As some of you know I have recently finished my second book, entitled the Fidelity of Betrayal: Towards a Church beyond Belief (due out in April 2008)
In addition to this I am also compiling a book of reflections entitled The Prodigal Father and other Parables
In order to raise money for some upcoming ikon initiatives I am going to read excerpts from these works at a small gathering on Tuesday 20th November
This event will take place in the back room of Common Grounds Cafe (12-24 University Avenue)
Doors 19:00
Suggested donations £5+
Here is another excert from The Fidelity of Betrayal,
Christianity, as we have been endeavouring to explore, exhibits a somewhat disconcerting vertigo-inducing rupture at its very core, a divine rupture which gives it the form of a religion without religion. In order to understand this idea of a religion without religion in a concrete manner let us take the fictional example of a Christian businessman who has become very rich through manufacturing and selling cars. Let us imagine that this man considers himself to be deeply religious. This faith in God and Christ encourages him to pose certain ethical questions about the industry he works in, questions about the environmental impact of his work, the working conditions of those on factor floor, and the integrity of selling to people who do not need a new car or who perhaps cannot really afford one etc. And so, in light of this the businessman endeavours to make ethical desicions which often lead to smaller profits. For example he attempts to refrain from hard sales techniques, campaigns for better working conditions within the industry and attempts to be a thoughtful, considerate manager. Although he is a tough and committed businessman who is making a great deal of money he knows deep in his heart that he is a Christian who does not place his true value on earthly treasures. Indeed his acts of Christian kindness during work hint of this deep truth: namely, that he does not take the world of making money and business success too seriously. It is what he does in order to provide for his family but it is not who he is.
However, in contrast to this common-sense view of the situation let us apply an analysis developed from the understanding of Christianity as a religion without religion. In contrast to the above description, which views the mans faith as the deep inner truth that prevents him from fully engaging in a heartless capitalistic drive for wealth, one could say that it is precisely his faith in God which enables him to be a hardnosed business man in the first place. Instead of keeping his drive for financial success at any cost in check his supposedly true inner identity is actually the very fuel that powers his public life. It is his religious convictions that allow him to act in an irreligious way.
There are very few individuals who would want to knowingly dedicate their lives to the selfish pursuit of making a lot of money at the expense of others yet it would seem that so many of us do in fact work in such environments (in businesses which make use of slave labour or which cause significant environmental damage). What if these types of destructive businesses run efficiently precisely because most of those involved, when asked, will voice the concerns about what they do. What if, over a drink, they will confide that they are really people with deep ethical and/or religious convictions who have moral dilemmas about their work and are attempting, in small but important ways, to address these problems. While we may think that these deep ethical and religious identities are the deep truth of our being which help to us undermine the immoral aspects of our activities perhaps these very identities are the fantasy we need in order to be able to engage in the activities we really desire. In psychoanalytic terms one must ask whether the deep truth of the above businessmans inner life (that he has faith in God and his family) is actually a pragmatic fantasy that enables him to engage in his true desires, to make a lot of money, potentially at other peoples expense.
Here we can perceive the problem with many forms of political protest. We can so easily make claims concerning the need to end child labour or look after the environment and yet continue to buy the products which employ child labour or damage the eco-system. Such protest does little more than allow us to feel good while enabling us to continue living in the way that we have become accustomed. The last thing we really want is to get what we are asking for because this would cost us a lot in terms of how we live. We do not want to sacrifice our comfortable lives yet we find it hard to acknowledge that distasteful truth and so we engage in forms of protest that enable us to blame another (the Government, big busisness) while enjoying the benefits which such a corrupt system offers us. It is a little like employees talking about their manager behind her back while at the same time working hard, coming in on time and seeking compliments. The backbiting that goes on in the office is not, contrary to expectation, something which undermines the manager, if anything it is the very valve that enables the manager to keep the work force active.
The point here is to note that Christianity, as a religion without religion, does not allow itself to be reduced to a system that can act as a fantasy to enable a persons social activities. As religion without religion Christianity's religious expression cannot be reduced to a religious system but is expressed in ones life. Is this not the deep insight expressed in James 2:14 when we read that faith without deeds is dead?
