POINTS AT ISSUE 1. ON RESPONSIBILITY FOR OTHER SAPIENT LIFE In their development of scientific and technical knowledge, humans have increasingly speculated on the existence of advanced extraterrestrial civilizations. To date, however, there has been no definitive sign of their presence. 2. CHRIST AS AGENT OF EARTH EVOLUTION While much is said about Christ as the Son of God in scriptural analysis, there is little attention paid to his calling himself Son of Man. Yet there must have been an express purpose to this aspect of his teaching. The most obvious meaning of it, considering the nature of his mission to men, appears to be that he thought himself a scion of our civilization and its mentor in evolution. It also very likely signifies that he knew himself to be the most advanced, hence loving member of the race of men. 3. ON BRAIN DEVELOPMENT IN GROWING CHILDREN Studies on cognitive growth in children have shown that childhood is a time of crucial brain structure and brain function development which is dependent on cerebral stimulation. Children deprived of such stimulation grow up mentally stunted, that is, incapable of performing well intellectually. 4. CHILDREN AND NATURAL BEAUTY Children from the time of infancy should be exposed to natural beauty. It should be pointed out to them and praised as wondrous essence of well-being. They should learn to appreciate flowers and trees as well as small animals and should be able to name at least the most well-known varieties by the time they turn five. They should get to know the beauty of the skies and basic facts of astronomy. If possible, they should be taken to zoos, botanical gardens and scenic parks, or beautiful landscapes away from cities. Children who do not have these experiences grow up culturally deprived, and often feel that they are missing something vital in life. They should come to love all that is unspoilt around them. This applies to boys and girls alike. 5. ON CHRONIC ILLNESS Most people who have serious chronic illness, especially for long periods of time, not only suffer pain or other discomfort, but lack the strength to work as healthy people do. This is a great deprivation for those who would like to be useful and productive. It is hard to accept that one is unable to contribute what others seem to accomplish without excessive difficulty.
In order to attain to full maturity and an integrated, complete world-view, human beings must get to know the brunt of problems besetting their civilization. Since these problems are in general dire and very difficult to resolve, we must make a conscious and concerted effort not to succumb to melancholy and despondent discouragement. This effort is part of the daily mental hygiene we must practice to remain functional, productive, and, in the ultimate sense, happy.
People who have functional impairment of the legs or walk on prostheses using a cane have a hard time in cities where there are no lights or stop-signs at minor intersections. They have to walk at a slow pace across through streets and risk being run over by speeding cars, especially those which pass other vehicles that have stopped to let the crippled pedestrian cross. In advanced countries where traffic is heaviest there should be electric stop lights at minor crossings which can be turned on by the crippled pedestrian with enough time allowed to permit slow crossing.
There are many ways of risking one's life. Few of them are morally defensible. In fact, the only instance when it becomes moral to court death is trying to save the life of another.
There is no recognition in our race that if extraterrestrials have evolved to a state of being which allows for space travel or deep space communication they should be pacifist, highly enlightened and loving Beings. Anything less would constitute a poor prognosis for their survival with a cataclysmic outcome likely. 10. ON CHILDREN AND PETS Most children like pets, and are very happy to cuddle them and play with them. Unfortunately, many pets are expensive to keep for an individual family and we as ecumenical humanists need to spend money on the welfare of human beings. We can keep only inexpensive animals such as small fish or birds. These pets have the advantage that children can help in their daily upkeep and in doing so observe them and learn about them. From imitating adults children can come to respect and love these small creatures. Thus pets can teach children how to be nurturing and responsible. 11. ON INNER DEPTH It is incumbent on us as sapient beings to arrive as we develop at inner depth. To do this we must learn to inquire into the totality of circumstance around us and process what we find into a coherent whole. That is, we must seek to effect a thoroughgoing adjustment between our inner selves and our lot. At the root of this adjustment must be a conscious assessment of our ongoing life and our ultimate death. We must also understand these fundamental realities in relation to other humans, proximate and distant. Only then can we see ourselves as beings who grasp their total situation and their role in it. Without this developed inner depth we would remain shallow and, ultimately, base, having squandered our existential Stewardship on trivial, senseless machinations. 12. ON WORLD EVOLUTION BEGINNINGS We have said that the civilization's evolution necessitates an extended role of world government so that problems outside the scope of individual nations can be successfully dealt with. In order to prepare for this functional extension there must be a global effort made for recruiting and training experts who would make such an attainment a reality. It should be noted that there are already many institutions worldwide featuring expertise in international relations and jurisprudence. Therefore we have a fitting beginning for an effort of this kind given our existent world polity. 13. THE MYTH OF ADAM AND EVE The Adam and Eve myth of antiquity was possibly contrived by the high priests of primitives at the dawn of history as a bid for power over the populace. It could have arisen because the priests forbade people access to the knowledge that led to better conditions. The people rebelled, the rebellion ending in defeat and expulsion of the rebels from “ Paradise”. At a later time, the Adam and Eve myth was spread by the priests, using fear of God and “original sin“ to keep the population in check. Thus the priests laid the blame for the expulsion on Eve and Adam, and depicted God as a fearsome entity in order to consolidate their power. It should be stressed that if this is true, it must have had a most adverse effect which people suffer from to this day. The concept that taking the “apple” from the “tree of wisdom” was expressly against the will of God (the original sin) is completely contrary to the evolution of the race of man, wherein men (and women) are to develop knowledge in order to serve as Stewards of their Civilization in the spirit of love for each other and the Race. 14. ON BRINGING UP CHILDREN TO BE BRAVE Small children should not be required to be brave. Bravery in ordinary kinds of pain should start at around age five. At about age six it should be explained to children that they ought to go to their care-giver in case of any difficulty that makes them want to weep. They should be taught that this is the really brave thing to do, especially when they feel ashamed or afraid because they are convinced that they have done something improper. It must be stressed to them that they should say everything completely truthfully and try not to weep while they are doing it. The matter of their concern should be addressed reasonably and, if feasible, gently. If they have done something wrong, they should apologize and offer to do any reparations. If they are blameless they should be comforted. In all of this it should be emphasized that they are being brave and deserve praise for their bravery. 15. ON THE FATE OF OUR CIVILIZATION Few people on Earth take it upon themselves to consider the fate of our Civilization. We have information from very reliable, scientific, medical or ecological sources that consistently and with great insistence tell us that we are imperiled by global warming caused by polluting emissions from our physical plant into the atmosphere, by deforestation over unacceptably huge areas of our tree-stand, by poisoning of our waterways and previously arable lands, by wars and disease, by natural disasters and by nuclear proliferation which holds us on the brink of global catastrophe. Yet most of us go on, blindly confident that we are not seeing all we know to an untimely end. Obviously, our danger is of apocalyptic dimensions, and if we scoff at the word “apocalyptic” we are risking doom in the most foolhardy way. We have to stand up to the real truth of our fate and internalize its portent, living with it every day and every moment until nothing is left but doing everything we can to reverse it and render failsafe our World, and all Mankind. |