Getting impression we are doing this wrong

I have been on this planet awhile. Not overly long, shorter by far than others, but still long enough to have seen five decades and counting. In that time I have found myself studying people more than anything else. I have studied a bit of history, psychology, sociology,  anthropology, and yes, even theology. I am getting the impression we are doing this wrong.
There was a zinger joke that went something like this: questioner to victim, “Speaking strictly as an outside, what is your opinion of the human race?” The objective was to make someone who was already emotionally and socially unstable even more so to the mirth of others around the victim of the zinger.

In my quiet observances of people, I have many times felt quite like the outsider looking in, observing others. On the one hand it makes one get identified as the quiet, nerdy one in the corner just watching everyone; on the other hand it makes everyone wary of the quiet guy just staring. I think at times I have been all three: the nerd, the creepy staring guy, and the one being wary of other creepy staring guys or nerds.

As an observer and participant in life, and an ever-student, I think we are doing this life wrong. I am coming to the conclusion that in our pursuits of everything – glitz, glam, power, the easy life – that we may have missed the point of being here.

The anthropology purists will point out that Man is just a part of the total mechanism of cosmology. Hmm.

The sociology purists will point out it is an ever evolving dynamic of experiences defining the human condition; nothing static, everything dynamic.

The psychology purist will point to the state of the individual, that external forces do not matter as much as how we respond to those external forces and internalize that knowledge. It is an inward focus mostly.

The theology purist … well there are so many versions, so many directions, how is one to know? The theology purist mainy focuses on the dynamic of the relationship of Man toward Deity; and the do’s and don’t’s of that relationship. Almost all of them either give you rules to follow to get there or tell you up front you have no chance but if you do theses things you will gain favor … maybe. Even among Christian theologists it sounds “do” oriented when it is supposed to be “gift not works” oriented.

Religion is bothersome to me.

So how are we getting it wrong? Here is my theory.

First, we are not alone. We are not a cosmic-chemical happenstance. There is too much science and math pointing to otherwise. So if we are not alone, what?

Second, history shows us there is a generational passing of the task. Parents make babies. Parents show babies how to live in this world. Babies grow up. Parents grow old. Babies become parents. Old parents die. Young parents take over.

What do they take over?

My ancestors – the aboriginal Americans and Euro-Kelts – had this idea that they never owned the land. For the most part they had a responsibility to their tribe/clan/family and to the land; to tend it, care for it, cultivate it, to let it cycle through its patterns. In most people groups this was case. You can still find this mindset among aboriginal tribes that have had very little first or second world exposure.

The generational task passed along is maintenance of the one habitable planet we can reach: Earth.

The third thing may not be so obvious. We live in an intentionally flawed ecosystem. The system requires constant vigilance or there are catastrophic difficulties. In example, of my aboriginal American ancesters very few of them lived in fixed structures. Why? Rains could make floods. Move the houses higher than the floods when it rained. And, the food would move with the seasons. Move with the food. It is the Europeans and the Africans that moved to America that have the most issues with flooding.

It is that third thing that bothered me the most; that thing that got me to thinking. It is as if the system was designed to cause Man to identify and solve problems. Which is my point exactly. Man is here intentionally and intentionally given an ecosystem that has so many variables and pieces that do not quite fit nicely that it requires Man to problem solve … and the first solution in this multi-variable equation requires Man working together. Without which no variation to the equation works.

We are doing this wrong.

I realize, too, from history, that people like me are rounded up, re-educated, or removed. But, at least I got it out of my system once.

We are doing this wrong. Governments tend to drive upwards those who think they know better than those they govern how best the governed should live and at what cost to the governed. The miss here is we are all humans, therefore supposedly equal but sociologically not. Some prefer bread and circuses, others doling out the bread and circuses. Look it up. You will find out what it means.

Patriarchs and matriarchs became chieftains who became lords who became monarchs who became dictators who became presidents who became masters over people groups. Some are content to be the face while others prefer to be the power behind the face. Others still worship the face or the power and become slaves by their hearts.

Rather than work together to better the only habitable planet we can reach, Man draws lines on paper or computer screens and wars over resources, imagined slights, simple greed, or more simply, power over another.

We are doing this wrong.

Rather than working with the limited planetary resources available to us as a culture, resources are squandered and destroyed willy-nilly for lust, for avarice, for simple greed.

One would think that there should be enough archeaologic evidence to show social, anthropologic, and psychologic misuses of people and real assets are not good. One would think that except history shows us ignorance in the majority is easily manipulated by knowledge in the minority. Appease the ignorant, tell them this is their only lot in life, and 99% will allow it to happen and help surpress the 1% who balk.

Now in the area of theology the greatest abuses of humanity occur daily. Those in power or those so guilty of their own shortcomings and in power manipulate religion to keep the masses humble and vassals to the religion. You see, everyone knows there is “something” greater than themselves. Those in religious power drive fear of loss of favor with that deity to control and manipulate them into religious slaves. Sad but obvious if one steps back and looks.

I can almost hear someone saying, “Well, that’s why I don’t do that religious thing.” Sad, your lot is the biggest victim of religious zealotry. By your adamant separation you make yourself at odds with Man. You are gods to yourself, needing no one until you do and then there is no one there.

My concern is that the one who set this all in motion will arrive expecting a verdent planet teeming with all kinds of flora and fauna and a people group working together to manage faithfully this little planet in the vastness of the Universe only to find deserts, warring factions, extinct flora and fauna, depleted natural resources, and nothing like the garden handed over at the dawning of Man.

The so called Christian Church is not exempt. Many preach there is a rapture – pull the ripcord and escape out of this hell hole. Sorry. You should have read that book for yourself instead of blindly accepting anything the person at the podium said. The rapture is not an escape clause. It is the start of something new in the Earth. You should go study that some more.

Note: Christians should build everything to last 1000 years, at least.

There are Christian preachers that teach escapism and it’s all on God. He’s in control. I sure do wish they would read that Bible instead of just homilize from it. My reading of that book shows He gave the Earth to Man to manage and took it back after the cross to resurrection experience. Man is kind of in trouble there.

We are doing this wrong.

This world requires problem solvers. This world requires participative, cooperative management. This world requires an accounting of how we managed our affairs. We have spent so much time on acquisitions, on retributions, on making great moments out of misapplied focus, on distractions from truth, on the appearance of power or the actual manipulation of power. We as a people group have basically done it wrong.

The Christian apologist will say at this point that the objective since Jesus’advent was to preach the “gospel” to all the world as a witness and to make disciples of all men. Well, that is almost right. Jesus said go give the good news to all Man – they do not have to be separate from God (YHWH Elohim) any more. Make disciples of them by teaching them everything Jesus commanded. And, do what God said do.

God did not say anywhere near what has been attributed to Him. Nor did He make all these requirements to follow. Why can it not be just as simple as Jesus said it should be? What Jesus did is enough for you to have a relationship with God. The rest of that add-on stuff is Man’s nonsense.

So, until we as a people group put aside chasing power, offense, and greed and start chasing cooperative management of our ecology, we are wrong and missing the mark for why we are here.

We are here to work together and manage our asset, Earth, then pass on that task to the next generation. Everything else is selfish distraction.