Ancient But Not Often Wise
Ancient represents the absence of many centuries of human intellectual and cultural evolution
A couple of months ago I noted the wisdom of Confucius, who lived 2600 hundred years ago. And I’ve often noted the wisdom of ancient Greek philosophers. But that doesn’t mean there’s always a direct link between that which is ancient and that which is wisdom. For one thing, some 98 percent of current human knowledge has only existed since the late nineteenth century. Of course, much of what is considered “wisdom” is often much more about human relations, behaviors, philosophies and questions regarding life and its meaning than about facts and data.
Ancient also represents the absence of many centuries of human intellectual and cultural evolution. This comes to mind as a result of accompanying my wife back to the Midwest for the marriage of a nephew. The ceremony was in a church that is fairly conservative (evangelical, I suppose), with a bias toward interpreting the bible as the words of god in narrow, absolute terms. The nephew is not much into this aspect of religion, but his new wife is, along with most of the many people in attendance. So there were abundant shalls and shall nots from the minister. And numerous assertions that simply fail the reality test.
Among the directives was that marriage was the creation of god, that man received the company of a woman via one of his ribs, and that nothing society or culture has done to “tamper” with the origins of marriage was valid because these contradicted god’s words. Well…not really. Society and culture have most certainly changed various aspects of what marriage is now, what it’s expected to be and what it means. Centuries of bias, prejudice and dogma have undergone considerable evolution in modern culture, resulting in more open-minded approaches to marriage — including not getting married at all. Nonetheless, many others, such as those at this wedding, retain rigid and often unrealistic assumptions.
The bible is far from being a historical document, having been written over many decades by many contributors. Much of it is simply written versions of oral history based on superstition and mysticism, followed by arbitrary dogma that often represents social control. What is ancient can often be irrelevant and even harmful. Religion itself is the source of significant human misery, suffering and even violence, all while imposing outdated, capricious beliefs. For example, the minister noted that god wants wives to be submissive to husbands, a relic from ancient times that has no place in modern society.
True wisdom is about seeing things for what they are. Critical thinking, not emotional dogma, is the source of insights and rational observations. Religion comes up short in this regard. Statistical studies of the results of prayer find no correlation between outcome and prayer, be it individuals who are seriously ill or natural events such as storms, fire or drought. Those who are religious explain this by insisting that god has a reason for bad things happening, which is hardly an explanation but rather just an excuse for why reality and religion do not align.
When viewed from modern perspectives, that which is ancient is mostly irrelevant except for rare examples of true wisdom that have remained relevant over many centuries. The vagaries of human nature have changed little over time, although we know and understand far more about the psychology of them now. Those who are truly wise have never been common, but this was particularly so when human populations were much smaller and poorly educated. Genuine wisdom is thus something to be appreciated and treasured — a pragmatic gift, if you will.
Those who are religious are sure they are the recipients of wisdom, but my experience at the wedding we attended confirmed just how misguided that belief is. And one can reasonably question how many actually live by the religious “wisdom” they accept as truth — because it’s in the bible and their minister confirms it. As if going to church and reading the bible changes human nature. Statistical research indicates that everything from divorce rates to television viewing habits among those who are religious match those of the general populace.
Finally, I find the obsession with sin common to religions pointless, counterproductive and hypocritical. There’s no wisdom there. Many of the “sins” are simply made up to control the behaviors of others. True wisdom doesn’t include intellectual dishonesty. Neither does pragmatism.
