Was the burning of Notre Dame a portent of what is to come for Christianity? Perhaps it was a collective expression of greater humanity signaling a change. The flux of life ensures the rise and fall of all things; from birth to death, everything gets its chance to bask in the light of existence. Christianity has had nearly two thousand years. Of course, this length of time is irrelevant with respect to nature. However, with regard to the cultural evolution of humanity, which only goes back about 30,000 years, this is a significant period of time. So by those standards, Christianity has had a remarkable influence on our conscious evolution. Put another way, human collective consciousness has expressed itself through Christianity for about two millennia now.
There is a shift away from organized religion apparent in western culture today, and it has become more vigorous in the last several decades. Arguably, the dawn of the internet was a significant catalyst. Before the global web, information was shared at a drastically reduced rate, relatively speaking. The distribution of news was throttled by governing bodies and private groups with an agenda. Books and periodicals were widespread but largely limited by region. Communities grew upon their own culture and proximity. However, the internet has made a wealth of knowledge and cultural diversity available in the palm of the hand. This rapid expansion of shared ideas and experiences has ushered in a new perspective that makes way for a holistic view of humanity.
To better understand this evolution we can look to Spiral Dynamics. If you aren’t familiar with the model you should read my post here. Spiral Dynamics explains this shift as a movement from stage blue to stage orange. Christianity is founded on the virtues of stage blue where people appeal to a divine authority for guidance and good is determined by what is best for the collective. This couldn’t have been expressed better than Jesus sacrificing himself for the people. Morality arises at this stage because feelings of guilt surface in human consciousness. In beseeching direction from a higher source people are able to condemn and reward in a single sentence which in turn establishes order. By decreeing what one should do, it is also decided what is unacceptable and thus the concepts of good and bad are created. A good child obeys his or her parents while a bad child does the opposite. In reality, there is no such thing as good and bad. This distinction is a product of the mind projected onto reality.
Religious power rose under this guise of morality. The church was able to control huge populations of people by declaring its divine connection with God. Issuing orders and law allowed it to move vast communities in the direction it saw fit. The crusades were a plain example of this. Overcome the forces of evil and show others the true path to good in God. The church believed and of course still does, that the end justifies the means. After all, our salvation is in Heaven. This is a very convenient rationalization for those in power. It is the means by which the church was able to push the common people towards such beliefs that they would die for them. When dissected as such it seems so feeble, and yet to underestimate the power of belief is a grave mistake. Even to this day, people cling to this idea that they will be rewarded or punished based on how they live this one and only life. This is the remaining thread by which the church still exists today.
Make no mistake, the church doesn’t act maliciously or seek world dominance. It is ignorant of its motives and their true origin. The church truly believes that its intent is pure and that it is upholding divine will. In fact, this lack of awareness is the source of all human conflict. One perspective declares that it knows what is best and proceeds to impose this view on others. How much blood has been shed in human history under this guise? Don’t forget that it takes two. The people must be willing to follow. A quote from Edmund Burke illustrates this point perfectly, as well as the stage blue perspective. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Each being is experiencing life from its own perspective. Humans have a unique opportunity in that we have more awareness or consciousness than the other animals. This means we can achieve greater things and reach higher planes of being. That said, each human is experiencing life through different levels of awareness. Some think it is right to murder while others have no interest in harming a living thing. When Moses experienced the sacredness of life, from his limited perspective, he interpreted it as a divine law. Thou shalt not kill. And so it went with the other nine commandments.
The rules imposed by the church can be stifling. Its akin to a parent always watching over your shoulder judging every move. The moment you step out of line there is retribution. In the church’s defense, it must impose strict guidelines for living because it views the world in black and white. There can be no gray on the spectrum of good and evil. The problem lies in that no one is free to live life under these circumstances because their actions become governed by fear. Life is about expression and exploration, neither of which are fully embraced by the church. Fear smothers love and love is life. The church’s claim on divine authority is also crumbling under the weight of its policies. People are realizing that they can communicate with God on their own terms and access to the divine is available to everyone, anywhere, without aid of priest or pastor.
Another shortcoming of Christianity is that it produces the feeling of shame. In fact, all religions with a God lording over the people are designed to make the people feel ashamed for being who and what they are. Religion creates ideals and rules with which to live by that are fallible and unreasonable thus leading to the inevitable failure of the people to live up to them. This shame cuts deep and the wound is projected outward by the people. This creates the foundation of their collective reality. People are ashamed for their desires and impulses and so they keep them private and in the shadows. This kind of behavior can become deviant and abusive. Its no wonder why the Catholic church struggles with sexual abuse within its ranks. The church is creating the very foundation from which this abuse springs forth.
In Spiral Dynamics stage orange, personal achievement takes priority. Along with this comes mastery over the external environment. This creates fertile ground for the emergence of science, the new religion. Science is humanity’s attempt to understand and inevitably manipulate life. At this stage, divine authority has little sway because the power has shifted from the community to the individual. Happiness is sought in material wealth rather than the invisible embrace of God. This is what has happened in all developed nations. The church isn’t the only entity suffering however. Islam is undergoing similar struggles in The United Arab Emirates. Dubai is a city founded on opulence and human achievement in the material world. Its aim has been to turn into reality anything the people can conceive of with the goal of extreme indulgence.
The limitations of a moral code have reached their maximum. People are discovering that they decide what is good for themselves and that to defer to an authoritative figure in a far off place called Heaven is unreasonable. More and more people are experiencing that life is not about suffering, and that there is beauty and love all around. Heaven is here, now. Of course, there are those that still suffer and will continue to do so as long they look elsewhere for joy. This is why religion has gripped the population as long as it has. This tenuous grasp is now a gaunt shadow of what the church once was. Inevitably the light of realization will cast aside all shadows of ignorance as well as Christianity.