The ultimate essay on the nature of humanity

Since taking my book out of publication a few years back- in order to incorporate and change some ideas for my newest book "A Grain of Sand" I have had several requests for copies. It is still in publication in India at Puspa Prakashan, LTD, but not in English anywhere that I know of. Therefore, I have made the PDF (rocket book version) available to my readers free by simply clicking on the "HERE" link next to the book cover for LOSING FAITH.

Life in the Shadowlands

Lecture for the Society of Christian Teachers, 2002
By W. Sumner Davis, BA, MS, M.Div, Dr. Theol.

This past September 11th, marked the anniversary of the hijacking, death and devastation by a group of people bent on causing as much suffering as possible. It may be easy, but we cannot rationally blame these events on any religion, culture, or race, but by a select few people who were so filled with hatred that they became consumed by it.

The attacks and the resulting suffering they caused and continue to raise many questions about who we are as a nation. Are we really the melting pot envisioned by our founders? Have we really become one society-or are we still set by rifts and eddy of injustice and hyphenated America? Perhaps we are best envisioned as segmented groups who just happen to live on the same soil. One of the men I have come to respect greatly, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., once spoke the words that have given many of us the hope that perhaps someday all people will be judged, in his words; not by the color of their skin; but by the depth of their character. Dr. King had faith in God, regardless of the injustices he witnessed. I have faith- but must admit that it is sometimes hard to find.

It seems that on that September 11th we were jarred from our complacency. Perhaps we were too comfortable? Have lost some freedom, or is it perhaps that we now understand much of our freedom was merely an illusion? If so, it is an illusion we can no longer afford. Many, myself included, had always envisioned a wonderful society based on personal freedoms. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; these were our guarantees once. No longer. It seems we have awakened to a dangerous world- where religious zealots, nit merely content to live and let live have decided for the rest of us what we should, what we must believe. A great many faithful, good and decent people have asked these same or similar questions that have stumped the learned clergy for eons. When these tragedies strike- these heartless thoughtless atrocities, Where was God?

Where was God on September 11th, 2002? Isn't God supposed to watch out for us? Isn't God supposed to love us? Did God really abandon us on that September day? Maybe it goes deeper than this. We might ask if God even cares about our suffering. Should God care? Is the love of a God different from the love of a mortal? We all have loved in our lives-romantic love, brotherly love, and love for our friends. And we all know, we can feel it to our very souls that when we love someone we cannot bear to see them suffer-we will do anything to ease it-even taking that suffering and pain upon ourselves if we could. We get down of our knees and pray until there is nothing left. If we feel that way, why doesn't God?

As the smoke and flames billowed from the attacks on September 11, we found time for each other. As we watched these images unfold on our televisions, we could not but help to place ourselves at the scene, at least emotionally. There are times when we feel a special affinity to our fellow man. We realize we are all brothers and sisters- regardless of color or creed or belief. But all too soon things return to normal-whatever normal is. We push and we shove. We are short with people; we are rude and have little time to waste on the ordinary person. We are not the first to have adopted such an “above it all” way of living. Let me tell you a very short story of a great writer, but a man like any other who chose to live above pain and suffering-and made his living writing books and giving lectures about the very topics he knew the least about. His name was Clive Staples Lewis, but everyone called him Jack.

Many would say his best, or at least his truest work was done after he experienced true suffering for the first time. Jack Lewis, the Oxford don and gifted writer had spent his life as a comfortable, happy bachelor, surrounded by his books and his intellectual friends. He was such an inspirational speaker that he was asked by the BBC to give a series of lectures in the 1940's; he wrote many books, for both children and adults. Many of you may be familiar with his Narnia Chronicles. It seems that for all his second hand knowledge on pain and suffering, he was never faced ultimate suffering. Lewis once said to an audience of listeners that "It is suffering that drives us out into the world of others." Yet he remained walled off from the world with few exceptions. A self imposed, albeit comfortable seclusion beyond the reach of any emotional pain or suffering. And then the worst thing for a person like Lewis happened. He fell in love. An American divorcee named Helen Joy Gresham had been writing to Lewis and had gone to Oxford to meet this great man. As we all know, great emotional pain and suffering can only affect us if we love someone else, regardless of how we might describe that love. After falling in love Lewis began to fully understand complete happiness and joy, and in the end, absolute sorrow.

Lewis once spoke about what he called "the gift of suffering." Now he considered it "the curse of the damned." Lewis who had once said that the faithful could find meaning in suffering could himself, find none. “Not only meaning, but great strength can be found in pain” Lewis had said. But it was his wife's untimely death after years of incredible pain and suffering that would take Lewis by complete surprise. Left alone with his own thoughts, he was not as sure as he had been.

Lewis, like most of us, could find no meaning in suffering and pain. He was so distraught that he referred to humanity as "rats in a cosmic laboratory"-he had no doubt that the operation was for our ultimate good, but that still made God the vivisectionist. For a good, honest and decent person to suffer an incurable cancer at such a young age must feel very unfair. How on earth could a person feel close to God if God had chosen to let such a thing happen? Where was the purpose? Where was the meaning? One of Lewis friends, an Anglican Priest tried in vain to comfort him by telling him that despite all this, "life must go on." Lewis responded that he did not know if it must go on, but it certainly does.

On September 11th, was there any purpose in the suffering and pain? If there was-it is beyond my capacity to see it. And yet more than one year latter, life goes on. Yet the aftermath leaves us with a choice-one we each have to make for ourselves: where do we go from here. Or perhaps where do we WISH to go from here? Do we mire ourselves in the past---or do we move forward. Lewis once wrote in one of his stories that we live in the “Shadowlands”-the sun is always shining brighter somewhere else; around the bend in the road, over the brow of the hill." I believe we have the ability to step forward into that bright sun light, or, to wade back into the safety of the shadows. Lewis chose to suffer, he chose to venture into the light. Not to avoid pain and suffering-but so as to see it better, and perhaps to understand just a bit of it. Pain and suffering is a part of life. Often times there simply are no reasons- it just is. But that’s part of the deal. Light needs darkness, and happiness needs suffering. Not to undo it, but to reflect it; to define it. Pain makes life more real, more genuine. It is part of life.

Medical Ethics?

The end of life or Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it.
W. Sumner Davis, BA, MS, M.Div, Dr. Theol.

Of the many experiences that affect humans, only two are universal to all people regardless of demographics: birth and death. While birth is seen in most cultures as a joyous, happy occasion, at least in most circumstances, death is confronted as an emotional, mind altering and traumatic event. As we face death with those we love, we cannot help but be reminded that we ourselves will ultimately face death. There cannot but be ethical questions surrounding death. “What does dignity look like at the end of life?” “What responsibilities do we as human beings owe to others, more especially our family and friends?” and death nears. “When is enough suffering and hopelessness enough?” How we answer these questions seem far from universal, and a great deal depends on our background; what has our culture, religion, philosophy taught us?

It is only from this personal background that we hope to find the words and the I to conflict with loss. Perhaps the best study into the way we humans deal with death, at least from in many perspectives, is the work of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. Ross believed that as we die we go through certain stages; however the underlying emotional response is grief. She found that grief was a natural process to death and dying. Ross further found that it is not pathological in nature but is necessary to begin the healing process from such an all consuming sense of loss when a loved one dies.

Another pioneer on the study of the dying process is Barbara Gould. Gould identified five distinct phases that the dying person must go through to reach acceptance which Gould defines as Acceptance, or coming to terms with the reality of impending death. Of course, as people move through this process they can revisit these different stages- and often, very often, anger is always just beneath the surface.

More than acceptance, it can be viewed as accepting that the world will still go on without you and that death is the natural conclusion to life. Still it is the rare person who can freely accepted that their life is about to end. Gould found that the five stages she identified were: Denial- there must be some mistake; Anger- the sudden loss of control over and direction of life. Bargaining- the willingness to compromise. You are willing to promise to do or not to do specific things if only you can be given more time; Depression- This is such a normal part of the process for many reasons: You are already depressed about your effect on your loved ones, on your own impending death, and on how everyone will cope with that death. Finally, the dying person reaches Acceptance- often not until the dying person works though the numerous conflicts and feelings that impending death bring. There is another reason for this acceptance- a person begins to succumb to the inevitable.

Most people, although not all, become less emotional as the end nears- calmness arrives and you realize the battle is almost over. The end has come at last and you are ready. At least, that's what they tell me.

Are we really on the Brink?

On The Brink?
W. S. Davis, BA, MS, M.Div, Dr. Theol

“The Earth was small, light blue, and so touchingly alone, our home that must be defended like a holy relic." - Aleksei Leonov Cosmonaut, USSR

When the first astronauts to fly around our moon came around from the dark side, the view that welcomed them must have been breathtaking. And perhaps a bit surreal- I have heard it described as being out of place- a magician’s trick on a darkened stage. From such a distance, one might never imagine that this blue and white ball is alive.

Ribonucleaicc Acids first formed in the seas over four billion years ago and evolved into single-celled life. In an explosion of life durring the Cambrian period spanning millions of years, these first humble beginnings evolved into a multitude of multicellular organisms. And then it stopped.

Four hundred and forty-eight million years ago, a mass extinction killed off nearly every species on the planet, leaving the once teaming oceans decimated and nearly empty. Forty million years later, as the seas were once again beginning to flourish with newly evolved organisms, another massive extinction again left the seas barren and nearlly devoid of life. Three hundred and seventy million years ago, as the first plants and insects evolved, they too were devistated by a series of events that killed off over 70 percent of all life. Down through history the cycle repeated again and again. Two hundred and fifty million years ago, life had again gained a foot hold on land for the first time, only to be killed off. Over the next two hundred million years, life would flourish and progress- only to be decimated; brought to the very edge of extinction.

When the remnants of the dinosaurs, already dying off on a volcanically active planet were whiped out sixty-five millions years ago, their demose only Earth’s most recent mass extinctions.

We humans, thinking we are the pincale of the evolutionary process, have been around less than 100,000 years ago. Yet our progress has been staggering by comparison. From cave paintings to the books; from Columbus to the Space Shuttle; from the Abbacus to the Home computer, humanity has proved to be a tireless force upon the Earth. Rising to a world population of over 6.5 billion people, we are all descended from that original RNA molecule, that first single cell, that original first spark of life. Yet for all our knowledge, what no one can say what, or who ignited that spark. Is there, as reliogion claims, a plan? Is there a purpose or a reason to our existence? Will we pass, as those before us, into oblivion; that sixth mass extinction that many scientists tell us is already underway?

Will the religions prove out, and some great leader arise to redirect our enegies away from self destruction? Will some advanced interstellar species lend us a quiding hand? Will the mystery be revealed to us through a sign, a symbol, or perhaps a revelation?

Time will tell- if there be but time enough.

Is God Indifferent? A Case from Job

The Indifference of God: The case from Job
By W. Sumner Davis, BA, MS, M.Div, Dr. Theol.

“And the Lord said to Satan: Hast thou considered my servant, Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a man simple and upright, and fearing God, and avoiding evil, and still keeping his innocence? But thou hast moved me against him, that I should afflict him without cause” (Job 2: 3)

The Book of Job opens with these words, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil” (Job. 1: 1). Job was a very successful and wealthy man, to the point that it was said of him, “this man was the greatest of all the men of the east" (Job 1: 3). Job appeared to have had all that any mortal could possibly dream of. He had wealth, property, a loving large family and, by far most important to Job, a close relationship with God (Job 1: 3-5). Yet in a very brief time Job's happy and contented life was forever changed.

Job lost it all. His family, his livestock, his servants, his health- all gone. How is this possible? Was Job a poor business man? Did he abuse his children thus driving them away? Did he abuse his servants driving them off? We read that he was nothing like this at all but was instead an outstanding and righteous man. Had he sinned against God in some way? After searching his mind, Job could find nothing. Was God punishing him for some unknown reason? If so, you and I may have been angry, but we are told that Job not once faulted God for his worsening condition. Perhaps the big question here is why not?

How could Job, an upright and sinless man, not be angry that God had treated him so unjustly? Repeatedly as his life dissolves into shambles Job refuses to curse God's name. He curses his life, he curses the day he was born. But never God. Not once. And so we find Job sitting on his dung hill, scraping away the pus and worms that infect his skin with a shard of pottery; all that is left from his once wonderful life (Job 2: 8). He is so horribly disfigured that even his closest friends don’t recognize him (Job 2:12). He is also afflicted inwardly; giving him a foul breath and a loathsome smell that drives others away (Job 19:17, 20). Not even in his sleep could poor Job, the most upright man of Gods world escape his torment- instead he is besieged with horrific dreams of torment (Job 7: 14). When he tries to eat he feels as if he were choking (Job 7: 14), and his very bones are racked with burning pain (Job 30: 30).

Job eventually becomes paralyzed, and is unable to rise from the place he sat (Job 19: 18). This goes on for years; and minute by minute poor Job longed for death. Would any of us feel differently? Any relief from this torment. A thing as remarkable as life, to become so unendurable as to be worth less than the dust. He was filthy and disgusting; he was hideous to look upon, he was foul smelling and in terrible pain. And where is God in all this? Watching from above, smugly assured that Job would never abandon Him as He had abandoned Job. And God was right- Job refused to blame God. But I ask that if Job had known why such horrors had beset him he may have thought otherwise. He would have questioned what God was.

For it was indeed God, the all powerful, all knowing, all good and all loving creator and father of the universe that was foolishly tempted into a bet. A bet with the Devil. And in this bet, Job was nothing more than a creature to be toyed with to prove a point that both God and the Devil had already known. Once Job begins to be hounded by his so called friends as to some unknown sin he must be guilty of, God Himself speaks to Job- not surprising in the form of a whirlwind. Not to comfort or console Job, his upright servant, but to condemn Jobs friends, and then takes the opportunity to further demean Job for his lack of understanding. How can Job possibly understand what it means to be the creator of such a world? I am sure this helps alleviate Jobs suffering. God it seems, misses the entire point- just because you give life, does not give you a right, sovereign or otherwise, to systematically destroy it. Imagine making a bet with your neighbor that you can drive your own child to the point of suicide?

It really does not matter, because of course the story of Job is an allegory- a fable. It is a lesson on how we are the creature and not the creator; as such we have no right to complain about the situation we find ourselves. We are told that eventually, once the bet has been satisfied, the Devil flies off to torment someone else, and God revives everything Job had lost- yet this shows me that Gods inability to understand his creatures. God may feel the deal is even when he gives Job “new sons.” A modern version of Job maybe found in the book “A Grief Observed by the prolific writer and apologist Clive Staples Lewis. When he lost his wife to cancer Lewis felt, and adamantly stated that humanity are the creatures not the creator. He compared humans to the rats in the cosmic laboratory.

Lewis believed that the experiment is for our own good, but that still makes God the vivisectionist, doesn't it?” God as vivisectionist? In Job this seems to be an apt description. Yet rats in a laboratory indicate a test or a set of tests being run with a purpose- an end in mind. Not so with Job. The end is known; the test need not be run. Yet God proceeds. And the needless suffering of Job and the rest of the world continues. So, we find ourselves facing the same dilemma that apologists have wrestled with and avoided for millennia- is God cruel, or merely indifferent. If He is indifferent, then we can expect no more than poor Job. If He is cruel, than he is hardly worthy of the worship He enjoys.

But as my Christian History Professor was fond of saying- you pays your money and you takes your chances.

Consciousness

Consciousness

How is it that we, you and I, comprised of particles, these particles are held together by predictable, and understandable physical laws, can experience subjective consciousness? There is nothing in physics, no laws of time, space, mass, or energy that can logically engender consciousness. No matter how complex our brains might be, there is nothing in the electrical patterns of neuronal firing or in the chemical processes of synaptic discharge, which suggests consciousness. Yet conscious we are. How?