Stream of Conscience

They say that people are wired to do evil. Humans are egocentric and selfish above all other traits. And that personal survival (or that of our genes) is our most innate and ingrained motive for any type of action.

As far as evolution goes, that's probably true. The species that have survived over millions of years are those that best protect their genetic code through self-preservation, altruism or whatever worked best.

I'm not stupid. And I believe in evolution, survival of the fittest, etc. But we've come to a new dawn in civilization. Survival of the fittest has a far different meaning than it did. It's not about physical strength or mental prowess anymore. In the first world at least, the competition for survival does not determine who will live long enough to have offspring, it determines who will live the longest and whose offspring will have a better chance of securing placement within the ruling class.

Survival instincts have become obsolete in determining true survival.

But what are underneath these basic self-serving tendencies are another far more interesting set of traits. We have come so far past considering basic survival that the concern of the modern world is preserving one's own happiness...whatever that means. Clearly, amassing enough wealth to ensure the comfortable existence of all kin is one of the first steps to happiness. But then what?

I think what we will find is that humans are all wired similarly. Whether it is in our genes or in some more elusive general conscience, after everything else, a certain level of charity is absolutely required in order to be happy. I don't think it is a choice to have moral instincts, I don't think it runs counter to our basic make-up. I don't even think that anyone in the entire world can be satisfied living a life that doesn't include compassion.

It is a fact of life that you will never be happy if you concentrate only on yourself or your family. Even psychiatrists will say that the best way to recover from loss is to take care of someone else. To make yourself concerned with the well-being of some one not wholly connected to you.

This has been very long-winded and not all that focused....not very groundbreaking at all. But what I mean to say is that I firmly believe that while humans may have selfish instincts, having them is no excuse for acting on them. And that in the end, we have just as strong instincts for generosity. You cannot be happy without being somewhat selfless at times (though that makes the word selfless somewhat less applicable, I think it still applies because even if people benefit internally from acts of kindness, that is never a strong enough motivation for initiating the act initially). And in a world so focused on attaining a sexy, sensual state of nirvana it is inevitable that a lucky portion of society will evolve to incorporate compassion and charity into their general state of existence.



A lot of people wonder who I think will go to heaven. People ask me if I am a traditional Christian in an effort to test whether I have the cojones to tell them that I think that they (as a non-Christian) are going to hell. But that is not necessarily the traditional Christian belief....and, in any case, I am not a traditional Christian. I do believe in heaven and perhaps in hell too. But, I think that who goes to heaven and hell is a decision completely devoid of any litmus test that mere mortals would comprehend. If I had to guess, though. Based on what I believe. I would say that in addition to and in conjunction with the "traditional Christian" notion of belief saving you, acts are equally important. And the lucky portion of society that is able to include goodwill as a staple of life will be saved too.

And, while I'm at it, I don't think that simple belief will necessarily save anyone. Most, yes. But not all those who claim faith. Because belief cannot be genuine in a life devoid of selflessness. Acts are meaningful without explicit belief, but belief without action does little more than give Christianity a bad name.

"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
James 2:26


People have overlooked the significance of James for far too long.