I prefer the idea of “progress from,” rather than progress toward a set goal, as Kitcher suggested. In that respect,
we have come a long way as a species. Even if an objectively perfect state of
existence did exist, and we were ever able to enter that state, I find it more
hopeful and useful to focus on how far we’ve come, rather than how far we have
to go. In my personal life, I have met a good number of Christians who profess
that the world is inherently an evil and fallen place and this attitude leads
them to have no hope for the future. Why would you hope for the future when the
Bible “predicts” that things will keep getting worse and that the Earth will be
destroyed when Jesus returns (soon?)?
Without a hope for the future,
there is not much of a reason to try to actively improve the world. They may
want their children and grandchildren to be happy and have a good life, but as
for the rest of humanity, it seems that we are nameless, faceless, wicked
sinners who will be judged accordingly and thrown to eternal torment when their
loving God ends his experiment. This sentiment helps to reinforce tribalism
among fundamentalist Christians. And tribalism seems to be one of the main
enemies of helpful progress in the world.
I realize that not all Christians
are like this, but it seems as though the more dogmatic and literal their
interpretation of the Bible, the less empathetic, sympathetic, and willing to
help make the world a better place they are. We non-believers do not see the
world as fundamentally broken and unable to be fixed until it is remade by God.
We just see it as able to be improved upon. The Christian hope for the future
is the second coming of Jesus and eternal life. We do not wish for someone to
save us, but rather, we know that we can improve human conditions by examining
how they have already improved and helping to enhance them continually.
On the other hand, many progressive
Christians that I have talked to seem to have the belief that Christians are
meant to be the agents of good changes in the world. They seem to have bought
into progressive social shifts and generally have a better view of the future.
Some even believe that they will be the cause of eventual perfection on Earth,
due to their interpretation of the New Testament scriptures as saying that the
Kingdom of God is now and will be brought into perfection by Christians. This view is certainly preferable to
fundamentalism, and opens the door for common ground to work together for social
changes. However, I don’t think that one can fully reconcile a belief that “God
helps those who help themselves,” with a belief in a god who intervenes or a
world in which miracles or any supernatural influence exists. It seems to me,
that there are, in the worldview of believers, only two possibilities; that God
created the universe, then was never involved in it again, or that God is
actively involved in the universe now. If he is actively involved, then
free-will cannot exist and advancements in science, medicine, and social
progress, etc., would not be possible without his interference. If he is
inactive, then why pray to him, worship him, or even think about him?
What do you think? Do you prefer
“progress from,” to “progress to” a set goal? Are my generalizations of
fundamentalist Christians too broad or incorrect? Do you agree that more
progressive Christians seem more hopeful about the future and willing to accept
the idea of a collective afterlife along with their supernatural beliefs?
This is one of the fundamental markers of difference between theists and atheists, the sense of progress-as-improvement in an open-ended march towards who-knows-what, versus the Platonic perfectionism that stamps us as forever short of the mark. I'm with you, Victor, we've come a long way and can be rightly proud of our progress from so humble a beginning. Darwin was right, there is a "grandeur" in this view of life that improves on Plato and his religious confreres. But I also acknowledge that some humans seem to summon their own best efforts only in comparison to some ever-fixed mark or ideal (or Idea). There's room for both types.
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