jesus as symbolic of faith, then the Church is about joining the two together. Uniting reason with faith as reason increasingly shows the benefits of faith in life. A picture of Archimedes embracing or clasping hands with Jesus would be a powerful symbolic statement of this principle. In many ways it graphically expresses the purpose of the church, providing a positive, faith affirming life style for rational persons like sceptics, agnostics, and atheists. While we are here, let us bring Sir Isaac Newton into the picture. Archimedes was devoted to pure reason. He felt that its application to physical tasks was beneath its dignity. Jesus was a man of pure faith. Faith works in ways not clear to reason. It is difficult for reason to be reconciled with faith. We do it by inductive reasoning. We observe the facts and they induce a hypothetical relationship in our minds. Newton said that he did not hypothesize, in this he followed "The New Organon" of Sir Francis Bacon. He meant he reasoned inductively from observed facts instead of deductively from assumed premisses. He was one of the first real icons of the inductive or modern scientific method. Aristotle came close in Classical Greece, but not that close. A picture of Archimedes united with Jesus while Newton as the symbol of inductive thought or the scientific method reconciling the two, looks on and smiles would summarize graphically the attitude of the Church to faith. So, the Church affirms Jesus as a great teacher of the value of faith in life.
Now it is popular to point out that Jesus was not born in December and other factual errors in the Christmas story. This is true, but let us not let irrelevant facts interfere with relevant realities. Christmas was not originally a Christian Festival, the Romans celebrated a festival to Jupiter with gift giving at this time of year. The winter solstice is emotionally a serious time of year. Short days and cold temperatures breed depression. Societies evolve celebrations to meet their needs. Society needs a festive celebration that emphasizes positive attitude or faith on the winter solstice. Chronic depression at this time of year is a major social problem, and a Church needs to be proactive, reaching out with a positive message and a reminder that all is not lost now above all. It is right and appropriate to put Jesus day with its emphasis on faith at this time of year. Let us put this in context with Archimedes day. In Archimedes day we are grateful for what science and reason have provided. Occurring as it does at the end of traditional harvest, it shows the role of reason in preparing for the foreseen needs of the future. Reason has done its part. In the cold and darkness of winter, it is a time for faith, for confident belief in the future. Just as you need faith in this time of short days and cold weather that the spring will come, so you need faith in the dark and depressing days of your own life that a personal spring will arrive. Because of its psychological realities, i.e. chronic depression at this time of year, and because of its symbolic realities as being akin to tough times in life, this is the right time for a festival that emphasizes the power of faith and hope. The power which Jesus personifies as Archimedes personifies reason. These are the messages for Jesus day, and hopefully members of the Church, when they hit the cold winters of their personal lives will remember them and hold tight to their faith in faith itself. None of this is meant to diminish Jesus other teachings of mercy, brotherly love, etc. These are also worthwhile.
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New Years Eve. A discussion of dating
systems came up recently on a Libertarian forum. I thought one of
the ideas was quite good. The suggestion was to add 10,000 years
to the current date to mark the beginning of the current interglacial period.
It has a lot of elegance, as it does not require actually changing modern
dates. The year 2001 becomes the year 12001. What it does do
is put our world into a bigger context. It shows the major climactic
changes which can effect our lives. It also dates the development
of civilization. There is little doubt that our current civilizations
developed after the glaciers receded. So, it might be amusing to
have a Church of Civilization dating system based on this. Call it
DC for the Dawn of Civilization and make the new year 12,001 DC.
It is appropriate as we will look at early man in January, and tribal man,
and the glaciations. It is also appropriate in relevance to the Feast
of the Chestnut Mare when we anticipate the end of winter with a festival
celebrating the dawn of a more humane civilization with the end of human
sacrifice, and it resonates with Jesus day when we emphasis the need of
faith in the cold days of winter and the cold days of our personal lives.
This is not precise of course, no single event 12,001 years ago can be
cited as marking the Dawn of Civilization, it is just an interesting idea.
The 20th century is mirrored in the Story
of Civilization in a subtle way. The way each volume is written changes
slightly as the tumultous history of the 20th century influences the writers.
The events of WWII have a major impact and this can be discussed based
on readings of the different volumes.
Prayers
and Ceremonies (Affirmations)
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Not all of the Church’s missions are easily
integrated. It must deal with teaching the lessons of history. Most lessons
are negative, and can promote negative expectations. It must also promote
positive feelings. Other churches do this by incorporating the sermon into
a generally uplifting routine called a ceremony. The Church of Civilization
will imitate this method, as an effective means of focusing the mind on
being positive and producing that uplift towards optimism and positive
thought desired by the mission statement. This imitates the attitude of
Confucius towards religious ceremonies. Confucius was even more agnostic
in his teachings than Buddha. He emphasized filial piety and religious
ceremony for their practical importance to society. The Church of Civilization
emphasizes traditional values and religious ceremony for their practical
importance to society and church members.
The Church of Civilization is a church which combines Buddha’s attitude towards the existence of God, the Hindu attitude towards difference in religious belief, the Confucian attitude towards tradition and ceremony, with the Jewish love of learning and respect for scholarship. This is the answer to the question of what the church is about, if anybody asks. This Church of Civilization sounds very respectable.
In practice it is very close to Judaism. It has a ministry similar to a Rabbinate. It has a large assortment of books in which the first three volumes of "The Story of Civilization" are emphasized by being reviewed twice a year as the Torah the first five books of the Old Testament are emphasized in Judaism. Like Judaism it has a large selection of works by great sages of the past to illuminate these histories. In spirit it is really Confucian, largely concerned with practical matters and the maintenance of a civil society. Judaism can be very practical in this fashion as well.
Church
Services (Affirmations)
Top
Naturally the Church will require ceremonies
for regular services, marriages, etc. It is not the purpose of this document
to lay out everything in words carved in stone. These examples are only
examples and others are invited to add to them.
Affirmation of Faith and Communal
Meals
Affirmation of Welcome
Affirmation of Responsibility
Affirmations of Right Desire
Private
Light of Faith
and Healing
Prayer at Meals
Sleeping
Om
Public
Affirmation of Union (Marriage)
Affirmation of Respect and Good Will
Affirmation (Recognition) of Speakerhood
Basic Service the Affirmation of Faith
The concept of a daily/weekly service raises the question of when is the Sabbath? The Moslem Sabbath is Friday, the Jewish Sabbath is Saturday, and the Christian Sabbath is Sunday. One thought would be to use Saturday as the Sabbath, this would make it easier for Christians to attend 'Civilized' services if they wanted to. It would discriminate against Jews and some other denominations. All things considered it is probably best to go with the flow. Hold the major, weekly Affirmation of Faith on Sunday. Fit in with the rest of society with a minimum of friction.
Any church member may officiate at the Affirmation of Faith, and it may be held daily. During daily services, the sermon can be basically abbreviated or left out. The Affirmation is meant to be a placebo booster, an aid to positive thinking and attitude. Writing and delivering sermons is a fair amount of work, and 7 full length sermons a week are not necessary. It is highly advisable that a person doing the reading for deaconhood or to become a speaker should officiate when a sermon is to be given. Why would anyone listen to anyone else? Other affirmations have specific responsibilities associated with them which should not be taken lightly and therefore they cannot be performed by someone not officially filling the role of a speaker, whether that person is an acting deacon, a deacon or a speaker. Affirmations of right desire have legally depending on circumstances the confidentiality of the confessional. Affirmations of union are legal unions with legal ramifications. Etc.
This service is modeled after classic Christian services. There is no reason why any other model ceremonies should not be used. Like the Catholic Mass, this should be attended weekly, but may be attended daily. The purpose of this service is to promote calm confidence and positive attitude. After a few months thought, I would like to recommend this basic service a little more strongly. Anthropology and Evolution include a concept called climax design. I first ran across it in a book on Native American Cultures along the Mississippi, or some such. In a discussion of moccassins it noted that the design had reached a climax for function and that after that all changes had been cosmetic and tended to inhibit function. Cockroaches and sharks are two examples of climax design in nature. The order of the Mass or service below is an old one. It reached pretty much this same form hundreds of years before Christ in Egyptian Alexandria where Greek, Egyptian, and Hebrew cultures mixed. It is basically the same in Judaism, Catholicism, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, and Episcopalian churches. Something that lasts that long with only minor changes can be considered a climax in the evolution of that kind of thing. Ergo, the ceremony presented below may be considered very well designed by evolution to do what it does. It traditionally includes incense. The use of aromatherapy has left the crank medical field and entered economics. Malls and stores provide chosen aromas to promote a positive attitude, which promotes confidence, which promotes spending. The use of appropriate scents, pot pourri, incense, etc. is therefore encouraged to help trigger the positive attitude this ceremony is meant to promote.
First Action: The Procession opening HymnSweet Hour of Prayer might be appropriate
The procession signals the congregation that the service is about to begin. The Speaker and deacons enter and proceed to the altar or stage at the front of the church. Music is appropriate. Symbols are also appropriate. A flag or banner displaying the Sign of Civilization carried in the procession and placed at the altar is a good example of such a symbol.
Second Action: Gathering Hymn
The congregation sings a hymn. Sonny and Chers ‘Got You Babe’ comes to mind, though other music as appropriate or to the taste of the Speaker, Choir, and Congregation may be appropriate. Most hymns are pretty standard in melody and words and can be adapted to an agnostic service by substituting placebo for lord, faith for faith, etc. This hymn, the act of singing together helps the mood and promotes the sense of community and association that is one of the main aims of church attendance. Other songs that come to mind are "Don't Worry, Be Happy" and "Accentuate the Positive". Faith of Our Parents is possibly appropriate.
Third Action: Signing In
The Speaker signs the infinity sign and says, ‘ May your placebo be strong, and your nocebo be weak or entirely gone.’
The congregation responds, ‘and yours also’.
The congregation makes the infinity sign,
the sign of the Church of Civilization.
Fourth Action: Opening prayer: the Creed of Civilization.
"The Church of Civilization does not endorse any supernatural beliefs."
"The Church of Civilization does not deny any supernatural beliefs."
"We profess the importance of the Lessons of History."
"We profess the importance of the teachings of the Great Men of History."
"We desire to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past."
"We believe in the importance of harmonious association with our fellows."
"We gather to practice harmonious association with our fellows."
"We believe in the power of positive thinking."
"We profess the power of prayer."
"We have faith in the power of faith."
"We maintain and support those traditional values which are necessary to a civil society."
Fifth Action: 1st Reading:
A selected passage from ‘The Story of Civilization’ volume for that month, or applicable commentaries is read. This is one of three such readings, chosen by the Speaker to support a common theme, one of the lessons of history, which he will expound in his homily or sermon. The Deacons, the Speaker or a member of the Congregation m
