“If I could only go back and do it again,” I hear people lament. “If I only knew then what I know now, I would have done it differently.”

            But, says logic, if you went back in time, you would still make the same decision, for good or ill. Because at that time you acted on the basis of the knowledge you had. All of the knowledge you had. And if you went back, that would still be the same. Because you can’t take 50 additional years of experience and learning back with you. 

            You were what you were. And your decisions were determined for you by your experiences. 

Captives of experience 

            Indeed, say the proponents of artificial intelligence, your experience is an algorithm that programs your decisions, your choices. If a programmer could absorb the total of your life experience into a computer program, it would make exactly the same decisions you do. 

            It would be indistinguishable from you. 

            Artificial intelligence theorists argue that, with AI advancing exponentially, we’ll achieve that possibility within 50 years. They argue that if we are going to colonize the solar system, it will be a lot simpler and cheaper to send a one-inch cube of integrated circuits that can withstand up eight years of dormancy, in the absolute-zero temperatures of interplanetary space, than to send humans. 

            And that’s to one of the habitable moons or planets in our solar system. Beyond the solar system, you’re looking at several generations of interstellar travel to get anywhere. 

Time has no eraser

            All of this depends on an underlying assumption – that we humans are nothing more than a product of our environment.

            Or, to put it in more traditional language, that we have no free will. 

            This is not a new notion.

            Both astrology and biorhythms assert that our destiny is determined at the moment of birth, either by stars and planets or by the cycles of our cellular metabolism.

            An obsession with cause-and-effect leads to determinism – a philosophical theory that all events, even moral choices, are determined by previous causes. 

            This leads, of course, the conclusion that criminals are not really responsible for their own crimes; they are the product of their parents, their environment, their culture….

            A tradition in the Christian church makes a similar claim, though applying different causes. If God is all-knowing, it reasons, then God must know everything, including what we will do, before we do it. That implies therefore that God planned everything that happens, which makes us helpless pawns in a divine video game. 

            Parts of Calvinism took this concept to an extreme. At the beginning of time, God had already decided who would be “saved” for Heaven, and who would be consigned to Hell. 

            Forget about any delusions of having free will. 

            The trouble with free will, you see, is that as soon as you plug it into the algorithm, it takes precedence over every other factor. Even God. Because if some human chooses to kill another human, not even God can bring the victim back. Every act – good or bad, intentional or irrational -- is irrevocable.

            Time has no eraser. 

            Every exercise of free will changes the future. Forever. It doesn’t matter who does it, or why. 

            And everyone has to live with it. 

            Yes, even God.

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Copyright © 2017 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups, and links from other blogs, welcomed; all other rights reserved.

                       To comment on this column, write jimt@quixotic.ca

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YOUR TURN

Last week I wrote about merge patterns in gridlock situations. Bob Rollwagen used to commute on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, where he says cars did merge like cogs. But “in Toronto, if you have a merge situation, some want to merge early, some think it is okay to tag along and be a second car, others zoom to fill the merge space if left open, and still others use the shoulder to get around an early merge candidate, all thinking they will save time but resulting actually in a slower pace compared to your example. Co-operation is a wonderful thing, and all win. Imagine no grid lock, because we all followed common sense when driving!”

Isabel Gibson mused, “Taking turns as a cultural norm that might have roots in biological imperative or, at least, tribal survival? Interesting.”

Tom Watson wondered about the practicality of common sense: “I agree with you about ‘working together for the good of all,’ but what should one do when the biggest guy in the room has as his main objective upsetting everything that's been there before?”

Frank Martens agreed “that we should be working together for the common good, as individuals, as groups, as states, as countries. However, there are some who think of themselves as superior beings and look on others within their country as non-humans.” 

            As his example, Frank cited Israel, “a country that claims to be the most moral in the region, with the most moral army, with the most moral parliamentary gov’t.” Frank considers Israel’s treatment of Palestinians criminal, and offers as evidence https://www.jonathan-cook.net/2018-06-10/bills-israel-apartheid/

Sunny McComber wrote appreciation for an earlier column: “Your article [on re-unions and friendships] was forwarded to our class by our secretary; we are grads from 1953 and are busy planning a 65 year get-together.

            “So much of what you say is so applicable to our feelings. Those of us who stayed in Omaha have kept in touch more closely, so our ties that bind are pretty strong. The out-of-towners have had such different experiences, if only geographically. This land we call home is so varied and where you live makes a huge impact on HOW you live! But having reunions often, and well attended, has kept us close and caring. I am anxious to see dear old classmates and renew years old friendships.”

The rest of last week’s letters dealt with the launch of my poetry webpage, http://quixotic.ca/My-PoetryHere are two of those letters:

            Jim Henderschedt wrote, “I am very impressed with your poetry. Each one plucked at different strings as I deal with a body that is wearing out, remember our children when they were children, think back over people who came to me for help because they felt trapped in abusive relationships…. Thank you for sharing your gift of woven words to create tapestries of life.

            Similarly, this from Robert Caughell: “Congratulations on your poetry efforts. ‘My Body Won't Let Me’ rings true for my 94-year-old mother and me as her care giver. I see her slowly going downhill health-wise on a daily basis, but she rallies/continues to live on. She, like others of her generation, has a strong will to live.”

By way of reminder,   I plan to send out an email notification whenever I post a new poem -- which won’t  be every week, I promise; it takes time to polish every syllable! If you’d like to receive notifications about new poems, write me at jimt@quixotic.ca,  or subscribe yourself to the list by sending a blankemail (no message) to poetry-subscribe@lists.quixotic.ca(If it doesn’t work, write me directly.)

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PSALM PARAPHRASES

I hesitate to print this version of Psalm 9, written in the 1990s. It portrays God as a separate being, distinct from us mortals, a God who intervenes to set things right. I don’t believe in that kind of God anymore. But perhaps this will make you wonder how you think about God. 

9          The Lord watches over the beach of life
from the lifeguard’s chair;
we feel safe venturing into the water. 

10        Lifeguards know how to watch out for trouble --
for sharks in the water,
and sharks among the sunbathers on the sands.
They will not be distracted from their duty.

11        Thank God for lifeguards.
Thank God for playground supervisors, and crossing guards,
and counsellors who keep us from destroying ourselves.

12        They may have their own troubles, but they do not
let those troubles interfere with their care for us.

13        O God, I am drowning!
I’ve been sucked out to sea by the undertow;
I can’t help myself anymore!
Everything’s turned against me;
Help me rise from the depths of my depression,
back to your sunlit surface.

14        Throw me a lifeline, so that I may tell everyone
how you saved my life.

15        Sharks will turn on themselves, eventually.
They had all the aces, but they played their hands wrong.
They wanted a windfall, so they bought Bre-X and Enron.
Gutted by their own greed, they will sink to the bottom.

16       The Lord of the universe does not need bolts of lightning or colliding continents
to execute judgement.
The sharks who slither among us
define their own downfall.

17        They become a footnote to history.

18        But the poor and the weak,
the oppressed and the marginalized –
they carry on. They will not be forgotten.
Hope, like the sun, rises new every day. 

19        Rise, O Hope of the world.
Do not let the sharks take over the beach. 

20        Scatter them; break up their alliances and consortiums.
Let them know that order reigns over chaos. 

For paraphrases of most of the psalms used by the Revised Common Lectionary, you can order my book Everyday Psalms from Wood Lake Publishing, info@woodlake.com.

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TECHNICAL STUFF

If you want to comment on something, send a message directly to me, jimt@quixotic.ca.

                       To subscribe or unsubscribe, send an e-mail message to jimt@quixotic.ca. Or you can subscribe electronically by sending a blank e-mail (no message or subject line) to softedges-subscribe@lists.quixotic.ca. Similarly, you can un-subscribe at softedges-unsubscribe@lists.quixotic.ca.

                       I write a second column each Sunday called Sharp Edges, which tends to be somewhat more cutting about social and justice issues. To sign up for Sharp Edges, write to me directly, jimt@quixotic.ca, or send a note to sharpedges-subscribe@lists.quixotic.ca

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PROMOTION STUFF

To use the links in this section, you’ll have to insert the necessary symbols.

                       Ralph Milton ’s latest project is called “Sing Hallelujah” -- the world’s first video hymnal. It consists of 100 popular hymns, both new and old, on five DVDs that can be played using a standard DVD player and TV screen, for use in congregations who lack skilled musicians to play piano or organ. More details at wwwDOTsinghallelujahDOTca

                       Ralph’s HymnSight webpage is still up, http://wwwDOThymnsightDOTca, with a vast gallery of photos you can use to enhance the appearance of the visual images you project for liturgical use (prayers, responses, hymn verses, etc.)

                       Wayne Irwin's “Churchweb Canada,”an inexpensive service for any congregation wanting to develop a web presence, with free consultation. <http://wwwDOTchurchwebcanadaDOTca>

                       I recommend Isabel Gibson’s thoughtful and well-written blog, wwwDOTtraditionaliconoclastDOTcom

                       Alva Wood’s satiric stories about incompetent bureaucrats and prejudiced attitudes in a small town -- not particularly religious, but fun; alvawoodATgmailDOTcom to get onto her mailing list.

                       Tom Watson writes a weekly blog called “The View from Grandpa Tom’s Balcony”-- ruminations on various subjects, and feedback from Tom’sreaders. Write him at tomwatsoATgmailDOTcom or twatsonATsentexDOTnet