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February 15, 2007
Grandfather Q&A: Part Five
Tim McGarry asks: ""Peter, how would your life have been different, if you had not been a person of faith? If you were to suddenly lose your faith, how would your life change? I'm particularly interested in your view of the extent to which your values and conception of right and wrong depend on belief in God and life after death."
To your first question I don't think it's possible to give a rational answer. If I were not me but somebody else how could I even guess what I'd believe or how I'd act?
On the second, I'm not sure whether it is possible for me to suddenly lose my faith but I imagine that if I had some dramatic physical accident resulting in brain damage I might lose any part of the contents of my mind, including faith. If belief in the divine nature of Jesus Christ were no longer to be part of my mindset or if belief in the reality of God were to vanish, I think there would be two notable changes in my life. I presume I would stop praying for other people or for anything else. Since my main form of prayer is contemplative, I might continue to do the next best thing and simply indulge in meditation. I don't suppose I could continue to attend the worship of the Church, though I just might for solidarity's sake. It is possible that I might join the Quakers, since they have no formal creed and believe, as I do already, in the great humanist principle that we should never do anything wilfully to hurt anyone.except where to do so is demonstrably in the other person's interest, such as is often the case for a surgeon.
I think I might be able to continue my life guided by the principle that I should as far as possible conform my life to the pattern of unconditional love towards everyone, which is the most obvious characteristic of Jesus Christ.
As for my values and ethics, I doubt if NOW my belief in God and in life after death make a great deal of difference but then I'm not yet a Saint. I like the answer to that question given by Coventry Patmore. He said: "The Saint does exactly the same things as any other decent person would do, only slightly better and with a totally different motive." The totally different motive is of course the intention to be as far as is humanly possible one with God.
Matthew King asks: "As a British man, What do you see for America in the next 100 years?"
I have two utterly different ideas about where America will be going in the next 100 years. One of these is optimistic the other quite the reverse. I think I must start from the general perception of the USA that is held by most non-Americans. This is quite simple: whereas America was respected, admired and even loved a generation ago, now it is the most hated country in the world. Once America was a power for good. The general respect dropped quite a bit during the last 20 years or so, revived slightly over the events of 9/11 but very quickly went from bad to much worse with the ridiculous war on terror, which has turned your country from being the great peace-loving and peace-making nation into the biggest enemy of freedom and peace. America is certainly feared. We never know what country is going to be the next to be bombed because it's behaved badly or against American interests. This is all the general perception among those I know in this and other countries. So the pessimistic forecast is that people who think like George Bush will continue to hold the reins of power. America will forge for herself a great empire - almost as great as the one we Brits acquired in the 19th century. Just as we did your leaders will sincerely believe that they rule for the benefit of the nations they conquer. Sooner or later the lesson will be learned but if it isn't we shall face the doomsday scenario of widespread nuclear war. But climate change is already pointing us in the same direction.
The optimistic alternative is that the next administration will be of the calibre of some of your great presidents of the past and will actually behave - as was promised by your government and ours - according to the provisions of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and start on a prompt destruction and abandonment of your nuclear arsenal. There will be a massive increase in taxation of those who can afford to pay it, a real effort to eradicate poverty in the US first of all and then in the rest of the world. Global warming will be taken so seriously that cars with high carbon emission will be taxed out of existence. There will come to be a true acceptance of the finite limits of the earth's resources and a greater desire to take only a fair proportion of them. No oil should be imported into what is in fact an oil-rich USA.
I can't see ALL of this happening in a hurry but I do think much of it is possible. Much of my negative criticism applies equally to our own leaders. That doesn't matter so much from the world's point of view because relatively few people now look to us for help or guidance. America is undoubtedly the mightiest nation on earth and it could become the greatest. I hope and pray that it does.
Peter Graham
Posted by LYT at February 15, 2007 10:28 PM [Message Board]
Comments
Very thoughtful answers. Many thanks, Peter (and Luke).
Posted by: Tim McGarry at February 16, 2007 7:57 AM