Syntheism

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with
Synthesism
.

Syntheism is a

pantheism in the 17th century and, most directly, British-American philosopher Alfred North Whitehead's pioneering work towards a process theology in his books Religion in the Making in 1926 and Process and Reality in 1929.[2][3]

Syntheism may also be viewed as a response to the lack of atheistic and pantheistic belief systems in Western cultures (outside of Epicureanism), while being more abundant in Eastern cultures, for example as Zen Buddhism, Dzogchen Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta Hinduism, and Jainism.[4]

Logo used by The Syntheist Movement, describing the Universe as an ellipse over the circle of the primordial void.

Etymology

Syntheism was coined from the Greek syntheos (from syn- for with or creating with and -theos for god). It implies that the proper approach to the concept of God is that humanity has created, creates or will eventually create God – as opposed to the traditional monotheistic view that God created the world and humanity.

Besides the activism of The Syntheist Movement, a syntheistic approach to philosophy and religion has also been advocated by American philosopher Ray Kurzweil in his concept of the forthcoming Singularity.[5] It is also supported by French philosopher Quentin Meillassoux in his idea of "God is a concept far too important to leave to the religious" in his book After Finitude.[6]

Communities

Syntheism has an international Facebook community with over 1,500 members.[7] Its website hosts a blog, holy festival information, and links to media and other resources.[8] A Swedish community of over 700 members has held several local events.[9][10]

Spiritual naturalism is considered to be an American version of Syntheism.[11]

A Syntheist congregation conducting a workshop in Lindsberg, Sweden in June 2014.

Notable works

When Swedish cyberphilosophers

quantum physics and the science of cosmology.[12]

Beliefs

Syntheism is the belief that the classic division between theism and atheism in theology has become redundant and must be overcome to fulfill contemporary and future spiritual needs. This requires the acknowledgement that all metaphysical beliefs center on a divinity or focal point which is man-made. Therefore, all current and future religious beliefs are created by humans, as well as systems such as Individualism developed by philosophers like Immanuel Kant.[13]

Despite being human creations, what is important is that these beliefs strengthen, and not contradict, science. They must therefore be developed within a

utopian themes such as Burning Man are considered examples of syntheistic practice.[11]

To me, the name “God” is an amazing name for all the dreams of humanity projected into one point. What would you name that? You would name it God. And that is what we need to do, to retake the “God” word but just give God proper qualities that we can actually believe in. In that case, Syntheos is the God that we choose to believe in and can believe in. Whatever that means.

— Alexander Bard, "Alexander Bard on Syntheism: Death, God, the Universe, and Burning Man", The Forumist[14]

Criticisms

Lack of central leadership and core beliefs have led some scholars, such as Dr. Stephen O'Leary, to believe Syntheism will fail. The idea has also been criticised for a potential lack of mystery.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Paulas, Rick (2014-10-28), Can an Open-Source Religion Work?, VICE, archived from the original on 2014-11-11, retrieved 2014-12-26.
  2. ^ Whitehead, A.N. (1926). Religion in the Making (New York: Fordham University Press, 1996).
  3. ^ Whitehead, A.N. (1929). Process and Reality. An Essay in Cosmology. Gifford Lectures Delivered in the University of Edinburgh During the Session 1927–1928, Macmillan, New York, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
  4. ISBN 978-0198238164
    .
  5. ISBN 978-0965086134
    .
  6. ^ Meillassoux, Quentin (2006). Après la finitude. Essai sur la nécessité de la contingence, Paris, Seuil, coll. L'ordre philosophique (foreword by Alain Badiou).
  7. ^ The Syntheist Movement [ca. 2012], in Facebook [The Syntheist Movement]. Retrieved 2015-01-01 from https://www.facebook.com/groups/109834425805191/.
  8. ^ "The Syntheist Movement". syntheism.org. Archived from the original on 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
  9. ^ Bard, Alexander (2014-06-09), And Here Are Some People Pictures From the Syntheist Workshop at Lindsberg, Sweden, archived from the original on 2015-01-03, retrieved 2014-12-26.
  10. ^ Synteisterna [ca. 2012], in Facebook [Synteisterna]. Retrieved 2015-01-01 from https://www.facebook.com/groups/341167132580625/.
  11. ^ a b Mattocks, Jeremy (30 September 2014), Syntheism: A Naturalistic Spirituality in Europe, retrieved 2014-12-26.
  12. ^ Piesing, Mark (2014-10-07), "Is the internet God? Alexander Bard's Syntheism paves the way for a new elite", The Guardian, archived from the original on 2014-10-08, retrieved 2014-12-26.
  13. ISBN 978-9175471839
    .
  14. ^ Wallenberg, Petter (2014-12-02), Alexander Bard on Syntheism: Death, God, the Universe, and Burning Man, The Forumist, archived from the original on 2014-12-26, retrieved 2014-12-26.

External links

  • Media related to Syntheism at Wikimedia Commons
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