The New Religion of Life in Everyday SpeechWritten by Don Cupitt Reviewed By Patrick Richmond
Don Cupitt is an Anglican priest who has abandoned orthodox Christian belief in various, ever more sceptical ways, seeing the object of religious attention as unknown and ineffable, then as a mere moral and spiritual ideal, and finally as contingent existence itself. Rejection of a real God has led to rejection of realistic views of morality and science, such that evangelicals might be tempted to see Cupitt as a warning to all who take leave of God. However, this book marks something of a new methodological departure. Cupitt claims that talk about a real God has almost disappeared from common speech, but that religious attitudes and feelings persist and have come to be refocused about ‘life’. A substantial body of relatively new idioms has sprung up, expressing, according to Cupitt, a surprisingly coherent, radical, religious philosophy, replacing God with life itself.
The idioms he has in mind are such things as ‘the sanctity of life’, ‘the meaning of life’, ‘quality of life’, and ‘get a life!’. Morality based on supposedly objective rules has been largely replaced by a plurality of ‘lifestyles’ and an implicit moral imperative merely to ‘live life to the full’. In the past a funeral oration might have centred on someone’s having loved God, but now it would be far more likely to celebrate the fact that they loved life. Cupitt explores the roots of this ‘coming to life’ in such things as the Romantic movement, philosophers of life and action such as Nietzsche and Bergson, and philosophical movements such as the pragmatists, phenomenologists and existentialists. He also notes the role of novelists like D.H Lawrence and Virginia Wolf who focused attention and value on human experience. He argues that the evolutionary theories of Hegel and Darwin helped overthrow pessimistic views of fallen human nature that inhibited the celebration of natural, human life.
All of this is interesting and stimulating, and plausibly does identify real shifts in popular sentiment. However, Cupitt makes the far less plausible, and largely unsubstantiated claim that such idioms express a coherent, essentially naturalistic philosophy of life. For Cupitt, life should be understood as finite, contingent mortality, rejecting belief in a supernatural power and an afterlife. However, opinion polls suggest that such belief remains widespread, despite people’s lack of commitment to clear, coherent religious traditions. It may be true that belief in judgement and hell has diminished, and that consequently belief in God and the afterlife no longer seems so important, but Cupitt is claiming something far more radical than this. Furthermore, many of the expressions to which he appeals might be used by traditional believers: Christianity has plenty of reason to foster reverence for and attention to life in this world. Cupitt hardly even tries to prove that most life idioms exclude there being more to life than is dreamt of in his own philosophy. Additionally, though it seems that there is a consensus that this life is important, I doubt that there is a consensus about why and in what ways it is important. I therefore remain unconvinced that there is a coherent philosophy either expressed or established by the wide variety of ‘life’ idioms to which Cupitt makes appeal.
Cupitt writes in an eloquent, informal style, but with endnotes suggesting eclectic learning. However, he hardly develops his arguments or methodology in a systematic, rigorous way. Indeed, Cupitt rejects attempts at systematic or dogmatic truth, favouring instead creative imagination and a pragmatic, instrumentalist view of language and science. Though there are stimulating observations, important questions and creative proposals, there is little interaction with evangelical concerns, and the argumentation is often weak. Therefore, while it may be essential to get a life, it is not essential to get this book.
St Catharine’s College
"Kutoka kwa Don Cupitt, ""Dini mpya ya maisha katika usemi wa kila siku"" ni kitabu cha uandishi cha Patrick Richmond, na kinaelezea jinsi Don Cupitt alivyopuuza imani ya Kikristo ya kawaida kwa njia mbalimbali, na kwa njia nyingi zaidi, akiona kitu cha uangalifu wa kidini kama kitu kisichojulikana na kisichoweza kuelezwa, kisha kama maadili na kiroho tu, na hatimaye kama kuwepo kwa hali ya kawaida." Kukataa Mungu wa kweli kumesababisha kukataa maoni ya kweli ya maadili na sayansi, hivi kwamba wainjilisti wanaweza kujaribiwa kuona Cupid kama onyo kwa wote wanaomwacha Mungu. Hata hivyo, kitabu hiki kinaonyesha kitu cha kuondoka mpya ya mbinu. Cupitt anadai kwamba kuzungumza juu ya Mungu halisi karibu kumetoweka kutoka kwa hotuba ya kawaida, lakini kwamba mitazamo na hisia za kidini zinaendelea na zimekuja kuzingatia tena juu ya "maisha". "Kutokana na hili, kuna idadi kubwa ya maneno mapya ambayo yanaonyesha, kulingana na Cupitt, falsafa ya kidini ya kushangaza, ya kimapokeo, inayobadilisha Mungu na maisha yenyewe.""" Maneno aliyoyafikiria ni mambo kama vile "utakatifu wa maisha", "maana ya maisha", "ubora wa maisha", na "kuishi maisha!" Maadili kulingana na sheria zinazodhaniwa kuwa za kimakusudi yamebadilishwa sana na idadi kubwa ya "mitindo ya maisha" na amri ya kimaadili ya wazi ya "kuishi maisha kikamilifu". Katika nyakati za zamani, huenda hotuba ya mazishi ilizungumzia jinsi mtu alivyompenda Mungu, lakini sasa inakuwa rahisi zaidi kusherehekea kwamba alipenda uhai. Kupit anachunguza mizizi ya 'kuja kwa maisha' katika mambo kama vile harakati ya kimapenzi, wanafalsafa wa maisha na vitendo kama vile Nietzsche na Bergson, na harakati za kifalsafa kama vile pragmatists, phenomenologists na existentialists. Pia, anaelezea jukumu la waandishi kama vile D.H. Lawrence na Virginia Woolf ambao walilenga umakini na thamani ya uzoefu wa kibinadamu. Hegel na Darwin walifanya hivyo kwa sababu ya maoni yao ya kutokuwa na tumaini kuhusu uhai wa mwanadamu. Yote haya ni ya kuvutia na ya kuchochea, na kwa uaminifu huonyesha mabadiliko halisi katika hisia za watu. Hata hivyo, Cupitt hufanya madai yasiyo ya kweli, na yasiyo na msingi kwamba misemo hiyo huonyesha falsafa ya maisha yenye upatano, ambayo kimsingi ni ya asili. Kwa Cupitt, maisha yanapaswa kueleweka kama mwisho, vifo vya uwezekano, kukataa imani katika nguvu ya juu ya asili na maisha ya baada ya kifo. Hata hivyo, uchunguzi wa maoni unaonyesha kwamba imani hiyo bado imeenea sana, licha ya kukosa kujitolea kwa watu kwa mapokeo ya kidini yaliyo wazi na yenye upatano. "Hata hivyo, ni kweli kwamba imani katika hukumu ya mwisho na kuzimu imepungua, na kwamba kwa sababu hiyo imani katika Mungu na baada ya kifo haionekani kuwa muhimu tena, lakini Cupid anadai kitu cha kimapinduzi zaidi kuliko hii. """ Zaidi ya hayo, maneno mengi ambayo yeye anatoa yanaweza kutumiwa na waumini wa jadi: Ukristo una sababu nyingi za kukuza heshima na uangalifu kwa maisha katika ulimwengu huu. Kupit hata hajaribu kuthibitisha kwamba maneno mengi ya maisha yanakataza kuwa kuna mengi zaidi ya maisha kuliko yale yanayotazamwa katika falsafa yake mwenyewe. "Kwa kuongezea, ingawa inaonekana kwamba kuna makubaliano kwamba maisha haya ni muhimu, nina shaka kwamba kuna makubaliano juu ya kwa nini na kwa njia gani ni muhimu. """ Kwa hiyo mimi kubaki unconvinced kwamba kuna falsafa coherent ama alionyesha au imara na aina mbalimbali za "maisha" idioms ambayo Cupitt inafanya rufaa. Cupitt anaandika katika style eloquent, yasiyo rasmi, lakini na maelezo ya mwisho kupendekeza kujifunza eclectic. Hata hivyo, yeye hawezi kuendeleza hoja zake au mbinu zake kwa njia ya utaratibu, yenye uthabiti. Kwa kweli, Cupitt anakataa majaribio ya ukweli wa kimfumo au wa kidogoma, badala yake akipendelea mawazo ya ubunifu na mtazamo wa vitendo, wa kifaa cha lugha na sayansi. Ingawa kuna uchunguzi wenye kuchochea, maswali muhimu na mapendekezo ya ubunifu, kuna mwingiliano mdogo na wasiwasi wa kiinjilisti, na hoja mara nyingi ni dhaifu. Kwa hiyo, ingawa inaweza kuwa muhimu kupata maisha, si muhimu kupata kitabu hiki. Chuo cha St. Catharine