A Most Complicated Entity

The other day in Chicago a 16 year old honor student was beaten to death in a street fight. The ensuing uproar over his death led to two members of the Obama administration being sent to Chicago to deal with the fall out. The young man's death was one of many that plague the City of Chicago. Children are being killed in record numbers; mostly by other children. I doubt that this plague is confined to the City of Chicago. I know that Los Angeles has a similar problem. Lest we think that the problem is confined to our country, look again. Recently in Rwanda, members of a tribe were murdered in the thousands. This problem is not confined to people of color. In Bosnia there was a similar attempt to wipe out thousands of Bosnians in a civil war. Let's not forget the millions who were killed in World War II simply because of their religion, nationality, or for no other reason than they were in the way of the war machines. Our species has a terrible record in this regard. One of the most important challenges we face as human beings is to simply learn to live with each other in peace. If we spent one half of the money we spend on arms, weapons of war, and methods of killing each other, we could solve most, if not all, of the problems of economic inequality, famine, and disease. In addition to the cost of murder and warfare, we are, as we did in the case of the honor student, killing the best and brightest of our species. How many Shakespeare's and Beethoven's have we murdered? The young man in Chicago who was murdered might have been the one to finally solve the scourge of cancer. We like to think of ourselves as enlightened. In doing so, we shy away from looking at the dark side of our nature. The Gnostic believes that God resides within each of us. When you examine the carnage that follows behind us, it is difficult to believe this to be true. There is a place in the Pacific Ocean where our trash has collected and it is killing the creatures that inhabit the ocean. Our murderous ways are not confined to our own species. The Supreme Court is at this moment wrestling with the question of whether films of people torturing small and helpless animals are entitled to the protection of free speech. Go figure! I stress all of this human garbage in our world for a reason. Nothing that I can cite illustrates the need for us to get past our current political, social, religious, and ethical boundaries more than the above litany. We have a lot of work to do. I submit that going to church for the sole reason of saving yourselves from sin is insufficient to get the job done. We need to make great strides in finding and cultivating our better natures. If we don't, how many more bright young men and women will have to die? How much carnage will occur in the future? It's a nice idea to think that God will send us salvation for nothing but our beliefs. I do not think God is that stupid. There is no free lunch. I believe that God favors our growth. At one time, we lived in caves; today we live in modern homes and apartments. At one time, we thought that disease could be cured by bleeding; today we have antibiotics. We have demonstrated that we are capable of growth. In no area do we resist growth more than in the area of religion. Because the Bible says that God told Joshua to kill every living thing that breathes in a village he conquered, that must be true about God. The Gnostic denies this forcefully. God does not believe in killing human beings for political or economic reasons. We came up with that by ourselves. If its not true about Genghis Khan, it is not true about Joshua. The heart and soul of the Gnostic Way is that the human race is capable of continuous growth. The Gnostic Way stresses metaphor over literalism. The best metaphor for life is to hold a baby in your arms and contemplate that baby's future. What kind of world do we want for our children? Do we want a world where they are beaten to death on their way home from school, or do we want them to grow up and match their full potential? This question should be easy to answer, however, our desires and our deeds have yet to match each other. When I suggest that the search for God within ourselves is important, think on this. Is there anything more important?