Philosophy of Life, the Universe, and Everything

            Forget scholarly writing – I’m just going to describe my opinions.

            Where to begin? Well, let’s begin big and get small.

            I know many fellow Orthodox Christians that disagree with many of my fundamental beliefs. This is partially because I spent a lot of time working on what I believed by myself, and came to many conclusions that I haven’t yet found backing for in the writings of the Holy Fathers/Ancient Christian Writers from the beginning of Christianity. Many of these beliefs can be stated simply. Here are some examples:

A) God created/creates a rational universe in which we are meant to thrive. Or, put another way, we are rational beings because our universe is a rational place and God has made it thus. And it is good.

B) The mechanism by which we – as humans – became self-aware (and more importantly, aware of God) is secondary to the fact itself: that we can become aware of God, aware of goodness, and aware of how to become closer to God. However, the aforementioned mechanism, as all things natural and naturally beautiful and meaningful, can serve to grant us greater appreciation for the complexity and beauty of God’s universe. (In case the reader is unaware of my views, I’m a pretty firm believer in the compatibility of Christianity and the theory of evolution).

C) To a greater or lesser extent, most sin derives from violations of the Golden Rule – that is,  violations of the rule which dictates that one ought not harm others or act in such a way that harm may come to others thereby. Unfortunately, the surface connotations of this rule do not imply that one ought to be strict with oneself or restrict action that seems personal and private (i.e., those actions scoffed at by non-Christians as silly or unnecessarily/meaninglessly restrictive). However, the beauty of this rule (and of its reverberations in the complexity of this universe) comes from the implication that by restricting oneself, we are in complete control of the effects we cause in the world around us. No thought escapes introspection, no word from our lips sounds without caution, and the unintended profanations of habit and neglect are not created by the inherent contradictions in private behavior.

D) Given A, B, and C, one might be able to come to the conclusion that two of the most important goals of the human species are to 1) perfect one’s own behavior, habits, and beliefs about the world (A and C), and 2) pass these behaviors, habits, and beliefs to biological children who will further the search for perfection.

E) This might seem like a logical leap, but I can elaborate on my statements in D): evolution (B) is absolutely predicated on reproduction and adaptation to environment. The most distinct feature of evolution is the fact that those who do not reproduce are not present in the generations to come – their unique genetic contributions are absent, and they are essentially culling themselves from future generations of human beings. This means that, were humanity or Earth to reach a crisis, the beneficial contributions of every individual will be put to the ultimate test. Survival of the species would be in jeopardy, and those that chose not to have children haven’t shown up to the party (ironically, these number among the academia and intelligentsia, thus robbing us of … well, ok, probably not a whole lot). When it comes down to it, I want my children or their children or their children to be a) culturally prepared, b) physically prepared, and c) spiritually prepared to survive, flourish, and soldier on when the going gets tough.

The last thing I want is to be one of the billions of dead branches on the massive family tree of humanity.

Anyway, that’s the beginning of my philosophy. Continuing on requires combining different portions of the above, which would take a lot longer. I may actually refer back to what I’ve written here if I felt the need to expand on the above. Which I might. I like to hear my voice typed.