Malthusianism and Scientism

The overproduction of people may lead to an overwhelming burden upon the earth. Science will answer for this concern.

The 19th century Protestant theologian, Thomas Malthus proposed that at some point in the foreseeable future, the world would likely be overpopulated and resources would not be readily available for its inhabitants. Therefore  man's fecundity, his most creative output should be tamed and births controlled. These ideas in part led to the modern drive to limit man in the sexual, procreative arena; it limits women especially. While Malthus was a theologian, today he is primarily remembered for his ideas regarding global and personal economics. He was influential in the incubation of  Darwinian ideas, "natural selection," especially.

Malthus wrote a seminal treatise he entitled, The Essay on the Principle of Population. In this he asserted that: the population forces of earth are so great that in some shape or form, death must be visited upon;  war, sickness and forms of extermination must be permitted. If however, this proves to be insufficient, then the population must be otherwise controlled. Whom is he speaking of, what is the means of control? Who will decide? Is the human of Creation an animal, and should we struggle, to kill for the resources of the world? Is our 'carbon print' poisonous to everyone? While many other 19th century soothsayers died along with that century, Malthus persists in other forms and other names, covertly influencing and directing our actions.

Scientism may be thought of as an exaggerated trust in the absolute empiricism of reasoning. It is partner to the Enlightenment theories arising at about the same century. Scientists engage in empirical reasoning throughout all aspect of life, personal, social, faith, medical, mathematical, humanities, etc. It leads in progression to a "church of Science" or Scientism. The American writer, Robert P. Lockwood notes that Scientism is the product of "two fallacies." First, there is no truth other than that which may be scientifically verifiable, and secondly science is the only acceptable means of running a society. Lockwood notes, "we live in a world where the ethos of the times is reflected in the media."

While both of these thoughts may be in opposite extremes, and both may or may not resonate with everyday spirituality, they are 'out there.' Their influence is lasting and far reaching: into politics, economics, science, and spirituality. Maybe into your head and mine. Where did that come from-- who was Malthus? What do I or do I not support with my everyday faith and beliefs? Some answers are surprising, if you take a look.

The Question of Emphasis, Greek Orthodoxy

While this author, James Payton is from a decidedly Protestant institution, Redeemer University, he paints a sympathetic and often eloquent image of Greek Orthodox Christians in his book, Light From the Christian East. Today many in the Protestant fold are enamored and intrigued by Orthodoxy and the ideas it holds.

The Orthodox might be at times described as more "fossilized," more satisfied with its tenets and position within the Christian world. It remains staunchly mystical, stable and serene in its teachings. While the west adopted other ways and means, the Orthodox continued on after the meeting in Constantinople which ultimately accelerated the split within the two groups.

To the Orthodox mind, the Church was Collegial, that is founded upon its brothers and sisters in the faith; the Roman church developed a more centralized structure and found a willing audience, for the most part, in Europe. France is often called the "cradle of Christianity." The intertwining of the Church hierarchy and the emerging royal monarchies was well suited to their purposes, both individually and jointly. While there are indeed contrasts between the two, it must remain in the forefront that these two institutions, Roman and Greek Orthodox remain more closely allied than any other communities within the Christian realm.

And very unlike the Protestantism that sprung up in the early modern period of western history, the Orthodox more than any other spoke and taught that Grace was something that was more of a given and not merited. That is to say we have already received salvation in the Christ, if we are open to the working of the Spirit, then grace is upon us. Manifest destiny, or any other likewise teaching, has not been part of the Orthodox dictum. Thus within the Orthodox tradition, 'Systemic' theology is with little regard in comparison to the great emphasis some modern protestant theologians like to attribute to it. Curiously, these same thinkers according to Payton, "give little or no thought to what grace actually is."

Similarly the Protestant and Orthodox groups diverge at issues like sacraments (sacred-ness), the belief of giving and receiving of divine grace. And along this thought, Payton writes on the centrality in Orthodox belief about the 'breaking of the bread.' In the eastern mind this is Eucharist, the real, true and whole presence of the Lord Christ. How so asks the protestant thinker? More importantly, can we believe--even if we don't know the whole story?

To the Orthodox mind, the sacraments, and the Eucharist among them, is the whole story, owing back to the Gospels and the Hebrew scriptures believed to foretell them. The Gospels tell of a savior to come into the world, a great redeemer that would free man for all time; this man, the Christ comes for once and for all; he proclaims that wherever we are, in the breaking of the bread, there I AM.

From baptism and its mystical significance to Eucharist and salvation, the faithful among those in the  Orthodox tradition remain a strong voice within the Christian world. Payton is a man who sets many to thinking. The "book," as some call the Bible, is all there is, and the book is not all there is. Sounds like a good Zen Koan to this Simple Mind.

The Grotesque

"Everything that rises must converge."  American writer, Flannery O'Connor

In her short life, the author Flannery O'Connor wrote many short stories, some poems and few novels. Suffering from a debilitating disease which she would not survive, she forged on until her end at age 39. She is regarded in modern American literary circles as a brilliant and unique talent. Her view of art was large. Rather than restricted, Ms. O'Connor explored both the natural and the supernatural worlds through her work. Writing about O'Connor's vision, author Mary Reichardt records, "doctrine actually provides an instrument for penetrating reality." Her work concerns itself with themes of sin, grace and salvation. Writing principally about what she knew best, the Protestantism of deep south America, she is "intrigued by the southern evangelical imperative to decide unequivocally for or against Jesus.... the American Protestant tendency toward individualism [is] not only inadequate, but even in its extreme expression, destructive," writes Reichardt of O'Connor.


Flannery O'Connor directed her eye toward 'secular agnostics' and some Protestants who she believed diluted the facts of salvation as she sees them, de-emphasized that historical fact of the great sacrifices of the Christ, as she understood them. For Flannery O'Connor, grace was not easy or cheap. As she suffered each and every day of her young, short life, to her a revelation was delivered, and she, through her immortal writing, wished to pass those revelations on, even after death. She wrote about grace that comes in often painful and horrifying ways; invading otherwise complacent lives, she explored violence and its ability to return a person to absolute reality, to the simple facts of life which later pave the way to grace. O'Connor observed that for some, "their heads are so hard that almost nothing else will do the work."

By exploring radical themes of self-deception, O'Connor becomes firm in her belief that "everything that rises must converge." She writes a short story by this title. As a writer, she felt entirely free to examine and explore these themes. She felt no need to 'play gods,' or to tidy up the world by creating new universes. She rather felt perfectly free to examine the one world, already existing, and to record the art of what she saw. Influenced by French theologian, Teilhard de Chardin, O'Connor wrote a series of short stories, seven in all, in which she examines the various state of consciousness. The first story in the series as arranged by O'Connor is Everything That Rises Must Converge and the last story is titled Revelation.