Reclaiming sin and the need for a certain kind of pessimism (or realism) about human beings
Christians have become less comfortable with the idea of sin (perhaps with some good reason in light of the way it has been handled in the past) and this week at Serum we are asking if we can still use the S word, whether the concept of ‘original sin’ is harmful or helpful?
Alain Do Botton, a secular philospopher, has produced some thoughtful work on the need for and health of a certain kind of pessimism (or realism) amidst the tyranny of relentless optimism that has dominated modern society and the self help culture of ‘you can do it’ (if you just try hard enough). He wants to challenge the bourgeois promise that everyone can find happiness in love and work, that it is cruel to base our society around these values. We are being set up to fail, and the serious consequence of this is the increase in suicide and depression rates in our culture as people carry the stigma of ‘failure’ and shame alone. Alain argues that it is impossible to have a meritocracy and a society where people really deserve their success and totally deserve their failure – there are too many factors in life to be that simplistic about it. In the false ideology of meritocracy we lose sight of the reality that we don’t own any wealth or success we have achieved or acquired, it is a gift, and not a sign that I am a better person than someone else.
And this is where a concept like ‘original sin’ can actually offer a helpful limitation to hubris and pride, a reality check to our expectations of ourselves and others, to endless optimism about how we can build a world where everyone gets an equal opportunity to fail or succeed by a certain criteria.
In his lecture which you can access here http://www.theschooloflife.com/Sermons/Alain-de-Botton-on-Pessimism Alain says ‘Buddhism and Christianity emphasise life is an imperfect business. We need to recover some of that wisdom – that life is suffering and the human being is a fallen creature…I love the idea of falleness, it is a great starting point, great in a marriage or relationship, don’t expect too much, I never said I was perfect, I am a fallen creature…if you expect to succeed you will almost certainly fail…but starting with the assumption that things are not going to go well is a better starting point for life’.
Everyone welcome to join us as we chew this one over, this Wednesday 7.30 pm.
We are due to meet upstairs at Ye Olde Watling Pub, but if the pub is still closed for refurbishment we will meet in the back of St Mary Aldermary Church.
