Timothy Wilken
Responses
Reader Steven Van Smith writes in response to Trust and True Community:
“With reference to Arthur Noll’s comments on tolerance, I find that tolerance is the unconditional intent toward any human being without reference to prejudice or predetermination. The continuation of tolerance depends on trust becoming mutually confirmed and community established by virtue on honorable and respectful behavior. If trust is broken by another’s inhumanity or injustice, then tolerance must yield to justice, discipline and subsequent removal from the community if trust is not re-established through the demonstrated reform of both being and behavior. Osama bin Laden has become anathema to the community of mankind, and should be consigned to the world court for trial, and if he does not comply, then he should be cast out into the utter darkness where the void is as empty as his soul. No sound religion or philosophy advocates terror and murder for the sake of power, control, and oppression.”
Community Requires Shared Values
I find myself in agreement with the concerns of Arthur Noll and Steven Van Smith. As much as the best of humans would like a world where we all win, that cannot happen without dealing with those humans that cling to the values of animals. Adversity is the law of nature that applys to the animal kingdom. Might makes right. Survival of the adversarily fittest. This is the lose-win world we live in today.
In a Positive Future means and ends cannot be separated. You cannot kill innocents and accomplish anything good.
The core of community is shared values. Tolerance can be one of those values you choose to share. As a synergist, I am happy to tolerate different behaviors, lifestyles, opinions, religious practices, etc.. However when is comes to core beliefs, purpose, and principles these must be shared and held in common.
Thousands of years ago the synergic way was discovered intuitively by Jesus of Nazareth. He gave us the rules in his sermon on the mount:
“Love our enemies, do good to them that hate us, bless them that curse us, and pray for them that despitefully use us, I say unto you, that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgement. Go be reconciled with thy brother.”
Jesus of Nazareth may have been the first human to embrace synergy. His words seem to capture the very essence of synergic morality. Synergic morality is more than not hurting other, it requires helping other. Jesus was the first human to state the fundamental law of synergic relationship. It is known as the Golden Rule:
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law.”
What would you have others do to you? The best one word answer I can find for this question is help. “Help others as you would have them help you.”
Synergic Morality–helping
Andrew J. Galambos in his lectures describing “Moral Capitalism” often quoted the negative version of the Golden Rule:
“Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.”
What would you not have others do to you? Here the best one word answer is hurt. “Do not hurt others as you would have them not hurt you.”
This is where Galambos’ “Moral Capitalism” is incomplete. The negative version of the Golden Rule is just and right, but Synergic Morality requires more of us than simple not hurting. It requires more of us than simply ignoring others. It requires us to help others–to help each other.
Jesus of Nazareth understood this on the deepest of levels. He did not call for simply a prohibition against hurting others. He called on us to help each other.
Synergic Morality is more than the absence of hurting. It is the presence of helping.