Previously in these pages we have (God knows when, pun, obviously, intended) looked at how people use God as an alibi for their bad actions. In this piece we will look at how the concept of God in relation to the individual can negatively impact upon the individual. Please note this is not looking at the question of ‘being’ or ‘existence’ in relation to a God, rather it is ‘being’ and ‘existence’ in relation to ‘self’.
Saint Augustine was an interesting man (great opening line, let’s bask in that for a moment). In his confessions he speaks about how he went from a life of debauchery by the standards of his times (nothing by current standards) to a life filled with meaning and love. This, he says, happened because of God. Whilst he and the book are incredible (touching on his pioneering thoughts on physics and philosophy), when reading it, one finds one’s self being gradually ground down by the simpering (my opinion) which prefaces each utterance. Before telling his story to God, to whom the confessions are addressed, Saint Augustine prefaces it by words along the lines of (note: this is not a direct quote), ‘Oh, God, without you I couldn’t tie up my shoes and use the toilet or eat an apple…’ before continuing his story and his reflections on his self. It might seem utterly petty for me to bring this up, and it is, however, when reading this, other than the repetition of something along those lines prefacing each utterance, it is the tone which I found so abrasive.
What is it about the tone that I found so uncomfortable? Simply, in prefacing (sincerely) each aspect of his biography this way, Augustine was negating himself. By saying that it was only due to the wisdom and compassion of God that he could see the error of his ways and change, Augustine is essentially admitting that he is powerless and only God can act in this world. Apart from the obvious moronic question this raises, if everything happens because God is actively doing things, why is there suffering etc., Augustine is saying that everything that he did, in confronting himself, in trying to improve, in finding wisdom, was not due to himself but rather due to God. Now, it is very possible that our actions are guided in some part by God. If we are the ‘Children of God’ then our ‘self’ would have been created by God meaning that our actions and decisions are guided by how God made us, but to say it is purely down to God and God alone negates the need for humans. If God does everything, why bother to create humans? That there are humans (hello, my fellow humans) suggests that if there is a God or not, as with the ancient mythologies, humans have autonomy, what we would call free will, the ability to make decisions for one’s self.
The concept of free will is something I have covered before and will not do so here- my conclusion going from free will is freedom of interpretation (things happen, how we react is our choice) to my more recent thoughts that if we are the by-products of nature and nurture then how much of our interpretations are ours alone? But let’s ignore all of that for now and say that humans have a mind and with that mind they can make decisions of thought and action. This then, to return to the topic, would mean that Augustine is ‘choosing’ to negate himself to say that everything that he thought and did were the actions of God, even if this revelation is in hindsight.
There are possible interpretations for this; he is showing gratitude, he is falling into the Danish Theistic philosopher Kierkegaard’s trap of ‘prayer does not change God, rather it changes the one who prays’ and so by attributing everything to ‘God’, Augustine is unconsciously finding help from within himself for what he did/will do (tee hee, ‘Will’ do… pun intended) etc.
What Augustine shows is that there is a danger in giving one’s self over to something else, in this instance it is God, but it may be Society, or a Belief, or a Politic, and in doing so one loses one’s individuality and ceases to be an autonomous human and rather becomes the equivalent of a domino in some grand, unknowable and utterly bewildering, and in some instances, utterly terrifying, plan.
‘till next time
thegreaterfool2016 