"There is nothing new under the sun.", Ecclesiastes 1:9-14. When it comes
to religion there is a lot of truth in that statement. It would be hard to imagine
some core principal or seminal idea that has not already been expressed in religious
or metaphysical thought. Even within a single world religion there can be marked
variations. So why a new religious framework? While it may be true that there are
no new seminal thoughts, there are an enormous number of ways to put those thoughts
and ideas together and choose what to emphasize. This is what the Divine Life Communion
attempts to do. The core ideas in its theology are nothing new. However, what it
chooses to emphasize and its systematic treatment of those ideas may be something
fresh, viable and new.
Why a new framework? Several reasons. As mentioned before, traditional religions
are having a harder and harder time reaching people, being relevant and being believable.
Participation in a religious tradition today is discretionary more than any time
before. In the past there were social, cultural, and even political reasons to be
active in a religious tradition. Today there is very little or no stigma for non-church
goers. People are free to make a choice if a religious affiliation is right for
them. Many today are leaving their traditions. Most say the religion is not relevant
for them. It doesn't provide them with something they are looking for or there is
little or no return on the time and energy they expend. Others say that the old
traditions just aren't believable anymore. However, this does not mean that people
are any less spiritual. The percentage of people who believe in some higher power
has stayed steady over the years. However, since the traditions are not meeting
their needs, people are looking elsewhere. The problem is that compelling alternatives
to the old traditions are just not available. Perhaps a new religious alternative
is what is needed.
Another reason for a new framework is that the current traditions have elements
in them that are counterproductive for both individuals and societies. Even very
recently we have seen the damage that religious extremism can do to individuals
and the world. Religious frameworks that can foster extreme positions must be replaced
with those that are inclusive and affirming. Religious traditions that look to an
eschaton or end times to resolve the issues of our world do not foster a strong
sense of responsibility and seriousness about our world.
Religious frameworks matter. The focus of religion is on ultimates, those things
that are most important. As a result the way religion frames a view of our world
and the individual greatly affects the shape of society. Paul Tillich said that
"Religion is the substance of culture and culture is the form of religion".
He could say that because for him religion is about ultimate concerns. Those things
that are of ultimate importance to us shape the way we think about ourselves and
the way society is shaped. Traditional religions shape those views in ways that
will not meet the needs of the 21st century.
The Divine Life Communion is an attempt to reformulate perennial thoughts and ideas
in a way that is believable, relevant and culturally beneficial. Life is what humankind
is about. It is life that we experience. Life can be grand and wonderful or terrifying
and destructive. Life comes with its history and its promise for the future. It
can be approached in a positive way or with negativity. However one feels about
life, its prospects, its beauty and meaning or its problems, it is the focus of
our being. The focus of the Divine Life Communion is life as well. Life is at its
the very heart. It is the focal point of all DLC theology and practice. It is both
affirmed and engaged in all its dimensions. Life is the starting point for DLC theology
because it is our own personal point of experience and in the final analysis it
is only our experience of life that can inform our spirituality.
The Divine Life Communion is a theistic framework, believing in a personal God.
The belief is grounded in an informed intuition about life. The Divine Life Communion
also intuits that there is only one reality and that reality is God. This is an
important statement because it emphasizes the unity of all things. Many religions
drive a wedge between the reality we experience and ultimate reality. The major
world religions are all, at their core, world rejecting, looking for "salvation"
from this reality in some other reality. The Divine Life Communion, however, affirms
this reality in all its dimensions. It does this because the heart of DLC theology
is that God is a Living God. Now, the idea of a living God is not new. Throughout
the history of religion there have been many religious themes that depict God as
living. This is done either as a god who is incarnated into this world or one that
lives and dies in the sacred realm. While this theme of a living god was important
for those religious systems, it is crucial for the Divine Life Communion.
In order explain clearly the idea of a living God; please bear with a little detailed
explanation. The Divine Life Communion is based on an ontology (study of being)
it calls an Aspect Monism. DLC asserts that there is only one reality, one being
and that reality is God. This is a monistic approach. However, there are aspects
to God, this one reality. Obviously, in a monistic view, the reality we experience
must be an aspect of God. We currently talk about this reality using terms like
space and time. However, the very term God points to ultimacy, that God is Being-Itself,
the ground of being from which all of reality derives its being. This means God
cannot be thought of just in terms like space and time. Accordingly, there is an
aspect of God that has been traditionally called a transcendent one that is beyond
our direct knowledge and comprehension. We can only symbolize this aspect as the
depth of God, the depth of reality. God in this aspect is eternal and infinite.
It is God in the abyss of the unknowable. The first principal of Divine Life theology
is that there is only one reality and that reality is God.
However, since our reality is part of God, it is also an aspect of God. It is a
living aspect. We experience our reality as a living reality. What is life? It is
constrained being. We currently describe these constraints using terms like space,
time, matter and energy. At its fundament level life is the interaction and dynamics
of both the stability and novelty that emerges within this constrained being. This
also means that God has a constrained aspect that we call life. While there is a
transcendent aspect to God, there is also a living aspect. God has a life, a divine
life. That God is a living God is the second foundational principal of the Divine
Life Communion.
To continue that train of thought, everything in this cosmos, including humans,
is an aspect of God, an aspect of God's divine life. The life of the solar system,
the galaxies, the cosmos and your life are part of the divine life, an aspect of
it. Your life is not an independent life only to interact with the sacred, life's
depth. Your life is part of the divine life. It is part of the communion
of all life. It is an important part of God's life. The divine life is a communion
of all living things. This is another foundational principal of Divine Life theology.
The final foundational principal is that the divine life is as it is suppose to
be. It is not a mistake or a fallen creation. It is God's self creation, the structure
and process of life as God wants it to be. It is a wondrous and beautiful thing.
Life and our cosmos are to be affirmed, not rejected. The divine life is God's choice
to live. It is a choice to engage in both the wonder and the struggle of life in
all its beauty and challenge.
Since DLC affirms life as it is, it also affirms a naturalistic view. What this
means is, however, a bit more complicated. This idea of naturalism will be dealt
with in more detail later. What it means, in essence, however is that DLC affirms
life as we experience it. This experience is both personal and empirical
(scientific) experience. What this experience tells us is that life emerges in extraordinary
ways but also with a stability and order. Accordingly what this means is that the
commonplace notion of "supernaturalism" is not needed for DLC theology.
The term "supernaturalism" drives a wedge between God and the reality
we experience. This is not compatible with DLC monism. What is affirmed that
is implied in the term is that God does act in life to bring about telos,
meaning and purpose. That divine action, however, is not an intervention but an
inherent part of the way the divine life works. See below for more detail. Therefore,
Divine Life is naturalistic and affirms all that science can discover and tell us
about our cosmos. This does not mean, however, that DLC theology affirms a mechanistic
view of the cosmos as some in science do. To the contrary, a living God is an active
God. The cosmos is not mechanistic but a living organism that finds both a stability
and novelty in the freedom of God. Accordingly DLC is science friendly but not a
slave to current scientific explanations. The idea of friendliness to science is
a serious one. It is not a trivial issue to reject what science may claim about
our world. However, when science attempts to speak outside its realm and make inferences
about ultimate issues, it must be open to criticism.
While this may seem too minimal to form a foundation for a religious framework,
it is not. From these simple principals an adequate theological basis can be formed.
Also DLC theology is intended to be minimalistic. DLC believes that foundational
metaphysical assertions should be kept to a minimum, allowing latitude for personal
choices and avoiding excessive speculation. The DLC foundations only assert enough
to create a framework that is believable, relevant and beneficial.
These principals point to a communion, a unity of all things. The world communion
is defined as a "mutual participation". Many religious systems try to
strike a separation between what might be call the sacred and the mundane. Usually
the mundane is viewed as fallen or evil whereas the sacred is perfect and good.
This type of distinction is not possible within an aspect monism. Our reality is
an integral part of God. There is no separation or distinction that drives a wedge
between the reality we experience and the sacred. There is but one reality and the
universe is as it is supposed to be. All things in the cosmos are part of the divine
life and, as such, commune with one another. That is why it is called a communion,
not a church. The word "church" is too limited in scope. People may go
to a church, temple, mosque, synagogue, etc. but in their deepest selves they are
part of the communion of the divine life. The idea of communion has far reaching
implications. While all living things are individuals, they are also a part of the
whole. Not only that but the divine life is meant to be a communion. A communion
is like a living organism. Each part is important to the whole. Each part contributes
to the divine life, affecting all other parts. Each individual has certain abilities
and limitations. Those abilities contribute both to the individual and the whole.
The limitations are offset by the talents of others in the communion. As a result
communion members should look to each other as partners and co-creators of the divine
life. The process of life is not for only a few, but all. The creation of love,
beauty, and meaning is for the entire communion.
Life has a depth to it that may be difficult to analytically describe but humans
intuitively recognize it. Paul Tillich called this "the dimension of depth".
Karen Armstrong, "the deeper currents of life". This depth metaphor tries
to capture a distinction in life, a distinction where there is an epiphany of the
sacred in the mundane. The purpose of life can be found in the emergence of this
sacred depth. It can also be described as the depth of both the moral and the aesthetic.
Love is the dimension of depth of the moral. Beauty and meaning are the dimensions
of depth of the aesthetic. The purpose of life is the expression of its depth in
the creation of love, beauty and meaning.
Love is a complex term that points to many things. It includes community, caring,
justice, equity, love of self, love of others, sacrifice, etc. It runs the full
range of the Greek definitions from philos (brotherly love), Eros (sexual love)
and agape (unselfish love). Love is found wherever life touches the moral depth
of life. Beauty is also a complex term that is often narrowly defined as artistic
beauty. This is true, but it also includes the beauty of rational thought and scientific
achievement. Beauty is found wherever life touches the aesthetic depth of life.
Clearly love and beauty require work and struggle to achieve. Life naturally contains
the potential for evil and disharmony. The purpose of life is the creation of love,
beauty and meaning even in the midst of struggle against destructive forces. When
that is done, progress is made. Progress, however, is not toward some final goal.
The life process is not something to culminate. The life process is eternal just
as the divine life is eternal. What we call progress is the eternal infinite evolution
of love, beauty and meaning. Progress is made when the heritage of love, beauty,
and meaning of the past is built upon for the present and the future.
Most world religions are, at their core, world rejecting. This came about, I believe,
because of the idea of perfection that arose during the Axial Age, the time a few
centuries before and after 0 BCE. The idea of perfection then meant something unchangeable
and pristine. A God who is perfect would not directly be a part of this mundane
world which was in some way illusionary, corrupt, or fallen. This position drove
a wedge between God and this reality. The Divine Life Communion, however, does not
recognize any separation between what has been called the sacred and the mundane.
The idea that perfection means immutability is a symbol that is not only logically
unsound but practically untenable. The idea that God cannot change creates a static,
dead God. DLC, however, says that God does change. God as a living God is part of
the process of change that is life. Because there is no separation in God, this
reality is to be affirmed not rejected. The cosmos, this life, is good and is in
its structure and dynamic as it should be. This life is not a mistake but a wondrous
gift. DLC affirms the dynamics of life just as it is. This does not, however, mean
that the evils in life are ignored. To the contrary, God's life, the divine life,
is about the struggle of love and beauty against evil and corruption. This does
not mean that what we call evil is something separate from God or the divine life.
The potential for evil is an inherent consequence of life. While there is no necessity
that a particular evil arise, the potential means that evil is a continuous threat
in life for eternity. However, the creation of love and beauty over against evil
is the triumph of life for eternity as well.
There are several consequences to affirming life as it is. First, the general cosmic
and particular personal goal is not escape to a new reality, but rather to embrace
the struggle of life as it is. Also there is no appeal to re-creation of this reality.
Life is as it should be in its inherent goodness. The goal instead is the eternal
creation of love, beauty and meaning in the midst of the life struggle. To do this
life should be celebrated where this creative good emerges and engaged where it
does not. Engaging in a positive attitude towards life and the cosmos means both
celebration and action. The beauty and love we find are celebrated and the evil
is confronted.
Since DLC is based on a monistic view of reality, it strongly affirms our experience
of that reality. This experience is often characterized as naturalism. The experience
of life is one of both stability and change. The order that we and science finds
in the universe allows for life. It provides a stable environment where complexity
can evolve into living things. DLC affirms this order in the universe as a positive
thing. This order is, however, not the result of blind mechanistic forces but the
result of an active, eternal intentional activity.
What does this mean then concerning the activity of God in the world? Can God act?
Yes. Life is constituted by both stability and change. The advent of modern physics
in the 20th century has given indications that the universe unfolds both with stability
and novelty. Although there are still deep mysteries at the most fundament levels
of the cosmos, what is clear is that there is openness to novelty in the universe.
That implies that the universe is unfolding through both its created stability and
novelty. DLC says that both these are the work of God and that it is with both that
God acts to create the divine life. Natural order is not something distinct from
God with its own intrinsic properties. Natural order is part of the life
of God. The stability of the cosmos is not due to an independent reality from God.
It is instead the creative process of God in both the stability and change of the
universe. The consequence of this is that the purposes of life unfold primarily
within the small changes that occur. Small novel changes within the fabric of life
allow for stability to remain while change occurs. As such DLC affirms the general
notion that life evolves. However, it evolves according to the meaning and purpose
of God, the meaning and purpose of the divine life.
Clearly there is much that science does not understand about the cosmos. It may,
in fact, never understand it fully. However, what science does discover is fully
embraced by DLC with one caveat. Any religious system that embraces science must
also have an element of skepticism about scientific claims just as it must be self
critical about its own metaphysical claims. DLC's criterion for evaluating scientific
theories is found in both the head and the heart. The head affirms the logical nature
of reality. It relies on reason and the scientific method for its criterion. The
heart affirms the intuitive sense we have about life. The heart takes in the gestalt
(holistic) view of life and "senses" a certain way about it. In some cases
this intuitive sense may conflict with what science or the head tells us. It is
the eternal process of finding concilience between the heart and the head that creates
the theology of DLC.
In the final analysis the import of the theological foundations is found in the
practice of life. Otherwise the speculation and systematic rigor are no more than,
perhaps, an interesting exercise. However, the theological basis for DLC has far
reaching practical consequences. These consequences are what, in many ways, distinguishes
the Divine Life Communion from other religions.
Since DLC affirms life as it is, there is no effort to escape this reality or long
for a re-created reality in the future. This life is structured as it should be
and even with the potential for evil, it is a wondrous gift. However, affirming
life as it is does not mean passively accepting the emergence of evil. To the contrary.
Life is about the struggle to create love, beauty, and meaning even in the midst
of this potential for evil. In fact, since this is the only reality we and our descendents
will have, we must dedicate ourselves to making life more loving and beautiful.
Progress in life is building on past efforts, not toward some ultimate goal but
toward the infinite possibilities for love and beauty.
Since DLC is naturalistic, the emergence of telos (ultimate meaning and purpose)
occurs within the constraints of being, it is within this created order of stability
and change that God lives the divine life and telos (love, beauty and meaning) emerges.
This has a profound effect on personal piety. Prayer is not an appeal to a heavy
handed brute forcing of the natural world. It is, instead, an appeal to the created
power and goodness already present. The power of prayer comes not from obverting
natural order but through the inner dialog of the divine life where the power of
the entire communion and the process of life is brought to bear on life's deepest
issues.
The divine life is a communion of all living things. Each individual life is very
important to the divine life, whether it be a virus, a plant or a human. All contribute
to the life of God and in the divine life find their meaning and purpose. For sentient
beings like humans a sense of self and the communion can bring about a profound
feeling of connectedness. The communion does not overemphasize either the separateness
or the togetherness of individual lives. It is within both individuality and community
that the divine life creates. For humans this means that we are both individual
creative life forces and part of a community of living beings. We can celebrate
our gifts and look to the communion for support in our deficits. The divine life
communion is a community that celebrates both the individual and the community.
In affirming life, DLC celebrates both the beauty and love in life while at the
same time engages in the struggle against life's destructive forces. This life is
what we have and it is our legacy to build on the past for a better future for the
continued communion. The life of God is the process of creating love, beauty, and
meaning even in the midst of the potential of evil. Accordingly the charter of DLC
is to both celebrate life and engage life concerns.