Tonight my heart feels heavy. My dismay at the status quo is so strong. Taking things to their logical conclusions, there is just no way that I can have what I want in this life and very likely, in any sort of afterlife that may follow. In many ways, I can’t help but feel like some tragic figure, fated to either fall despite standing on principle, or at best, destined for a Pyrrhic victory that costs me my identity, values and integrity. I feel intellectually, spiritually and emotionally pushed into a Faustian bargain.
On most things, I tend to agree with crowdsourcing answers. Many studies show that, across a wide range of situations, the wisdom of crowds produces better overall judgments than any one individual is likely to make. Nonetheless, it does not mean that they are better at judging all things. Mob mentality is an example of when this can go awry. However, I want to go after groupthink directly.
For those unaware, Merriam Webster’s dictionary says, “groupthink a pattern of thought characterized by self-deception, forced manufacture of consent, and conformity to group values and ethics”. I think that school bullying might be the best example of groupthink. Someone acts a bit different, does not necessarily dress like the rest of the students and then someone else decides to start bullying them. In principle, all students will agree that causing another student is wrong; especially if they’re generally a good classmate. Yet, once a bully decides to enforce a norm, other students will often remain silent instead of speaking up. Or worse, they may join in, despite not initially believing that the nonconformist had done anything wrong, simply to fit in and maintain their place in the social order. So at the end, violence is justified against an otherwise good person due to ideas about how others should look or behave.
In Sunday school, Christians are taught to share and love everyone. Yet, somewhere along the way, those messages have become warped by greed, closed-mindedness and intolerance. I get that people have different views about how society should function, how wealth should be distributed, and how others should conduct themselves. Nonetheless, when superficial preferences become justification for withholding help and allowing harm to befall good people, I believe that those with such ability should re-evaluate whether they are truly good people themselves or if they’re just another form of the very hatred they supposedly stand against.
When I read the bible, I not only read it just assuming that God influenced its contents but also that the historical era also played a role on the various perspectives. Back then, slaves, people of color and women were viewed quite differently than most modern Christians see them. (at least, you hope that is actually the case). So even before there was an Old Testament which was good for that time period. Then, it too needed updating. Thus, the New Testament came along and undid some of the guidance that was said for God’s people to follow. I don’t think that is controversial among Christians.
Now, I’m not saying that some of the Old Testament stuff wasn’t good for its time. Some principles still hold up even today. The same can be said for the New Testament. Okay, so now it’s about 2000 years since the last update. Now bare in mind that the bible was not literally written by God but by those influenced and guided by Him. Nonetheless, for most characters except the members of the Holy Trinity, all fell short, just like us humans today. Now, given the influence of the bible, it of course has gone on to influence things that are considered right and wrong in modern westernized society. However, the world they lived in is vastly different than the one we find ourselves in now.
As such, I find it difficult to not question some of the supposed right and wrong things found in the bible as someone who is also flawed but also believe I am influenced by God. After all, he is said to live in all of us. I kinda feel like the Mormons, despite some disagreements I have with them about biblical interpretation, had the right idea in the concept of continuing revelation. For those unfamiliar, continuing revelation is the belief that God continues to provide guidance, allowing doctrine and practice to develop over time. To argue that God doesn’t provide guidance and changes due to an evolving psychological and sociological environment seems to go counter to even creation.
A substantial amount of evidence shows that Earth is billions of years old and that all forms of life on the planet slowly adapted itself to the ever changing environment around it. I do not think that humans are the exception to this. From increased exposure to synthetic chemicals and the rise of urban living to the internet’s creation of an interconnected humanity and major shifts in how people understand one another, being human today is objectively and profoundly different from what it was even 200 years ago, much less 2000 years ago. Thus, I have a hard time following all the principles that the ancestors had back then. And I have some strong opinions about how they lived back then too.
I think one must judge one not just according to a historical set of documents but relative to the biopsychosocialeconomic environment that each person is a part of. And I’m sure in 2000 years, some of my views will seem antiquated. I would not expect someone deep in the future in a whole different type of existence to follow the set of principles that worked for me during my unique point in history. Not to say that they should toss out the baby with the bathwater as there are quite a few good morals I think I have wrote about.
This entry may seem unusual and somewhat vague. If so, it’s because the intended audience is for the ancestors and anyone that has any authority in heaven; assuming a Christian angle. I have only wanted your love; as have most of God’s past and present children. Love your neighbor as yourself is supposed to be the second greatest commandment. If you pass judgment on those that do not live like you, who do not dress like you, but are otherwise following God’s commandments, you are actually in violation of a much greater law than anyone within the LGBTQ+ community as being in it is not even forbidden in the 10 commandments nor is it a major point of emphasis. You know what is in the bible over and over again, LOVE.
John 13:34–35: Jesus commands his followers to love one another as he loved them. Romans 15:7: “Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.”