France and Germany had been considered the most enlightened of countries in Europe. They were the leaders in science and reason. They were the hotbed of philosophical discussions of theism, deism and atheism. Nietzsche preached that there was “no ultimate meaning or value and human beings had no business offering an indulgent alternative in God.” He proclaimed the birth of a new Superman, an enlightened, powerful man, who would declare war upon old Christian values. For me, this constellation of beliefs: no ultimate meaning or value; man capable of perfecting himself; an enlightened powerful Superman, combined with science and the death of God, led to the greatest century of atrocity in history. Worshipping science without some restraints led to the pseudo –science of hitler’s Germany, a country populated with intellectuals, philosophers and scientists, a country steeped in the revelations of the Enlightenment. It was in this environment that humans were able to manipulate the meaning of being human and those who did not fit the paradigm were fodder for the furnaces. along with all the other trash.
I fear new-age philosophers and philosophies whose first act is to remove God from our culture. I am suggesting that it is dangerous to throw away 3500 years of ethical monotheism, one God and the Judeo-Christian ethic for a new round of Romanticism that takes us back to nature. It was quite clear that the Judeo-Christian ethic was anathema to the instructors and they decided for all of us enrolled in that programme that God would not be part of our discussion on religion and spirituality. Not only that, they made no effort to teach us about the religions and traditions of others who might access this facility, including Aboriginals, and those of the Muslim, Sikh and Hindu faiths. A skewed view of inclusion and accommodation had taken hold. Belief in God was not included in the ideology of inclusiveness. Instead the facilitators of the programme imposed meditation, deep breathing and shared feelings as the definition of spirituality. One size fits all.
If Moses, Hillel, Jesus or St. Augustine were here, today, they would not recognize the meaning or purpose of Spirituality as described by the newest spiritual gurus of the month. And they would be shocked by the lack of respect accorded to ethical monotheism and the Judeo-Christian ethic in 21st century western culture.
This was the point I realized that I had taken for granted that the morals, values and teachings of ethical monotheism would always be part of Western culture; especially here in this small rural village. And I am not alone. As a society we inherited a magnificent gift from our ancestors and then put it in a drawer, and seemingly forgot about it. The time has come to open the drawer, reclaim the gift and polish it for the present. Almost forty years ago, philosopher, George Steiner warned about being urged “to give up the proud image of homo sapiens-man the knower, man the hunter of knowledge-and go over to that enchanting vision-homo -ludens, which means, quite simply, man, the player of games, man the relaxed, the intuitive, the pastoral being.” There is danger in this philosophy of “I feel, therefore I know,” because it lacks the importance of understanding the need to acquire knowledge through critical thinking.
Religion and Spirituality are not meant to be understood only through feelings. They bloom in a climate of reason, rationality and study. The words in the Bible first speak to our minds and then touch our souls. I believe that ethical monotheism, the belief in one God and the Judeo-Christian ethic, a system of morals and values that have been practiced for more than 3500 years must be reclaimed from the pastiche of these new-age philosophies if we are to continue to live in a democracy that remains open to all. Hermann Cohen taught; revelation is the creation of reason.
Needless to say, I was not invited to be a volunteer at the hospice. I was told that I would not understand the needs of the people in care. I wasn’t properly grounded; in what, I don’t know. I was at first shocked, hurt, then upset. I admit that I had been so excited about volunteering as the in-house chaplain it never occurred to me that I would not be accepted. There is a dearth of hospital trained chaplains, especially ones who want to volunteer. It seemed so odd that someone with my background would be turned away. Getting beyond the hubris, I realized that I was angry that people with no respect for God would label me inappropriate to care for people in spiritual crisis; that I would not understand their needs. They seemed to believe that I might impose my views on God on the people in hospice care. These were the same people who imposed their views on us. I had fallen down the rabbit hole. This book is a journal of my rediscovery and reclamation of the culture that was given to us, in our care, to pass on to those who follow.
