A new Kind of Christianity: macro history
In Chapter 20 of A New Kind of Christianity, I sketch out a seven-zone quest to describe various ways human beings and societies grow and develop. It draws from the work of Clare Graves and others.
Here’s another macrohistorical schema …
I think we need a variety of ways of trying to grasp the big picture … so I see the various schemas as complementary, not contradictory. Al Mozingo sent this summary Chapter 20.
The quest for a higher level of spirituality. Most historians when looking at the stages of human development and spirituality will come up with something like this:
#1 – Our quest for survival. A need for food, water, and shelter. We asked for help from God.
#2 – Our quest for security. As we developed into clans and tribes we farmed our own land. Our neighbors attacked us and crops fail. We became warriors and our protector and provider was God.
#3 – Our quest for power. We found a world of competing cities and states with powerful warlords. Each group looking for a competitive advantage. We saw God as our king.
#4 – Our quest for independence. In an age of powerful kings, they tend to be corrupt; they exploited us, and became a threat to us. We studied Theology – we studied God.
#5 – Our quest for individuality. The world became a rational machine, operating according to physical, biological, social, moral, and spiritual laws. We were free to discover and express ourselves; exercising our personal freedom through competition for goods and services. Personal success was a key element. We found self-help at Mega Churches with “personal spirituality” with “personal salvation.”
#6 – Our quest for honesty. In our enlightenment as we were plundering the planet, we saw a world of extinction with our actions, and atomic bombs that could destroy the planet. Our Western “civilized” military-industrial complex and our capitalist system did not seem like the ultimate answer to everything. We probably actually move not only toward honesty, but also perhaps even humility.
#7 – Our quest for ? It looks like we could name this healing, unifying, peace, and love. From a word, from Africa, with a rich meaning ubuntu – one-another-ness, interconnectedness, joined-in-the-common-good-ness, and profound commitment to the well-being of all. A quest for sacredness, a desire to live in a growing conscious awareness of the presence of God and the goodness of God reflected in all things.
Will a new spirituality emerge?