In his book Reverence; Renewing a Forgotten Virtue, Professor Paul Woodruff makes an interesting observation. He points out a distinction that exists between the truly religious and the superficially religious. We've all met truly religious people. Some of them are theists; some of them are atheists. What identifies them is their gentleness towards other people and profound sense of awe at the wonder of life. They are noticeably different than superficially religious who use their religious beliefs as a weapon to demean or belittle others, or as a way to build walls separating humans into groups. Woodruff makes a keen observation that truly religious people often admire other religious people, regardless of their faith. The question is, he asks, what do they admire?
Obviously, it's not the tenets of the other's religion that attracts them, as most would find these tenets to be incongruent with their own beliefs. Rather, it is simply that they recognize reverence within another human being. Certainly not all religious people are reverent, and that is the key difference between the deeply religious and the hypocrite, even when the hypocrite attends church or synagogue every week. I'm thinking here of the type described by the Roman philosopher Lucretius who spoke often of this distinction. He tells a parable about Agamemnon's diviner who violates reverence. Lucretius ends the parable with the line - tantum religio portuit suadere malorum - so great is the power of religion to lead us to evil.
For the ancient Greeks reverence was a virtue that existed independent of religion, as sometimes even the gods acted irreverently leading to their doom. Reverence is older than religion, older than language. For the ancient Greeks, the opposite of reverence was hubris, the idea that we humans can control all things. As Woodruff writes; "An irreverent soul is arrogant and shameless, unable to feel awe in the face of things higher than itself. As a result, an irreverent soul is unable to feel respect for people it sees as lower than itself - ordinary people, prisoners, children." And I might add in this irreverent American climate today, the lives of others outside our country.
I've mentioned that Dr. Albert Sweitzer, a pioneer of spirituality, once said that all religious striving can be summarized in three words; "reverence for life." Everything else is superfluous. For both Sweitzer and Woodruff, to place things above life - for example dogma or ritual objects - is to violate the principle essence of reverence. Also, to place exclusionary practices, such as nationalism or creeds above a reverence for all life is to dishonor reverence as well.
Separated from the shackles of dogma, any human can learn reverence. For many of us as Ethical Culturists, reverence is demonstrated to the extent that we work to affirm the worth and dignity of all humans and to preserve our natural world. Walking on this earth with an eye on reverence we are dismayed by the many practices that elevate one group of humans at the expense of others.
During this time of growth and renewal, take time out for reverence as well. As life flourishes in myriad forms around us, be mindful that human life can take many forms as well, and still live in harmony. Take the opportunity to dedicate yourself to one action this month that evokes a reverence and awe for life.
Whenever they gathered into groups early human beings would do wrong to each other, because they did not yet have the knowledge of how to form society. As a result they would scatter again and perish. And so Zeus, fearing that our whole species would be wiped out, sent Hermes to bring Reverence and Justice to human beings, in order that these two would adorn society and bind people together in friendship. - Protagoras in Plato's Protagoras
Posted by Curt Collier on March 10, 2005 | TrackBack