Emerging Africa

Going on a serious pilgrimage to a giant inferno is rather counter-intuitive for me. Travelling over 3 000 km to do so was madness. Burn av-gas in an aeroplane. Burn petrol in a car? I wonder what I did for global warming. No doubt it was a solid contribution to our ongoing species self-destruction. It might be argued that all these fires increase our awareness, but I can't agree. I think it is like fighting for peace. As Albert Einstein said "Peace cannot be achieved through force. It can only be achieved through understanding." So you can't hold a series of giant bon-fires to increase our awareness of our carbon footprint. Okay, this thing had a cost, what was the benefit?
First let's talk hedonism. We all love fire. It is a major symbol in beliefs as diverse as Hinduism, Christianity and Satanism. It is one of the Aristotlean elements- and was joined by plenty of earth and air as well as enough water to survive.
Nic told me the in crowd at "Afrika Burns" would be lefty greenies. To be honest, I didn't meet many of them, but had some people talking of the Tankwa Karoo as a "blank canvass" a clear indication that many if not most people present were deeply engrained in culture (the human creation) but ignorant of nature (the human context).
The whole concept was certainly a noble one- radical individualism (meaning a right to freedom of expression) and radical gifting (meaning an intention to give rather than to trade). This created an atmosphere of plenty- firstly the sense that you could leave your kit in your tent and it would not be swiped, but further than that, if you forgot something, someone who had it would give it to you-and many people were extremely generous. One of the great points of Christianity is that it aims to make that point of belonging and sharing a permanent institution. Christianity arose alongside capitalism and commerce- which encourage you only to trade for your own benefit. (There can be no doubt that the "Afrika Burns" festival did not make a profit). In fact they probably did not even recover their costs, so it was more like an expensive braai with a relative paucity of burnt flesh.
Travelling with 4 Christians (notwithstanding that two of them were my brother Nic and my brother-in-law Zeddy) was enlightening. I am interested to know how people can defend their faith in an intervetionist god, who allegedly created "the paragon of animals" (quote from William Shakespeare) (called "man") in his own image. None of those with me took this to mean that he is a masculine, bi-pedal, carbon-based life form, or so I gathered, but a certain amoumt of prejudice was certainly evident.
Nic said he wasn't interested in the Linean obsession with classification because it is a hierarchial form. Yet he was still interested to a genus level, so he wanted to know that a bird was a "Goshawk", but that it was a "Pale Chanting Goshawk" was to him irrelevant. The related revelations of both Linnaeus and Darwin are valid, but they are not absolutes. Yet, the basic tenet of Christianity is very absolutist and very hierarchial. "Look, there is God, then there is man, then there is everything else."
Mike said that for atheists to have morality or ethics is hypocrasy. I found that a very scary statement for a man who seeks a doctorate in divinity, because it means that his first premises are filled with outrageous prejudice. (I note that Zed and Tim both agreed that he was a bit out of order). In my belief, religion arose out of ethics and not the other way around. An experiment conducted recently with chimpanzees clearly demonstrated their ultruism. When one group of chimps acquired food their companions received a shock. When they worked out the connection (which was very soon), they deliberately starved themselves to prevent pain to their companions. I do not condone this experiment, but I do think that it demonstrates that chimpanzees show ultruism, clearly and advanced ethical practice, and indeed these chimps were more ethical than the scientists who imposed these cruel conditions on them. There is no evidence yet, for religion amongst chimpanzees, our closest genetic relatives. Religion (in humans) arose because it created a belief system which made people fear the consequences of moral misconduct- of which an eye in the sky- equated ultimately to god would be the most effective instrument and custodian as long as people supported the idea of this deity being present and real.
Sometimes we need the cleansing force of fire. It is challenging for us all to have our temples razed to the ground. If you are exposed to seering heat and extreme bleakness, perhaps it will motivate you to transform your attitude to the plentitude you encounter on your return.
Thanks to Nic, whose true spirited sense of giving allowed me to share his pilgrimage to the wilderness, to learn that there is no place that has everything, and there is no place that has nothing. Thanks also to Mike, Tim and Zeddy for a time of sharing, challenges and growth. Long may you all burn, and when you are completely burnt, may your charred cinders not have been in vain.
Whilst the flesh and blood man moved Out of Africa, the Burning Man has moved into Afrika. I didn't see the Man Burning, but as sceptical as I may appear, I am confident that he did indeed burn. May we all Burn Again.

As an event and an experience this definately hit the top of my charts. The desert is at once arid and intensely rich. I was deeply impressed by the experience of acceptance and inclusion as well as creativity and freedom. I come away deeply embarrassed that we Christians contribute little to life and enjoyment. After all, my Great Ancestor spoke of coming to give us life to the full and incarnated in a festive culture S/He had a hand creating.

Nic, thanks for making this happen for me. Ant, Mike and Zed - thanks for sharing the experience.

I'll be joining you for the synchroblog to share thoughts, reflections and emerging schemes :)

Envoy

The previous nameless post was me.

Ant. I'm finding your ideas on ethics stimulating. I'm not sure I used the word hypocrisy with regard to atheistically based ethics. I know I did say arbitrary and I mean to also say inconsistent. Let me clarify my position. I'm not saying that ethics can only be based on God. Your example of us agreeing not to punch each other's lights out is a good one. My question is, to what extent does this leave us with a simple pain avoidance pleasure pursuit pragmatic arrangement (which you could call ethics or morality, if you wish). If I manage to pay two strongmen to punch your lights out and protect me I would be avoiding pain and perhaps I could further gain by having them bring me some of your possessions. Obviously you, in your pain, would have a problem with this but could a third party honestly criticize me if they are operating out of an atheistic ethical base. Am I not just going with the evolutionary impulse to survive and prosper. And what's wrong with that? Don't want to take over this blog with a side issue so maybe we should e-mail directly. What do others think?

I loved reading all of this and would love to be there next time round. Thanks for sharing all of this!