Theoretical Question
At least for those who have a bit of a metaphysical bent. I was reading some Unamuno tonight, the great Xian thinker, as he discussed salvation. It has to do with the way salvation works within the Christian religion. It is commonly accepted for those within that belief system that you determine your own salvation; your own good acts determine your own fate.
While I’m not one to ascribe to such a set of beliefs, I am reminded of something Smullyan considered which was fascinating at the time (perhaps less so now, given how time effects metaphysical discussions and thoughts). In eastern belief systems, there is little differentiation between oneself and others – the seperation is noumenal. (No, that’s not a typo you grammar nazi’s.) What if the truth of salvation were a bit of a mix of the two. What if everyone was damned or saved together, and it was determined by the actions of a majority?
To put it differently – 50% plus one of the entire population are good people, so everyone gets saved. On the converse, if the majority are ‘sinners’ then everyone burns. The question is – which is preferable to you? Not which you believe is actual. I am asking which you would prefer?
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Tags: metaphysics, noumenal, smullyan
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The answer is pretty clear for me — would prefer the first option. First, I would hate to see the fate of society resting in the hands of the jackasses, which is what the second option would lead to. Just because 50 million people tune into “American Idol” every week doesn’t mean that I’m going to; just because the majority of Americans identify themselves as conservative doesn’t mean that mindset represents me. If I had to be judged as a person based on their actions, I would call bullshit.
My belief system has always been that you live the best way you can because you have no control over what others do. By contrast, this belief system subscribes to the idea that we are all responsible for one another’s actions, that humankind is judged on a whole and that if one person does something wrong then we should all feel guilty or atone. I could never get my head around living this way. So if I HAD to accept that this was, in fact, the truth about salvation, then I would much rather see society be saved because 50 percent plus one were good people than see it destroyed because 50 percent plus one were bad. After all, under this system, 49 percent of the population that’s good-hearted would be destroyed/condemned/burned if the majority beats them. No chance for them. Nothing to make their lives reedeemable or worth living. On the flip side, if 49 percent are “sinners” and thus, society is saved, isn’t there a chance that some of those 49 percent could change their ways or be redeemed? I consider this entire philosophy to be a gigantic error … but if we had to swear by it, then I would rather err on the optimistic side.
I would prefer salvation to be individual. Because, imagine a world with 3 people. Two decide kill the one. Then they’d all go to ‘hell’ or whatever and the victim not only suffers in this world, but also in the next.
I find the Eastern notion of salvation/damnation or success/failure as a whole very interesting. Sometimes I wonder if our society would be improved by more of such thought and less of this rugged individualism. Humans are social creatures, we rely on the give and take and simply just sharing of time together with others.
Rather than answer your question I’ll pose another: “What if no one can earn salvation for anyone?”
Now we are getting to what people thought was such “good news” to call it that, or “gospel” as it were.
The ball is not in our court for salvation. God always makes the first move. So getting back to your original question, 49%, 50%, 51%, 100%, 0% or any amount of people is enough to earn salvation. God chooses to give it freely to us because of who He is, not what we do.
That is what I believe. I think it’s great that America allows people religious freedom so I don’t need to shove that belief down anyone’s throat or them to do that to me with their beliefs.