The Soul of a Monkey

by Larrywomack.com

We all bring our youth with us into adulthood. Though my mother, father, and brothers were not piously religious, I was. During my preteens and well into adulthood, I was intensely focused on religion and virtuous behavior. It was also the focal point of many of my neighbors in the second-generation off-the-farm urban neighborhood in which I was raised.

In my childhood community, the Church of Christ Christian sect had the monopoly on Heaven. Both kids and adults in that church often told me, I was going to hell because I was a Methodist. Being a Methodist was evidently tantamount to worshipping Satan. In my adulthood, I attended the Episcopal Church with several parishioners who grew up in the Church of Christ. They had long since denounced the exclusivity of Church of Christ Heaven and moved on to a more inclusive version of Christianity. People change faster than churches.

I haven’t regularly attended church for more than two decades. But through periodic visits, catching snippets of services on television, and from conversations with regular attendees, I see that the faith of my youth has taken some intriguing twists and turns. In fact, if the Jesus preached then comes back soon, he will not recognize his church.

Rock n’ roll praise sing-a-longs have replaced the Eucharist and the reading of the Word as the focus of church services. Full orchestral prerecorded Christian Karaoke is favored over the organ for soloist accompaniment. The Old Rugged Cross and Gregorian chants are nowhere to be heard. The old central Christian message of: As ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me has all but disappeared and has been replaced with Prosperity Theology. Declaring that one can become personally wealthier, healthier, happier and prettier by just waving one’s right hand in the air while singing “Praise Him, Praise Him” along with the bouncing ball on the big screen. Jesus has morphed from a personal savior into a personal success coach. Roman Catholics, including priests, are now handing out and using condoms. Evangelical ministers in navy blue suits are going under covers with male or female parishioners or plotting to take over the Federal government.

Concerns over homosexuality are tearing denominations and congregations apart. United Methodists are disengaging from other United Methodists over homosexuality; Southern Baptists are quitting the Convention; Episcopalians, Lutherans, and Presbyterians are forming anti-gay congregations; and Roman Catholics are trying desperately to hate the sin and love the sinner. Some churches see homosexual ministers in the pulpit as an abomination to the Word, even as they turn deaf ears to gay choir directors, organists and cantors.  Christians don’t even agree on what is sin or the wages thereof.

Make no mistake; though no longer a believer, I still treasure my Christian upbringing and my years as one of its staunchest defenders. But as I’ve grown older and more knowledgeable, I realize that the goodness, mercy, charity and service that I learned about in church are not exclusively Christian characteristics. They are values imbedded into our DNA, manifestations of natural, human qualities.  Not the products of mysterious spiritual forces, magical thinking, ancient texts and myths of long ago miracles.

Just as the laws of gravity and inertia have always governed us, so has the law of morality. It, too, is a constant, ever present, fixed rule of nature. The law of morality states that human intentions and behaviors that affect the well being of conscious creatures in a positive way are good. Intentions and behaviors that do otherwise are bad. Genuine, direct concern for the well being of one’s self and other living creatures are immutable and require no mystical explanation. Believing in transcendent spirit-driven sources of values by which to live a virtuous life is pointless. There is no future ephemeral spiritual or tangible reward for being good. The advantage of being so is immediate and earthly. It is, always has been and will always be in one’s self-interest to avoid behaviors that cause suffering for one’s self and others.

As time passes, knowledge of what is good or bad gives us a better grasp on what well being truly means. There was a time when bloodletting through leeches was thought to bring well-being. We have learned that is not true. So we stopped doing it. We have a great deal more to learn about well being through science and other rational disciplines but not from religion.

Eight thousand years ago we shared a common ancestor with monkeys. We also shared a world where self-preservation and individual well being was the law, the law of morality. Over time, both man and monkey learned more about what it takes to insure one’s well-being. Both species learned that it includes devoting some energy to the well being of others.

What separates us from the apes is not a soul; it is the evolution of our prefrontal cortex. As that section of our brain continues to evolve and scientist discover more knowledge of its workings and potential, our understanding of what well being means will change and advance.

Religion, especially the religion of my youth – Christianity, has always had a hard time determining which things in this world genuinely address the well being of self and others. Christianity has always devoted disproportionate resources to controlling devotees, proselytizing converts, protecting authority and succession, maintaining territorial dominance, and defending Biblical interpretations. Those manifestations of well being like virtue, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility are often given the short shrift.

Though I am not rigid in my current philosophical opinions, I am firm. I fail to see how any particular religion advances my well-being, improves my contributions to my fellowman or enhances my stewardship of the flora, fauna, and resources here on earth. I am, by nature, a hopeful pessimist and a pragmatic optimist.

My current philosophies on life, death, allegiances and morality form the underpinning of my own, albeit self-adjusting, moral code by which I measure success in life and work.

Because I believe that human life is finite, I hold it sacred – worthy of respect; venerable. The well-being of every individual should be respected without judgment. Human life is fragile but only for the living. I also appreciate and value the joy and sustenance I receive from every other living creature and plant. I celebrate the contributions of artists, healers, jesters, teachers, inventors, discoverers, spiritualist, merchants, and rogues. I revel in the physical, emotional, and mental differences between men and women and between the races. I weep at the pain we suffer and inflict on others. I try to do my share and sometimes a little more.

I believe that death is the great equalizer. Whereas life is not always fair, death is. Though death, to me, is the end of life as I know it, I accept that death is a mystery. I find it intriguing, however, that most of my Christians friends who believe one can only enter the Kingdom of God through grace, reserve salvation for submissive believers alone. When my wife was dying with Cancer, several friends suggested that we pray for a miracle. Our response was, “We’ve already had a miracle. It lasted forty years.” After she died people would say ” She is in a better place.” I usually quietly nodded. Though in my heart, I knew the best place for her was here with me. I have no desire to see neither Diane nor any of my dead love ones again. It would be anticlimactic.

Allegiances are formed for specific purposes – for commerce, sport, worship, recreation, procreation, and companionship. For allegiances to work, they must advance the well-being of all parties. When an individual, within an allegiance, no longer respects, honors, or values it, the allegiance is broken – in need of renewal, repair or dissolution. Personal well-being must include looking out for the well-being of others to be achieved. It’s been that way since human beings joined together for the purpose of hunting or gathering. My first job was a drummer in a dance band. Not playing well with others could have gotten me fired. During my business career, I had six different partners, all of whom remained lifelong friends after a few initial weeks or months of estrangement. I pledge allegiance to my friends, my work, my family, my well-being, my play and all other responsibilities I assume.

Morality is essentially respecting the well-being of one’s self and others. Being a hunter or a gatherer and looking out for the well-being of all who are in the group serves selfish interest, group interests and the interest of each participating individuals. Communities, large and small, establish rules to live by based on the current understanding of morality. Though the law of morality – respect for the well-being of one’s self and others – never changes, understanding of it does evolve with time and circumstance. Those who stay within boundaries of agreed-upon rules are considered moral. Individuals who habitually operate outside those boundaries are thought to be immoral and subject to the consequences agreed upon by that society or mandated by its rulers.

I love life, do not fear death, keep most of my promises and function through an admittedly self-adjusting moral compass. I have the spirit of a Jackrabbit, the heart of a Golden Retriever, the brain of a homo sapien and the soul of a monkey. I’m going to miss me when I’m gone. I like who I am. I like who I was. Though the journey has been eclectic, for the most part, it has also been joyful, chocked with surprises, laughter-provoking, and personally fulfilling.