"Economies" - conceptual frameworks for thinking about and participating in a system of managing material resources - have long been understood in terms of "scale". You may be familiar with the phrase "economies of scale". What I think that means is that there are different rules that govern a household economy, a municipal economy, a regional, national or global economy. Because of the variation in their magnitudes, economists apply different formulae in their analyses and management of these economies.
"Theologies" - conceptual frameworks for thinking about and participating in a relationship with divinity - tend to presume that there is one Divinity, with a universal character and absolute attributes that apply everywhere and at all times. That is one of the reasons for the ubiquity of religious conflict. I conceive of God in a certain way, and immediately assume, since we are, of course, talking about God, there can be only one correct way to conceive of God.
I think that Hindu conceptions are probably closest to this. They conceive of mini-gods and mega-gods, and although these deities operate in their respective ways, they are really marginal to the human experience. Their divinity applies to the mini-worlds and the mega-worlds. There are human-scale divinities that operate ON the human scale, exhibit human qualities, and are able to engage with humans on human terms.
Not that any of this matters in some kind of meaningful way ... just one of the threads weaving it's dissonant harmonies through my resonant mind ...
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
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