Why Was I born? Why Are We Here?
By Katherine Smith
02 August, 2010
The People's Voice
John W. Whitehead, head of the Rutherford Institute, "a kind of evangelical Christian civil liberties union" is an attorney and author who has written, debated and practiced widely in the area of constitutional law, social and human rights.
In his essay, Does Life Have Meaning or Are We Merely Bobbleheads in Bubbleland? Whitehead believes we have missed our purpose and the meaning to life because we didn't listen to Martin Luther King Jr.
In April 1967, King said [W]e as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a "thing-oriented" society to a "person-oriented" society. When machines and computers, profit motive and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.
John's commentary: “We didn't listen then, and we still have not learned: Material things don't fill the spiritual void. People need more than possessions to give meaning to life.”
And the “more,” of course is religion, specifically Christianity. John believes we, as a nation, have lost our way because of a corrupt repressive government in the service of godless immoral secular humanism.
John's mission is to promote Christianity and the ”good news” [1] with his work in social and human rights and he has an interesting insight re: our purpose:
“Are we all aimless beings, mere products of chance, here merely to consume, grind out a living and die? Or is there some bigger purpose behind the stage play we call life?”
“There are those who view us as mindless beings trapped in a spiritual void, cut off from both reality and the outside world, chasing fulfillment in "things"--consumer zombies imprisoned in a series of shopping malls. According to author and journalist Nicholas von Hoffman, Americans are "bobbleheads in Bubbleland.... They shop in bubbled malls, they live in gated communities, and they move from place to place breathing their own private air in bubble-mobiles known as SUVs."
John does not see the connection of the “mindless beings trapped in a spiritual void,” to putting humanity at serious risk due to “the dangers of climate change, water scarcity, dwindling fish stocks, the pressures on the land, and the extinction of species”, according to the GEO4, a massive United Nations report.
But he does ask, if “”Are we merely “bobbleheads” in Bubbleland? Or have we been programmed to be so?”
What if the “bobbleheads,” according to the GEO4, probably passed the “unknown points of no return” [environmentally], because they were programmed to do so when they were converted from Pagans to Monotheists? [2]
Until the Crusades the “bobbleheads” thinking was predominantly Pagan, that is the inhabitants believed they were only a small part of the whole circle of life and that each part of creation played a significant role in the contentment and survival of the other [3].
All of that changed beginning in 1096 when Christianity decreed that man was now the greatest and most important part of creation [4] and culminated in August 26, 1789 with “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen” (The Declaration).
The Declaration, the quintessential Enlightenment document written by Marquis de Lafayette gave mankind a sense of entitlement to the resources of the world [5].
As you would expect John's beliefs are consistent with most religious theology; that is you get to heaven when you connect with the higher power, and do good works by demanding that the resources of the world are distributed equally in the name of the deity that benefit humankind.
But in fact John's humanistic view and importance of mankind can be found in every discussion of philosophy, psychology, spirituality and science since the end of the 16 th century. All of them look to finding ways to bring mankind closer to each other and farther away from Mother Earth (Gaea)[6].
The philosophers, scholars and thinkers of the time, without a 20 th century perspective on environmental damage and pollution, would not consider that the bobbleheads, former serfs and slaves until the French Revolution, were ”programmed” into shopping for stuff to trash the planet. Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité – Providence, Miracle or What Really Happened
Katherine Smith, PhD [email protected]
Footnotes:
[1] The “good news” to Monotheists (Jews, Christians and Muslims) is that their purpose here on earth is to love God and accept the free gift of salvation and then it's off to heaven.
[2] We passed the “ unknown points of no return ” because until October 2008, TPTB were using humans to weaken the planet with environmental damage and pollution. The Bank of the Fed is Closed…Forever
[3] Paganism represents a wide variety of traditions that emphasize reverence for nature and a revival of ancient polytheistic religious practices.
Paganism is not a traditional religion, per se but one of the common beliefs is the divine presence in nature and the reverence of the natural order in life.
Spiritual growth is related to the cycles of the Earth and great emphasis is placed on ecological concerns.
Monotheism and atheism (the opposite of paganism or pantheism) is almost universally rejected within Paganism and most Pagan traditions are particularly rooted in the revival of ancient polytheist religious traditions.
Indigenous populations of “savages”, pagans, traditionally and historically believed humans were created to be caretakers of the garden -- Mother Earth. They held all things of creation sacred and respected Nature.
· Never take more than we need;
· Thank Creator for what we have or what we will receive;
· Use all of what we have;
· Give away what we do not need.
Had the pagan bobbleheads been allowed to live according to the divine idea that all things were equal and no animal, including man , held dominion over other parts of creation, we could not have passed the “unknown points of no return” [environmentally].
For many Pagans, maintaining balance between humanity and nature is also an important purpose of being human. Humans exist not merely to enjoy the bounty of the environment, but also to serve and protect the environment, not only for future generations of humans, but indeed for the sake of nature itself. Although such a values-driven understanding of life's purpose is far from universally held within the Pagan community, for many this is an important part of their chosen spirituality. In a spirit of noblesse oblige, humanity's intelligence and vision carry with them a responsibility to care for the well being of nature as a whole.
Finally, some Pagans do accept a metaphysical understanding of life's purpose, derived from mythology and spiritual beliefs. Living a good life can create positive karma, which can lead to a blessed afterlife existence and/or a favorable reincarnation.
[4] Pope Benedict XVI says we should be good stewards of the environment but not at the expense of humanity. July 7, 2009 Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Truth in Love) released the social encyclical where the pope tells his followers:
“If there is a lack of respect for the right to life and to a natural death, the conscience of society ends up losing the concept of human ecology and, along with it, that of environmental ecology.” Our duties towards the environment are linked to our duties towards the human person, considered in himself and in relation to others.
In other words one human life, any human life is more important than nature.
[5] At the bottom of the text of the French Declaration ( www.constitution.org/fr/fr_drm.htm ), we read: "The above document was written by The Marquis de Lafayette, with help from his friend and neighbor, American envoy to France, Thomas Jefferson. Preamble. http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/chap3a.html
The Declaration contains many Masonic, Illuminist and alchemical symbols such as (starting from the top): the Eye of the Great Architect in glory, the Orobouros (snake eating its tail), the Phrygian cap (the red hat under the Ouroboros) and the fasces. Let's not forget the two Masonic pillars on each side sustaining everything. Freemasonry and the Survival of the Eucharistic Brotherhoods by Mark Hoffman
In a documentary on Masonic monuments in Paris, Jacques Ravenne, a French author and high level Freemason said:
“The Declaration of Human Rights, which was created in France and gradually adopted around the world, was conceived, discussed and written in Masonic lodges before being released to the public. One can retrace those Masonic origins by the use of symbols, which bear little significance to the profane but are extremely important to the initiate.” http://www.erichufschmid.net/TFC/Rothschild-timeline-revised-excerpt.html
[6] Humanist/Biological - continue humankind through reproduction. Since the end of life is death, they argue that the creation of more humans is the most important thing and that the true meaning of life is our connection to others: biologically, socially and culturally. Otherwise humanity would cease to exist.
Hedonism/Freud - humans are here simply to just enjoy life and strive for a happy existence. Sigmund Freud, the Viennese doctor called this view the pleasure principle. Humanity is meant to experience maximum pleasure and minimum pain
Hedonism/Maslow The humanistic branch of psychology most associated with Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Humanistic psychologists concentrate on individual potential and purpose in life.
Existentialists - Jean Paul Sartre said, "Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself." In this view, personal freedom may be seen as having the potential of both positive and negative outcomes depending on the choices one makes.
Advance or help humankind - humankind should help end suffering and strive for equality and human rights for all people. Variations include, contribute to society through their work, and discover technological or other types of advances to aid in the positive progress of humankind or following their principles as their most important purpose in life.
Transhumanism - the meaning of life is to improve the human body by extending that life. Transhumanists seek mental and physical improvements in concerned with stopping the aging process. Transhumanist views hold that since life began through evolution, it is up to evolved humans to control and extend the quality of life.
Meaningless - Some people answer that there is no point in even trying to find the true meaning of life because the question is just so deep or they view life as an existence with no deep meaning attached to it.
Logical positivist - The logical positivist approach to the verification of something considered to be meaningful is that something must be able to be logically or cognitively determined to be true. Since the logical positivist verifiability criterion cannot prove the answer to the question what is the true meaning of life? Positivists tend to view the question as meaningless.
Nihilism - German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche's view of nihilism voids human existence of having any meaning. There is no meaning to why we are here. Nietzsche considered Christianity's concern with the afterlife stronger than its occupation with life on Earth, so he considered the meaning of life empty.
Illusion - French philosopher and scientist, Rene Descartes, asserts that life may not even be real, but rather may only be a dream. He questions the reality of our physical bodies. Some people hold the view that the true meaning of why humankind is here is the result of either accident or coincidence.
