Faith and Mankind

In general society there appears some frustration with education at the time of this writing, not only with the young, but increasing doubts as generations grow older.  Elders tend to appear a bit better than the youthful generations, likely due simply to having lived longer and picking up some modest sophistication and life experience as they went along.  Part of the problem, as asserted in some of these Pages, is that there is inadequate understanding between education and training taken together with significant overlap of the two.  Education once referred to the development of the person – the person in relationship to self, other persons and the world, commonly referred to as the Humanities.  That included the study of religion – for many centuries the Christian faith in the West.  Today the quality of an education is often judged by the students’ grasp of mathematics and science related to occupations.  As magnificent as these fields are, they may be negated by omissions in the educations of those who master them.  Gradually, as societies moved away from personal and faith based studies the accent turned to training, perceived to be education, and away from what was historically known as the liberal arts – that included needed math and science in life formation.  Liberal arts remain, but have become in the general public mind, overshadowed by education for business, job acquisition, leadership, skills and money-making (wealth accumulation) so to escape ordinary labor, poverty, dependence, low status.  Professionals have said to me: I make a lot of money in what I do, but I am not well educated.  Some graduates with advanced degrees have proved the point to me. (Note: What’s College Good For, by Brian Caplan.   The Atlantic, Jan/Feb/ 2018, Page 11ff.) It requires education, both formal (school) and informal (experience) to understand language, its order and uses, verbally and in writing, in listening and reading; education for acceptable and unacceptable behaviors relating to relationships, daily life, values, civics and the like; education for self and family development and problem solving, authority, leadership related to history and the arts; and, the story continues into which I would hold on to education related to morality, even if it is incorporated from the value system emerging from the expectations of society.  My own belief is that all true morality comes from God.

Out of this education there emerges: consideration for others; practice of civility and self-control; respect for words (communication/symbols) in their choices and usages appropriate to personal and social context; knowledge, understanding to wisdom pointing to maturity and the good life; order in life time-periods for balance; and, awareness of discipline for health, focus, context for a person and society.  This story too can be extended.  We ought to include perceptions related to both humanism and spiritual life for effectiveness leading to a life of love, peace, relationships (including family, work/colleagues and strangers/neighbors), service (faith commitments of worth both in person and substance), and hope for legacy and meaning.

During much of history the above was accomplished in the family.  Mothers prepared their daughters for life duty and privilege in family.  Fathers gave their sons information they needed and tested their development.  As wealth and emerging societies divided genders, races, competencies, powers, and the machineries of life, the changes came, some promising good, others diluting that good.  In our time, the society seems to be distorting persons forming mankind into one of the ciphers in the process of mechanizing the earth.  The effort now is to make a machine that will outsmart mankind, will solve problems that we have not solved, and our story of life will change.  For some the super-Robot will be god and some hope to make a machine that will think, making human beings less necessary to a progressive society.  A recent review of progress used the experience of a robot outsmarting the best human contestant on a television program in answering questions as proof that the future for thought, creativity and labor is to be found in earth computerization.  Mankind without God will never make metal, plastic and electricity into a substitute for self-duty or God.  At the time of this writing technological advantage has not yet been shared in its proper benefits with humanity, some of whom may have lost their way.  With education, even the assistance of God, technology will likely remain.  Controllers may misapply it to manage the masses.