Why love is still better than hate: thoughts from study this week.

Three areas God is talking about now according to NT Wright: How we know anything, who we are or the problem of determining identity, and are their any better or worse narratives-ie what is your narrative in life (what is your matanarrative?); how do you interpret Reality and Life. These three areas all shifted as we trailed in post-modern culture. And these three areas are where our answers matter most. Willard, would say identity, purpose and narrative also are the three big issues today. How we know, who we are, and what’s the best story of life? These three areas still matter.

The postmodern assumption that all metanarratives are suspect, has left it hard to interpret one story as more true than another. A crisis in knowing is the result. Or seeing everything in terms of power dynamics, and personal choice.

Then, there is the deeper ethical problem we all face. We can’t really live out of ethical pluralism where every story has the same weight. If so, we can kill jews or take ten wives or kill when we feel like it etc. Ironically, the refugee issue in europe has brought up a call for justice and fairness—but based on what standard or metastory. If all narratives are truly equal we face a crisis of interpretation in short. I like that point, NT Wright and even Tim Keller make in the area of ethics. You can’t really live out life if all ethical systems are equal! Nice reminder today in study!
The human heart still thinks its better to love than hate. Why is that, and based on what? It still matters which story you choose to live by!

I once asked a Rabbi also, what empowers your ethics? For Christians, though one doesn’t always see this in practice, but it can be found among spiritually mature folks, it would be the Holy Spirit forming himself in our heart and causes us to live more from and in the fruits of the Spirit—patience, love gentleness etc…

Dallas Willard points out that we need some sort of Power to live out our ethics. It’s not enough to just want to do good, to help the refugees and those suffering, we need real empowerment to do that, and live well. And some ways of living are better than others. It is better to love your neighbor than to rape them. Most people would agree with that statement. But if I believe all ethical systems are equal it’s hard to say love is better than hate!

I think that pluralism is actually a great opportunity to find the great stories again, and to pick out ones which feel actually true. It forces us to discern the spirit of things, to pick and choose wisely what is truer. In this sense, it’s good to be moving into supermarket of spiritualities phase in history. Then you have to really shop to know which ones hold water to what is Real. You compare and contrast and see what actually works in real life.

I personally would still choose love over hate, but to do so, I assume that one version of life is better than another! Nice remembering this, while reading Wright, Willard and others on ethics this week! These questions still seem important to me in terms of practical living, and motivating your ethics. The way of love still seems better to me than hate. And our stories which have begun still seem to desire an ending…

Lastly there is the area of beauty, or aesthetics. If all art is equal, then pornography and picasso are on the same level or plane aesthetically. I have not found that to be true. Just to fruits alone would prove that. Pornography leads to poor relationships, narcissism and a corrupted view of other. Looking at art, leaves you with other sorts of fruits.

Some art actually is better than other art, whether i like it or not. Relativism in the area of beauty seems impossible to live by for me at least. Any given sunset, is more beautiful than watching a bomb kill thousands on the news. At least, that is my view and experience. It’s hard to live in the art world, if all things really are equal. Watching someone kill themselves is uglier than watching someone dance and perform well. At least that’s how I see it. Buber also argued often from aesthetics, and its hard to live if there is no standard at all of what is beautiful.