Summary
Philosophies and religions — and the truths and gods they claim — are “true” because they have worked for actual human beings in the face of very real, very daunting, even impossible, circumstances.
Many of us of a liberal theological bent consider religions in the category of stuff human beings in our communal groupings have made up over the millennia in order to survive and thrive on this planet.
Human ideas are socially and historically “conditioned.” Philosophies and religions — and the truths and gods they claim — are “true” because they have worked for actual human beings in the face of very real, very daunting, even impossible, circumstances.
From this perspective, “true” means it works.
For me, it’s difficult to imagine “reality” being any other way.
For example, imagining that the religious tradition I was born into — Oneness Pentecostalism — is anything other than an early-twentieth century rejoinder to the Modernist movement in religion minimizes the sheer audacity of Oneness Pentecostalism’s claims. (For a classic rejoinder to Modernism, read this.)
Sure, Oneness Pentecostalism — and the entire experience of the Azusa Street Revival — can be “explained” by reference to social and religious conditions in the early-twentieth century, but what happened is so much more than mere reaction for or against or reference to the swinging of a social pendulum.
Human ideas are produced in, and are the products of, human (and planetary) history. We humans have been the creators of so many wonderful artistic productions. In the case of an excellent pasta dish or curry, no one doubts that the recipes are the product of human hands. Perhaps across a long span of time.
On the other hand, it is tempting to place such human creations as democracy or our various gods on a different shelf. This is a mistake. The current iterations of the various democracies or the various gods as practiced in a particular location have very likely passed through generations. Just like gramma’s apple pie recipe . . . on steroids.
Humanism as it is known among Anglo-Americans today also arises from the social matrix that created the Pentecostal movement. Like Pentecostalism, Humanism can legitimately claim a long pedigree, but the immediate social milieu of the early-twentieth century created the need for both Humanism and Pentecostalism to arise. Both were tools to help adherents make it from moment to moment, day-to-day, given the circumstances of the time.
Since both movements are so recent in origin, it’s relatively easy to trace how they have adapted to changing circumstances since their inception.
Given that it’s all made up, each of us is called by life itself to be a philosopher and/or theologian, whether we like it or not. Like a strict diet, few will rush into choosing to be hyper-conscious of life’s ethical conundrums. Life itself, however, calls us to deeply consider the questions philosophy and theology ask.
Stuff such as, What am I called to do in this life? Or: How much of myself am I morally called to give away?
Yes, human beings have made it up. Since our beginning, we have been building the ship as we are sailing, as it were.
Realizing this fact is key to grasping what it is that we humans are doing on the planet. It’s a tool. A valuable one. It’s called historicism, and it clears the mind of a lot of cobwebs.