See No Faith

On Tuesday 10th June '08 Don Cupitt came over to Ireland, for pehaps his last visit, to give a lecture entitled "The Religion Of Post-Christian Ireland". To an audience of around 70-80 people he opined on the death of God and the need for a new expression of 'faith' to arise. He was essentially disassembling the notion of Classical Thesim ("honey, that's SO 18 months ago!") and suggesting that Secular Humanism is the right way forward in the 21st Century. 

To my little mind, and it is very little, he wasn't stating anything particularly new - he was just stating it very well. "Modern people", he said, "aren't looking for salvation from their sins. They want to understand what has happened to us, and how we are to live in the new situation." (for a thought provoking outlook on this topic read Richard Holloway's book) 

And to a degree he's right. The idea of a Fall from Perfection/Paradise and the need for Redemption comes from a pre-Modern, pre-Darwinian worldview. Now Cupitt ditches any sort of God, and I believe he's right to kick the Traditional Theistic God into touch. But I feel he goes too far. Might I suggest, as William Crawley did in the Q&A after the lecture, that Process Theology could well plough a middle ground?! It removes the logical and theological problems of Classical Theism while at the same time allowing for a personal god for those who like me don't want to send God to Coventry altogether (Process Theologians differ in their views on God, especially as to whether God can be personal or not. Opinion is divided).

I, for one, don't share Cupitt's vision of a post-Christian Ireland. But simultaneously I've no desire to see pre-Modern Christianity promoted as the only 'God' option on this island. And therefore I will continue, in my own little way, to search for a faith that relies neither on blind obedience, nor cold rationality for its expression. And to that end, may God (if She exists) have mercy on my soul.