We seek renewed reverence for the biosphere as
the ultimate context for human existence....
We seek renewed reverence for the biosphere as
the ultimate context for human existence....
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Book Review:A New Universalism for a New Centuryby A.J. Mattill, Jr.Available from: U.S. deliveries: $3.00 postpaid.
This booklet by Universal Pantheist Society member A. J. Mattill, Jr. uses the word "pantheistic" only once, yet the author expresses the major components of a pantheist faith very well in this 84 page booklet. In his exploration, he draws upon not only traditional American "Universalist" philosophers but upon such Pantheists as Ernst Haeckel, John Burroughs, and Joseph Wood Krutch. The author has written a whole series of booklets in which he "tried to show how modern knowledge has broken down our long-cherished traditional religious beliefs." In this book, the author provides a positive sequel in the form of what the author terms "cosmological universalism" as an alternative to traditional religious beliefs -- an alternative compatible with astronomical, biological, archeological, geological, and scientific realities, as well as recognizing that human beings are "by our very nature religious animals. Mattill confirms for us that "Students of religion tell us that no tribe or people has been discovered anytime, anywhere, or in any culture without any traces of religion." Mattill then sets out about the task to fashion a philosophical structure for a human religion compatible with universal reality. Mattill's definition of religion, as one might expect, is not one which might aptly be called "ignorant supernaturalism" as it is too frequently found in various immature expressions of religion throughout the world, but instead focuses on the lofty concept of religion defined as "a feeling of awe of, and dependence u on, non-human cosmic forces, the universal, the whole, the Mystery of the Universe." The heart of Mattill's religious scheme is the Fourfold Reverence:
For Reverence of the Truth, Mattill asserts the technique of rationalism, of searching for truth through "critical thinking, controlled observation, painstaking investigation, and careful experimentation, rather than through supernatural revelation or untested reason." He is clear on the point that "this search for truth will be a never-ending search, a continuous process of doubting, inquiring, and scrutinizing the data..." He points out that reverence for truth must not shrink from new truth, be content with half-truths, and should be free from the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth Reverence for Truth then, incorporates a reverence for the Truth that we do not yet know. For Reverence for Beauty, Mattill points out that beauty, like truth, is an ultimate religious value, whether found in Nature or in art, music, literature, etc. Reminiscent of Thoreau, Mattill states that "The highest artist of the beautiful is ot the artist who works in wood or metal or stone but the person who makes his/her life a work of art and beauty, which is a life that has experienced the ecstasy of beauty, a life radiant from exposure to the maximum of beauty, a life whose heart is so aflame with beauty that everything ugly in the heart is burned up." For Reverence for Life, Mattill draws heavily upon the concept as so eloquently expressed by Albert Schweitzer. Although the concept of reverence for life has its limitations, as both Schweitzer and Mattill recognize, Mattill expands the concept, even beyond Schweitzer perhaps, to apply to the field of animal rights. This leads to the logical conclusion of not only a call for humane treatment of animals, including the preservation of species, but also to vegetarianism. Mattill asserts that Reverence for Life proclaims: "Grain now being fed to millions of farm animals being raised for food could go to feed the world's hungry with tons left over. Raising animals for food not only causes intense suffering to billions of animals on factory farms but also depletes topsoil and groundwater and destroys forests and other habitats for wildlife." Pantheists will embrace Mattill's conclusion that reverence for life "asks us to be concerned about the whole sphere of life: the biosphere of air and land and water which are so delicately balanced that they can support the entire community of living things. This whole ecological community of living things and their environment is to be the object of our moral concern and compassion." For Reverence for the Mystery of the Universe, Mattill describes a trinity: Reverence for the "Tremendous Universe"; the "Primal Mystery"; and the "Cosmic Mystery". The "Tremendous Mystery" revolves around the sense of wonder we must feel in the presence of the power and vastness of the universe. This is a decidedly non-anthropocentric view, for Mattill asserts that this is a cosmic- centered, rather than human-centered world view, releasing us from "our blind obsession with humanity, from exaggerated emphasis upon humans, from self-preoccupation with out own pomp, glitter, and bloated nothingness." Moreover, Mattill is quick to say that we must do all we can to solve every mystery which confronts us. Yet, "Science, instead of explaining away all mysteries, continually exposes still deeper mysteries." The Tremendous Mystery may be called, by the language'of the heart, "God", but by the language of the head, "the Tremendous Mystery." But to deny that this Mystery exists would be folly, because "before the immense expanse of space, our egos diminish, but our consciousness expands ." The second component of the Mystery Trinity is Reverence for the "Primal Mystery." Here Mattill explores the age-old philosophical problem of existence and non-existence. If we theorize that before existence there was nonexistence, we reach a conundrum: "No religion and no philosophy, whether theistic or atheistic, can offer a reasoned solution to this problem of something coming from nothing - for from nothing to being there is no logical bridge." Mattill explores this area in depth, in much more detail than is possible to describe in this short review. The third component of the Trinity is Reverence for the "Cosmic Mystery". This Mystery is the acknowledgement that "We are surrounded with creative power from which we and all things proceed and with which we had absolutely nothing to.do.... In the cosmos, we confront a reality of energy which is external to ourselves, other than ourselves, independent of ourselves, transcendent to ourselves, and more powerful than ourselves." It is perhaps in this area that Mattill distinguishes his "Cosmological Universalism" from not only traditional theistic religion, but also from the hubris of humanism and atheism. If we acknowledge the cosmic mystery, known and unknown, creative and destructive, tangible and metaphysical, our final trust "is not in human beings and in human intelligence but in whatever forces produced and sustain human beings and human intelligence and all of life." - paraphrasing naturalist-writer Joseph Wood Krutch, who has been a prime inspiration for the Universal Pantheist Society. After presenting this outline of his religious philosophy, Mattill describes eleven "Characteristics of Cosmological Universalism", then provides several expositions of this world-view: "The Jubilee Avowal" (a Fiftieth Anniversary rewrite of the 1935 "Washington Declaration" of the Universalist Church of America); The Jubilee Benediction"; "A Cosmological Conscience Check"; "A Cosmological Catechism"; "A Christening Service"; "A Marriage Ceremony"; "A Graveside Service"; and "Table Graces". These last five were somewhat disappointing to me in their brevity and fairly standard-Unitarian approach to such situations. Overall, however, this book is outstanding for its enunciation of a Pantheist faith. It will be helpful to those who do not wish to struggle with the philosophical and verbal issues of theism and atheism, who wish to go right to the heart of what religious practice is all about. Mattill's Reverence for Truth is termed "The Way of Knowledge" in some of our Universal Pantheist Society literature; his Reverence for Beauty is likewise approximated by "The Way of Devotion", and the "Reverence for Life" is embraced in the "Way of Works". Finally, Mattill's emphasis on three-fold Mystery is quite helpful in its thoroughness of exploring the crucial importance of what Rachel Carson called the "Sense of Wonder." If I had any disappointments in the book, I would have liked the one page bibliography to be expanded and annotated; I would have liked a bit more Information given about the history of Universalism, which is a strong although minority tradition in America; I would have appreciated greater comparison of the author's "Cosmological Universalism" with other religious and non-religious philosophies such as Unitarianism, Pantheism, Existentialism, Humanism, and the major World Religions. Overall, this book is superb, and its brevity, although necessitating the omission of such of what I would like to have read, is an asset for its ease in reading. I strongly recommend this book to all who would like a brief introduction of what Pantheism means - a world view in which the name isn't as important as the ideas and practices we advocate! - Harold Wood
Source: Pantheist Vision , Vol. 11, No. 2, June, 1990. |
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