Re-Visioning "Things": Part 3

Things as Objects + Earthly Things as Worthless = Death

Both Newtonian and Christian views of things still influence us Westerners today. Regardless of modern scientific developments like quantum physics, we still commonly view things as it-objects, independent from us, other than us. Whether they are alive or not, we tend to treat them as it-objects we do things to.

Regardless of Christianity’s waning influence on Western culture, whether we are Christian or not, we often still see things as Christians. We still tend to hold monotheistic beliefs and value heavenly, metaphysical, incorruptible, eternal things over earthly, physical, corruptible, temporary things. 

Many Westerners have made the Eastward turn to Asian religions and/or identify as “spiritual but not religious.” However, our spirituality is, more often than not, a personal collection of beliefs and practices picked from various traditional religions. We often pick them from religions which, like Christianity, express a valuing of heavenly things and devaluing of earthly things.

One example is Vedanta beliefs and practices, many of which inform Buddhism. They clearly express a valuing of heavenly, metaphysical, incorruptible, eternal things over earthly, physical, corruptible, temporary things. Like Christianity, they encourage forsaking secular life for monastic life to pursue higher things. They also inform many New Age beliefs and practices adopted by Westerners today. The deplorable social and environmental conditions of the cultures they influence clearly reflect their value of heavenly things.

 The most sacred river in India, the Ganges

While many Westerners are turning Eastward, creating their own personal religions, and identifying as “spiritual but not religious”, self-identifying Christians are moving further to their right and becoming more activist in their attempts to re-establish Christendom. They are abandoning evangelizing in favor of enforcing their religion by legislation. They persevere in chipping away at the wall the separates Church and State. Some are resorting to violence. It is quite ironic: Those who consider the things of this world ultimately worthless are fighting doggedly for them. 

The dual influence in Western culture of Newtonian physics and Christianity, of physical things as objects and physical things as ultimately worthless, is deadly. We see the consequences in, for example, our poor health; sub-standard health care industry; poverty levels; our chemical pollution of the land we live on, the food we harvest from it and eat, the air we breathe, and the water we drink; our militarism; and extinction of other species.

Part Four of this series re-visions "things" as meetings rather than objects.