Friday, September 22, 2006
Spooks | The danger of fundamentalism
[ Episode 3 ] Monday 25th September 2006, 9pm, BBC ONEZaf and Adam go undercover in an attempt to stop a terrorist bomb attack.
It is not often a TV programme really gets me thinking, but this episode of spooks I watched on BBC Three has got me spiritually reflecting. At Greenbelt, I did a talk on the new form of mysticism 'techgnosis' as a new or should I say ancient form of spirituality this time arising out of advances in information technology in the UK and USA. At that seminar I also talked about the danger of fundamentalism in our new post-secular postmodern culture, that people who seek to find comfort find it hard to live in a grey world of complexity and therefore seek simplicity through overarching systems of thought that make the world black and white.
What fascinated me about this programme is the connection between idealistic fundamentalism and holding low opinions of humanity. That fundamentalism leads to dehumanising thoughts and actions towards the self and others and therefore violates peoples human rights. In the programme one of the terrorists was recruited in prison because it made sense in a world of complexity and gave meaning, so ended a relationship to become an Islamist.
For me the programme hits a zeitgeist in Zafa who expresses what many people feel post Sept 11th and the London bombings, in a hope that such terrorists be assisted to see how wrong they are by facing the human tragedy and how such beliefs are not sustainable in the real complex world.
The programme also made connections for me between fundamentalist forms of Christianity that judge, use fear and power instead of love and compassion. Where the impossible faith - the basis of techgnosis - leads to them becoming the impossible people. I will blog more on human rights & theology soon, as I had a great chat recently with the Director of Liberty. If you want to know more about techgnosis - listen to my talk at Greenbelt.
What fascinated me about this programme is the connection between idealistic fundamentalism and holding low opinions of humanity. That fundamentalism leads to dehumanising thoughts and actions towards the self and others and therefore violates peoples human rights. In the programme one of the terrorists was recruited in prison because it made sense in a world of complexity and gave meaning, so ended a relationship to become an Islamist.
For me the programme hits a zeitgeist in Zafa who expresses what many people feel post Sept 11th and the London bombings, in a hope that such terrorists be assisted to see how wrong they are by facing the human tragedy and how such beliefs are not sustainable in the real complex world.
The programme also made connections for me between fundamentalist forms of Christianity that judge, use fear and power instead of love and compassion. Where the impossible faith - the basis of techgnosis - leads to them becoming the impossible people. I will blog more on human rights & theology soon, as I had a great chat recently with the Director of Liberty. If you want to know more about techgnosis - listen to my talk at Greenbelt.
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