IN a recent episode of Coronation Street Vera Duckworth told hubby Jack: “I’ve no fight left in me.�
As usual the writers of this brilliant soap opera used a phrase that described perfectly how millions of people in this country feel most of the time.
The sheer daily struggle of life in contemporary Britain can wear you down.
So many people are besieged by so many factors … debt worries, marital and relationship woes, mental and physical afflictions, career problems (such as workplace bullying, which is rife in Britain) and bereavement.
Though I personally am going through a remarkably cheerful period of my life, that hasn’t always been the case, and I’m mindful of the fact that for many people daily existence is a struggle.
The Christmas period, particularly, can be lonely and wretched.
And because the world is in such a mess – stalked by the shadow of war, hate-filled terrorism and environmental degradation – we are all tending to feel a bit more apprehensive than previously.
Also, Christmastide coincides with the end of the year – at least in what we used to call the Christian world.
At this time of the year we all tend to look back and assess how things have been going – and in recent times things have not looked good. Nor has there been an optimistic prognosis.
Strangely enough, however, I detect hope for the future of the world arising from within the human society … and from beyond.
You see, I have an inner conviction (one that’s verging on being a prophetic insistence) that there is intelligent life out there in the Cosmos.
And I feel it could well be that extra-terrestrials are taking a benevolent interest in the downward slide of human society in recent years.
You see, in our tradition, human beings are made in the image of God – meaning that we are special within creation – which is a fascinating and hope-filled concept.
Given our special status, might it not be that ETs somewhere out among the stars are keeping a close eye on us, and now want to help to save us from ourselves?
The aliens could well be thinking, rightly, that humans beings are remarkable creatures, and well worth saving.
This is not airy-fairy stuff. It underpins the very belief system (Judaeo-Christianity) which built our civilisation.
Of course, scientists over the years have attacked the notion of humans being made in the image of God, but they have never refuted it, because it cannot be refuted.
Far from being a crackpot notion, the possibility of interaction with extraterrestrial life is so exciting and profound that it is constantly being examined by the finest scientific, philosophical and theological minds.
The world actually feels very small and parochial just now, and the conviction is growing that there must be a bigger picture: that the truth is out there.
When – perhaps I should say ‘if’– humans and ETs ever hook up in friendship, then the future of our planet and the wonderful human beings who inhabit it, would suddenly seem much more exciting.
But, of course, the ETs might also turn out to be cold-hearted technocrats who regard humans as a messy, argumentative aberration to universal life.
The aliens, I suppose, might at this moment preparing to destroy us.
But I like to think that it is the first and most benevolent option I’ve outlined which is proceeding to fruition.
* And thanks once again to Roddy Frame. Inspiration from his album The North Star has helped me write the headline to this posting.
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Silverfish wrote...
I always thought 'in the image of God' - translated, interpreted and hacked many times since it was written in it's original language - as so many writings have been, meant 'in the nature, the essence of' which would mean in short that we are creators - it is our nature, we can't help but to create. The first couple of lines of Genesis constitute an instruction manual. Whether we choose to give in to fear, propaganda, superstition, baseless assumptions or opinions, or whether we choose to take responsibility for our individual and unique power to create, and use the instructions to create a better world foer ourselves, whether we buy in to others' miserable and cynical perspectives of the world, or whether we utilise faith and choose to see the world as a place full of miracles that occur every day and look for them, expect them, be grateful for things and create more, is up to us. We can't help but to create the world around us that we see every day, but we can decide what it's going to be, it just takes responsibility and response-ability. We don't need ET's or anyone else to rescue us from our illusions, we are more than capable of doing it ourselves on an individual basis. If you want God or if you want aliens, look within.
REGAN REPLIES: Hi Silverfish. Thnaks for the above. You are much more clever than me, I think. However, there is a danger is seeings humans as creators ... one which the late Pope John Paul II warned of, and that is humankind's foolish belief in human autonomy, which can only lead to pain and destruction in the end. Because without God, there can be no true humanity.
Posted by: Silverfish | December 12, 2007 11:23 AM