First WhatsNewHelpConceptInfoGlossaryHomeContentsGalleryThemesOur PapersSearchMessage Board
BackNext TourbusIntroductionTutorLinksApplicatOnlineOfflineSoftwareExhibitFun

Scriptures

( Size: 56cm x 76cm Acrylic and collage on paper )

Scriptures

Leila Kubba Kawash 1996.

Complexity comment:

Many religions promote their own scriptures as the definitive instructions by which their followers should live. Yet we only need to ask a simple question "how can we go from Jerusalem to Mecca ?" to see that answers to any such questions will change over time. The scriptures, by neccessity, must be written in terms of the world of their day, answers such as "by car", "by air" or even "send an EMail" cannot be found in scriptural texts. Extending this to all areas, we can see clearly that the combinations of actions now possible are vastly greater than that restricted sub-set applicable in biblical times. Even if we assume that scripture was 100% accurate at the time (academically disproven), it is clear that it alone is not adequate to form a full basis for our behaviour in the modern world.

We must adapt the rules by which we live to the world of today. Each new morsel of knowledge takes us beyond the world of yesterday into new areas of possibility, or what in complexity science we call new state space. Only by stagnation can we avoid progress, only by ignorance can we avoid learning by our experiences. If we are to maximise our personal and social fitnesses we must replace dogma by openness and tolerance. We should take into account the wisdom of the scriptures, but divorce them from the primitive lifestyles for which they were written. We must also incorporate the wisdom of all the world traditions, going beyond the parochial idea that one document or tradition can contain every valid spiritual or material value. Different cultures require different behaviours, yet all can be equally valid and equally moral or worthwhile in their own context.

Page Version 1.0 June 1999
BackNext