Guilty vs guilt: the path to liberty is honesty

Do you feel guilty about the effect your actions are having on the planet? Are you in fact guilty of having mistreated the community of creation to which we all belong?

There are two meanings to the term "guilt" and its cognates. The first is objective guilt, the state of having committed an offence. The second is the subjective feeling of regret, remorse and unease over the perception of having done wrong. The two do not necessarily go together. It is quite possible to feel guilty (subjective) without actually having committed any wrongdoing (objective). Conversely, it is also possible to commit an offence and so bear objective guilt without any corresponding subjective feeling of guilt, due to some combination of ignorance, insensitivity, acculturation and denial.

An interesting new poll reports that when 17,000 people across 17 countries were surveyed regarding both their subjective feelings of eco-guilt and their objective ecological impact, there was a strong negative correlation between the two. Those doing most to mess the place up feel least angst about it. Those most ridden by guilty feelings are objectively least to blame.

I have argued previously that a Christian response to feelings of eco-guilt can avoid legalism and self-righteousness through a proper focus on the liberating good news of Jesus (and I also discussed eco-guilt in these three posts). Yet while we do not need to be paralysed in self-accusation (or distracted by self-righteous condemnation of others), some brutal honesty about our contribution to planetary failure is essential. The Christian response to feelings of guilt is neither wallowing nor suppression, but sober judgement concerning the cause of the guilt: am I objectively guilty? And if so, then there is but a single Christian response: repentance.

And so let us face up to the fact that if the average lifestyle of a citizen of the developed world were to be shared with the rest of the world, we would need something like three planets. Our consumption of finite resources, our apathy towards the origin and destination of our goods, our acquiescence in the face of a political and economic system that behaves like a tumour cell, our wilful blindness to the cumulative consequences of our quotidian choices, our unwillingness to look beyond the next pay-check or election cycle, our insensitivity to the present and future suffering and destruction required for our luxuries: let us be honest with ourselves. Where we remain ignorant, let us discover what is the case, what is the true cost of our "cheap" consumption. Only the truth will set us free: the messy, complex and sometimes brutal truth about ourselves; the surprising, simple and energising truth about God's abundant graciousness towards us in Christ.

“What must I do to win salvation?” Dimitri asks Starov in The Brothers Karamazov, to which Starov answers: “Above all else, never lie to yourself.”

Religious illiteracy

How much do you know about Christianity and other world religions? Test yourself on the questions below.

I've recently come across this 2010 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which surveyed 3,412 people, asking them 32 questions (most multiple choice) about some fairly basic pieces of religious knowledge. These were not difficult questions. Although they did not ask "Is the Pope Catholic?", they came pretty close.

Incredibly, the average score was 16 out of 32, with self-identified Christians scoring notably worse than atheists and agnostics. Only 8 people (0.002%) got all 32 questions correct. Since most of the questions were multiple choice, even guessing every answer would lead to an average score of 9.05 correct, yet one in seven did not even rise this high.

Now, it might be easy (particularly if we happen to have studied in this area for some time) to do the quiz and feel pretty smug about our general knowledge of basic religious concepts and figures. Or to laugh at the failure of most Christians in the US to be able to answer even basic questions about Christianity, being soundly beaten by atheists. But the point is that this survey actually has significant implications for how the church thinks about its mission. Yes, it was done in the US (and there were four questions specific to the US context asking about the the Constitution and Supreme Court rulings), but I'm unsure that Australians (for instance) would necessarily score much higher.

We're not (on the whole) surrounded by people who have tried Christianity and found it wanting, but by people who simply don't know what it is, apart perhaps from a few media-derived stereotypes. And this probably includes many of the people in the pews next to us.

Here are the questions, arranged under various themes and slightly abbreviated. Precise wording is available here. The ordering of the multiple choice answers varied.

Bible
1. What is the first book of the Bible? (Open-ended)
   
2. What are the names of the first four books of the New Testament, that is, the four Gospels? (Open-ended)
   
3. Where, according to the Bible, was Jesus born? Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Nazareth or Jericho?
   
4. Which of these is NOT in the Ten Commandments? Do unto others…, no adultery, no stealing, keep Sabbath?
   
5. Which figure is associated with remaining obedient to God despite suffering? Job, Elijah, Moses or Abraham?
   
6. Which figure is associated with leading the exodus from Egypt? Moses, Job, Elijah or Abraham?
   
7. Which figure is associated with willingness to sacrifice his son for God? Abraham, Job, Moses or Elijah?
   
   Elements of Christianity
   
8. What is Catholic teaching about bread and wine in Communion? They become body and blood, or are symbols?
   
9. Which group traditionally teaches that salvation is through faith alone? Protestants, Catholics, both or neither?
   
10. Was Mother Teresa Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu or Mormon?
    
11. What is the name of the person whose writings and actions inspired the Reformation? Luther, Aquinas or Wesley?
    
12. Who was a preacher during the First Great Awakening? Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney or Billy Graham?
    
    Elements of Judaism
    
13. When does the Jewish Sabbath begin? Friday, Saturday or Sunday?
    
14. Was Maimonides Jewish, Catholic, Buddhist, Hindu or Mormon?
    
    Elements of Mormonism
    
15. When was the Mormon religion founded? After 1800, between 1200 and 1800, or before 1200 A.D.?
    
16. The Book of Mormon tells of Jesus appearing to people in what area? The Americas, Middle East or Asia?
    
17. Was Joseph Smith Mormon, Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist or Hindu?
    
    
    
    World Religions
    
18. Is Ramadan the Islamic holy month, the Hindu festival of lights or a Jewish day of atonement?
    
19. Do you happen to know the name of the holy book of Islam? (Open-ended)
    
20. Which religion aims at nirvana, the state of being free from suffering? Buddhism, Hinduism or Islam?
    
21. Is the Dalai Lama Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Catholic or Mormon?
    
22. In which religion are Vishnu and Shiva central figures? Hinduism, Islam or Taoism?
    
23. What is the religion of most people in India? Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim or Christian?
    
24. What is the religion of most people in Pakistan? Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or Christian?
    
25. What is the religion of most people in Indonesia? Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or Christian?
    
26. Who is the king of Gods in Greek mythology? Zeus, Mars or Apollo?
    
    Atheism and Agnosticism
    
27. Is an atheist someone who does NOT believe in God, believes in God, or is unsure whether God exists?
    
28. Is an agnostic someone who is unsure whether God exists, does NOT believe in God, or believes in God?
    
    Religion in Public Life
    
29. What does Constitution say about religion? Separation of church and state, emphasize Christianity, or nothing?
    
30. According to the Supreme Court, can a public school teacher lead a class in prayer?
    
31. According to the Supreme Court, can a public school teacher read from the Bible as an example of literature?
    
32. According to the Supreme Court, can a public school teacher offer a class comparing the world’s religions?

The hardest question was #14, which only 8% got correct. If everyone had guessed, you'd expect at least 20% would have got it. The easiest was #30, which admittedly only had two options, yet 89% were able to answer correctly.

What a load of garbage

For Edinburgh residents
If you are ever responsible for creating garbage or live near someone who is, then you're interested in how waste is managed. Edinburgh Council would like five minutes of your time for a survey to help plan for future infrastructure and services. I hope this exercise isn't a waste of time.