Well sure Richard:
ā¦the evidence of this tendency/need/compulsion to divide into āus vs. themā is everywhere. But ethnicity is only the most obvious of the categories by which the division/separation occurs. Tribes, skin color, family, as categories for proper division (given the underlying assumption that division MUST be in play) has given way to divisions by categories of what we believe! So, substitute right beliefs (you know; my churches beliefs are superior to yours), or right actions (like trying hard enough not to be a sinner), for ethnicity and we have an updated āChristian versionā of the mental workings necessary to make me part of the āsavedā (you know, the good guys!) and the ālostā (thatād be the ābad guysā over there.)
Now itās quite fascinating that, in the āartā of war, one of the first tasks in getting your soldiers to be willing to kill their soldiers is that of demeaning, dehumanizing, and ultimately demonizing the āotherā. In the ordinary course of things, that soldier more than likely wants only what āmyā soldier wants; peace, family, companionship, love, and enough to eat. ā except heās trying to take my food (or land) and he started it, and heās dirty and different, and, well, pretty soon one becomes convinced itās almighty Godās will that I make the other soldier die!! Quite scary actually.
Iāve always been puzzled by the so called āLiberalā Christians reflexive embrace of Evolution; these sorts of divisions are easily seen to be born of a need to further my genes (and gene pool) at the expense of yourās ā with whom I compete for scarce resources. Couldnāt THAT be the innate source of this āethnocentrismā? (perhaps a slight deviation from your topic; but interesting to me nonetheless!)
(The central importance of a good creation doctrine then, as I see it, is a very proper and rational placement of my worth as part of Godās familyā¦ Your worth tooā¦)
There remains ingrained in us somehow, this assumption that there simply MUST be winners and losers. Weāve talked about it briefly here before (canāt find precise spot) but itās like imagining having a SuperBowl where BOTH teams win the game! Unthinkable! Why even play the game in the first place? Imagine: a football game played with the ethics of Christās teachings! Here; I realize you are trying to get into the end zone; let me help you. Yes, I have a āteamā of my own, but I shall help you get into MY end zone for a touchdown. And imagine that is reciprocated. ā seems we simply lack the imagination necessary to visualize everyone being a āwinnerā. (and no, Iām not talking about the kiddy stuff where each kid gets a trophy just for being thereā¦ but, in a way, I AM talking about that!)
Imagine an ethic ā the ethic of Christ ā where everything is up-side-downā¦ where YOUR joy becomes MY greatest happiness; and mine becomes yours! Itās almost inconceivable isnāt it!! Iām so confidant that my needs will be met, that I can spend ALL my time concentrating on making sure YOURāS are met! Imagine the possibilities! Contrast with the ethic of me being worried first about myself. Soon enough, you come to be seen as a threat to me; so instead of helping YOU, I must resist you. Downhill from there. And ECT hell is a natural end point of that sort of self centeredness. I donāt only want to beat you, to capture the prize that you canāt have, but I want to torture and humiliate you; badly and for a very long time.
So yes. I think ECT is a pathetic window into the depraved sin sick mind which so desperately needs to assert itās own importance and superiority at the expense of another. Part of an elaborate justification to explain the unexplainable.
Bobx3