Having a vision of the Universe and man’s place in Nature, not only gives life in the community a sense of purpose, it also helps to avoid going down evolutionary cul-de-sacs. But more is needed than the ability to see creation as a whole; a desire and an enthusiasm for life are necessary to cope with the present. Admittedly too great an enthusiasm for the present can spill over into an entanglement with the parochial passions and barbarities of the past, to which we are all heir; too small an enthusiasm, and your community withers. A balance is needed. Your enthusiasm for life must be disciplined by a clear vision of where society is going; and unless you see creation as a whole, your society is likely to be going down an evolutionary cul-de-sac, even if you do not recognise what is happening! It would be a pity if that were the fate of Islam; but that is for Muslims to decide. However it remains true both for them and us, that a desire for life must be paramount, or your community falls apart.
The prophet Isaiah saw this clearly; and the way he expressed it was to say that three symptoms showed that the end of the world was near; when children ruled (and we have nearly got there, when it is made impossible to discipline them), when women grew bald (in other words become indistinguishable from men), and when desire shall fail. The last symptom shows the prophet at his most perceptive; because the moment it ceases to be a thrill to serve the community to which one belongs, the community starts to fail, because one says, “What is the point of taking trouble?” In all the professions, morale is paramount; it is more important even than skill. And every thorough “shake-up” of a profession by politicians lowers its morale for a time at least; and too many “shake-ups” leave a profession disorientated. How would Members of Parliament like it, if every year they had to play musical chairs, and be elected by a different constituency?
But how does one retain this balance, for instance in Court? When you are cross-examining a witness, you need to concentrate almost entirely on him; whether he is honest or dishonest, how much he will concede in a straightforward way, and how much you have to try to manipulate him. It is no good thinking about being in the forefront of man’s evolution. Yet it is no good either getting lost in the detail of day to day living, and relegating the forefront of evolution into the realm of academic thought. You need the tension between the two extremes to preserve a balanced judgement, even a balanced judgement in everyday affairs. And it is as well to remember that Jesus seemed to preserve this balance without difficulty. Whether you think he saved the world, or was deluded, it makes no difference; he went his way with composure and never lost his common touch. If he had got lost in an apocalyptical world of salvation and damnation, he would have been dismissed as a madman.