Bernard Shaw's Remarkable Religion: A Faith That Fits the Facts

More documents

Recommendations

Info

54 Bernard Shaw’s Remarkable Religion The Darwinians simply ignore the first part or the argument, which enables them to dismiss the second as wishful thinking. Since this controversy is at the heart of Shaw’s claim that his religion was proof against science, it is a crux of his dispute with most modern scientists. (6) While the Darwinians find salvation from the specter of a malicious and capricious deity in a mindless and indifferent universe, the religious people are unsatisfied. The way out of their dilemma, Shaw says, is Creative Evolution. God cannot be both omnipotent and benevolent. But the assumption that God must be omnipotent is gratuitous. Why would an omnipotent God create something inferior and imperfect: us? If you combine the evidence for evolution with the plain fact that will and consciousness exist in each of us, you have the argument that we are all part of God, that God is Becoming rather than Being, and that God is in the process of manifestation. Evil is no longer problematic because it is not the deliberate mischief of a malicious deity, only the mistakes of a yet imperfect one. Two Syllogisms; Two Denials Thus Shaw’s religion is based on the logical denial of the foundations of the two major competing metaphysical systems of the modern world: the traditional religious cosmos governed by an omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent deity and the scientific materialist universe conceived as a mindless, purposeless machine. The first argument is familiar: attempts to deny it refer to it as “the problem of Evil.” It has been formulated in many ways, but a simple version goes like this: A God who was omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent could not create an imperfect world, a world soiled by evil. Our world is imperfect and rife with evil. Therefore, if a god created our world, she or he is not omnipotent, omniscient, or benevolent. Scientific materialism concludes that God does not exist. But scientific materialism provides a faith of its own. It declares that the universe is orderly and knowable and that the laws of physical science provide the keys to all its mysteries. “Faith in the inerrancy of the Bible is childish, ignorant superstition,” it boldly declares, “and the one true faith is in the inerrancy of the laws of physics.” The universe is a giant machine. Shaw’s refutation of this metaphysic is equally logical. Although Shaw disdained formal logic, it might be phrased as a syllogism thus:
The Will and Its Responsibilities 55 If the universe is mindless and purposeless, every part of the universe is mindless and purposeless. I have a mind (I am aware of something) and I have purposes. Therefore, I am either not a part of the universe, or the universe has mind and purpose. The first alternative is absurd, but the second seems equally absurd to materialists (a category that includes most contemporary intellectuals). As a result, they attempt contemptuously to dismiss the argument rather than actually addressing it. When they do address it, they attack it by denying the minor premise (although they do not always admit that is what they are doing). As infuriating as many find this syllogism, however, the argument is sound. It is essential to understanding Shaw’s religious metaphysic, so we will consider it in detail later. The Appearance of Chance in a World of Law Shaw’s faith is terrifying in its denial of precisely what is reassuring in both traditional faiths. Theism insists that God is in charge and will take care of everything; materialism declares the universe to be indifferent to our impotent desires. In either case there is nothing to be done. Shaw’s religion charges us with the responsibility to manifest Godhead, to set the world right, to expel evil and enthrone good. But it also affirms things which are important to the adherents of both alternative faiths. It assures the champions of spirit that there is Divine purpose in the world, and it maintains with the adherents of matter that the universe is orderly, understandable, and governed by law. It is not capricious. The Life Force, or willprinciple, is like any other “law” of the universe: its manifestations differ because they are conditioned by circumstances. The law of gravity may operate equally on a cannon ball and a feather, but the one will fall more swiftly because other factors have their influence. The existence of different manifestations of the will-principle can be accounted for just as the different manifestations of physical law are: by the existence of different circumstances and impinging forces. For Shaw, the product of an age pervaded by ideas of growth, progress, and evolution, it was natural to imagine the possibility of a “spontaneous growth of the will” (Quintessence 238). Many philosophers today would argue with this metaphysical system, but it is not a hodgepodge of undigested and unassimilated scraps and pieces. It is a single, coherent, and consistent set of principles from which the rest of the Shavian platform follows with logic
Page 1 and 2:
Bernard Shaw’s Remarkable Religio
Page 3 and 4:
Bernard Shaw’s Remarkable Religio
Page 5 and 6:
For Jalma, who made it possible.
Page 7 and 8:
Contents Foreword by R. F. Dietrich
Page 9 and 10:
Foreword “I believe because it is
Page 11 and 12:
Preface Foreword xi The seed of thi
Page 13 and 14:
Preface xiii hope to reach some of
Page 15 and 16:
Introduction Preface xv Here we hav
Page 17 and 18:
Introduction xvii the facts asked i
Page 19 and 20:
o I Foundations of Faith
Page 21 and 22: Unity 1 A Creed for Living A Faith
Page 23 and 24: A Creed for Living 5 ticism toward
Page 25 and 26: A Creed for Living 7 posed to the i
Page 27 and 28: A Creed for Living 9 ally—at the
Page 29 and 30: A Creed for Living 11 tions of deat
Page 31 and 32: A Creed for Living 13 For many the
Page 33 and 34: A Creed for Living 15 fying faith.
Page 35 and 36: A Creed for Living 17 We have inesc
Page 37 and 38: Realism 19 Thus, I blush to add, yo
Page 39 and 40: Realism 21 evenhanded. Tyndall pres
Page 41 and 42: Realism 23 no scoundrels. A similar
Page 43 and 44: Realism 25 sage and confuse and dis
Page 45 and 46: Realism 27 tific materialism is utt
Page 47 and 48: Realism 29 of his fellows) is natur
Page 49 and 50: Realism 31 to be tied down to textb
Page 51 and 52: Realism 33 as they do not denote an
Page 53 and 54: Realism 35 women who disparage home
Page 55 and 56: Realism 37 woven out of words and i
Page 57 and 58: Consistency 3 The Will and Its Resp
Page 59 and 60: The Will and Its Responsibilities 4
Page 71: The Will and Its Responsibilities 5
Page 89 and 90: II o A Guide to Art and Life
Page 91 and 92: Dramatic Realism 4 A Playwright’s
Page 93 and 94: Illusionism Is Not Realism A Playwr
Page 95 and 96: Contradictions in Scientific Realis
Page 97 and 98: A Playwright’s Progress 79 view,
Page 99 and 100: A Playwright’s Progress 81 horror
Page 101 and 102: A Playwright’s Progress 83 My pla
Page 103 and 104: A Playwright’s Progress 85 disast
Page 105 and 106: A Playwright’s Progress 87 Shaw i
Page 107 and 108: A Playwright’s Progress 89 jectiv
Page 109 and 110: A Playwright’s Progress 91 suprem
Page 111 and 112: A Playwright’s Progress 93 certai
Page 113 and 114: A Playwright’s Progress 95 In cal
Page 115 and 116: A Playwright’s Progress 97 pishly
Page 117 and 118: A Playwright’s Progress 99 too
Page 119 and 120: A Playwright’s Progress 101 woman
Page 121 and 122: A Playwright’s Progress 103 focus
Page 123 and 124:
A Playwright’s Progress 105 Candi
Page 125 and 126:
A Playwright’s Progress 107 Shaw
Page 127 and 128:
A Playwright’s Progress 109 strug
Page 129 and 130:
A Playwright’s Progress 111 Not t
Page 131 and 132:
A Playwright’s Progress 113 Amiab
Page 133 and 134:
A Playwright’s Progress 115 find
Page 135 and 136:
A Playwright’s Progress 117 sexua
Page 137 and 138:
A Playwright’s Progress 119 culti
Page 139 and 140:
A Playwright’s Progress 121 ing t
Page 141 and 142:
The Organic and the Didactic 5 Majo
Page 143 and 144:
Major Barbara 125 fundamental confl
Page 145 and 146:
Major Barbara 127 picture, but Majo
Page 147 and 148:
Major Barbara 129 acters in a play,
Page 149 and 150:
Major Barbara 131 goes his own way,
Page 151 and 152:
Major Barbara 133 have you ever sav
Page 153 and 154:
Major Barbara 135 gibbet, while Chr
Page 155 and 156:
Major Barbara 137 Moral responsibil
Page 157 and 158:
Major Barbara 139 motto is “Unash
Page 159 and 160:
Major Barbara 141 (this is explicit
Page 161 and 162:
Major Barbara 143 eryone else in th
Page 163 and 164:
Major Barbara 145 which he himself
Page 165 and 166:
Ethics 6 Ethics, Economics, and Gov
Page 167 and 168:
Ethics, Economics, and Government 1
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
Page 183 and 184:
Page 185 and 186:
Page 187 and 188:
Page 189 and 190:
Page 191 and 192:
Page 193 and 194:
Page 195 and 196:
Page 197 and 198:
Page 199 and 200:
Page 201 and 202:
III o God and Science The Marriage
Page 203 and 204:
7 The Marriage of Science and Relig
Page 205 and 206:
The Marriage of Science and Religio
Page 207 and 208:
Page 209 and 210:
Page 211 and 212:
Page 213 and 214:
Page 215 and 216:
Page 217 and 218:
Page 219 and 220:
Page 221 and 222:
Page 223 and 224:
Page 225 and 226:
Can Science Be Purged of Materialis
Page 227 and 228:
Page 229 and 230:
Page 231 and 232:
Page 233 and 234:
Page 235 and 236:
Page 237 and 238:
Page 239 and 240:
Page 241 and 242:
Page 243 and 244:
Page 245 and 246:
Page 247 and 248:
Page 249 and 250:
Page 251 and 252:
IV o A Peroration
Page 253 and 254:
8 Catching Up with Shaw Shaw procla
Page 255 and 256:
Catching Up with Shaw 237 would pre
Page 257 and 258:
Catching Up with Shaw 239 to variou
Page 259 and 260:
Catching Up with Shaw 241 rialists
Page 261 and 262:
Catching Up with Shaw 243 Such goal
Page 263 and 264:
Notes Chapter 1. A Creed for Living
Page 265 and 266:
Notes 247 difficult to obtain, but
Page 267 and 268:
Notes 249 turbing, these attitudes
Page 269 and 270:
Works by Shaw Works Cited Notes 251
Page 271 and 272:
Works Cited 253 Shaw and Ibsen: Ber
Page 273 and 274:
Works Cited 255 ———. Introduc
Page 275 and 276:
Works Cited 257 McRory, Desmond J.
Page 277 and 278:
Works Cited 259 Weismann, August. E
Page 279 and 280:
Aquinas, Thomas, 52 Archer, William
Page 281 and 282:
Saussure, Ferdinand de, 74 Schopenh
show all

Bernard Shaw's Remarkable Religion: A Faith That Fits the Facts

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?