I refuse to lose my religion, either. Belief diversity is as desirable as
species diversity, and it is self-contradictory to oppose one while
supporting the other (not to mention hypocritical and ethically and
morally bankrupt). Joe
>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat Nov 21 19:25:29 1998
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1998 15:27:59 +1200
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Chris King)
Subject: ecosystemic wisdom and systemic beliefs
Ecosystemic wisdom:
Arriving at an appreciation for the diversity of nature and the subjective
through exchanging the diversity of our experience of the living world and
its ecosystems. This has immense potential do throw wide open the new
living epoch to the ecofeminst vision of sociobiology and nature, healing
patriarchal dominion in one liberation. All things are possible here -
even a participatory role for 'God the father' in visionary democracy,
along with atheism, shamanism, Wicca the Tao and so on - creative artistic
celebration of our cultural diversity in weaving the immortal genetic
garment.
Systemic belief:
Fixed ideas re-enforced by affirmative indoctrination, regardless of their
natural or scientific validity, or otherwise, when exposed to peer
scrutiny. Characteristic of this is repeating the same formula again and
again until intellectual resistance becomes exhausted, e.g. by repeat
postings.
Angela makes a brave effort here to fudge the two together, but what we
find is a thin veil for rampant systemic belief. Double-think of the
classical Orwellian sort:
>A harmful belief regarding spirituality for example would be a man asserting
>dominion over a woman because God is a white male and so is he and therefore,
>he can treat her anyway he wants! WRONG - he has an obligation to treat that
>woman as he would himself and as an equal heir to a life of grace - never had
>he the right to treat her wrong - But because of a religious upbringing -
>where the God as father (not to be mistaken as God as male/lover -
>woman/hater) was not taught properly.
Implications: God is the father regardless of the social injustices this
twisted belief has caused and regardless of the epoch of dominion over
woman and nature caused by this systemic belief. The excuse: God the father
has not been taught properly - i.e. the systemic belief has not been
effective enough at covering the contradictions and reinforcing the
systemic order.
>Also, the teachings that God created us as hopeless sinning, animal hating
>>creatures - should be retaught in that God created us as worthy of
>goodness
This is getting warm. Original virtue is the key here. The human limbic
system has evolved to experience true love as well as expedient greed. We
have evolved to be capable of love, so original virtue lies within us.
However this runs completely counter to Angela's own Catholic systemic
belief structure, because as we know Augustine pronounced original sin. He
went so far as to claim original sin was why we can't control our sexual
arousal as a simple act of will. This would however abrogate the
essentiality of reproduction to evolution. Neither can we fully control our
bowels, but that is not sinful - rather natural. Yogis might say otherwise
to both of these, but the point is clear. Angela is here expressing a
radical heresy, although she hasn't figured it out yet.
The key point here is this however - Angela is inserting yet another dogma
of systemic belief - that all goodness comes because the (father) God
created us as worthy of goodness. Once we go down this road we are back to
square one - systemic belief in the father. The facts are that the limbic
emotional system represents a type of universal algorithm which
collectively relieves some of the insensitivity of tooth and claw in
emotional responsiveness.
It would be delightful if Angela could gradually find her way into the
ecosystemic Wisdom of diversity and escape the bondage of fixed systemic
belief she uses to paper over the cracks of living reality. I am
optimistic and patient, but it is going to take some honesty.
love, Chris.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Chaos is the Mother of Invention - Necessity the Offspring
_____________________________________________________________________________
Chris KING, Phone: 0064-9-3737599 # 8818
Senior Lecturer Mathematics Fax: 0064-9-3737457
University of Auckland E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Private Bag 92019
AUCKLAND, New Zealand.
http://matu1.math.auckland.ac.nz/~king/Preprints/book/genesis.htm
"Genesis of Eden" - Alta Vista Search
