ADBC: 38 – Slavery, The Deal with the Devil, And Learning From Teaching?

Here’s the premise of the conversation.

Previously in the conversation: It is not possible to effectively answer every single question that’s put to you at the time of asking it. It’s not possible because we’re finite beings with limited capacity. Thus some questions may be beyond our sphere of knowledge. In conversing with my brother, he has never given the impression to be an expert on all things to do with life. His approach to questions, however, marks him out as someone worth conversing with. Take his considered outline about the world and the issue of globalisation. Masterful writing that makes for fascinating reading. When you’ve enjoyed that, then go on to really savour what he says about the role of teaching and teachers in communities. Seriously, savour that piece of writing. It’s not just words on a screen, it’s conversing with him as he works out the approach, so you too can follow the process of how he reaches his position. Some real chestnut quotes for example lookout for what he refers to as a “crippled approach” and challenge yourself to see if he’s wrong. Go on. Highlighting how he doesn’t establish himself as an expert and humbly acknowledges his life, he writes with that humility about what makes for a flourishing family, there are some sound insights in there that should lead us all to reflect on if we truly value families that flourish. Superb reading throughout – give it a read for yourself, share it with your friends and by all means get conversations going with those you respect on the matters he raises.

Not content with offering some great words for contemplation, he also put out some tough questions for me to answer. Here goes:

Q – What are the roles of Satan and the demons and devils in the world in your worldview? Are these entities real? Are Satan and his hordes the enemies of God and man? How much impact do they have on the evils in this world? Are they eternal or immortal entities, if they’re “alive?”

Disclaimer. I love God and His Word. If I wanted to have a specialist subject to pursue for the rest of my life it would be finding out what the Kingdom of God is and what it requires from those who are seeking it. That means that I’d like to think I’m relatively comfortable in areas of engaging with the Word of God and see it as the basis for the worldview I currently have. It’s also what I’m open to utilising to adjust that worldview where it’s not consistent with the teaching and direction of that text and the Man at the heart of that faith.

Demonology is a part of the text, but it’s not an area I claim to be well versed in. And I’m not going to do a copy and paste job of whatever biblical/Christian expert on the matter. So what follows is my understanding of the matter at this time subject to further insight into the Scripture that I look to shape my view.

Are demons and satan real? What are they? What is their role?

At this time, my understanding of the teaching of the scripture is that there are spiritual realities that go beyond what we know physically. These spiritual realities include angelic beings that God made to operate either in a serving capacity, a messenger capacity or a warring capacity. There is a section of these angelic beings who rejected God and have subsequently operated on the earth in an effort to thwart the plans of God in particular in their influence on humans.

All of that to say, I believe in the reality of spiritual beings that are defined as demons. As I also believe in a head figure of this collection referred by a variety of titles among which is the term satan. Their role in the world is to do whatever they can to establish methods and systems that stand in opposition to the rule of God in the world. There are references to the wicked one being the power of the prince of the air as well as the one who has the systems of the world in his grip.

The question as to whether they are the enemies of God is interesting. They certainly oppose God, but the idea of a war between the devil and his angels and God is intriguing largely because they have no chance of ever really competing with God because they are not God. For all of that, though, there are efforts to derail God’s plans through their schemes. They have certainly latched onto a source of support in that plan with their influence on humans.

This leads to that very intriguing question about the level of impact they have on the evils of the world. It’s my understanding that at the end of all things when judgement takes place, there is a destination that’s been prepared for the devil and his demonic crew. This is their destination because of their rebellion against God and the level of influence they have wreaked in the world from its creation to this time. Yet, the reason why there are some humans destined to join them in that location is because of their active engagement with the evils in the world. And y evils let’s not limit what we’re talking about here – it’s not as though evil is just about the really bad things that go on like the illicit wiping out of many or depraved and dehumanising treatment of others. (Although, there’s an argument to say that evil really is that which dehumanises in whatever degree to whatever extent.)

Evil is perpetuated as much by people who live in rejection of the right ways of God as it is by demonic forces. So in that sense, it’s not as though humans will be able to lump the lion’s share of wickedness in the world and blame it on the devil.

Are such entities eternal or immortal? I’m not wholly sure largely because their scheduled destination as understood in certain scriptures is about a lake of fire. There are some who see that as ultimate annihilation which would lend itself to the sense that they’re not eternal in nature. There are some who see that as eternal torment which implies eternality.

Having said that as well, the worldview I currently hold states that the endgame for believers is a new heaven and new earth where wickedness will not be present. That implies to me the elimination of such influences and forces both from within and without.

At this stage of my understanding, I’m not totally confident to establish their nature in that sense. What I would state based on what I understand, though, is that clearly such entities if indeed they can be counted as having a life as such clearly are around for a lot longer than humans are.

Thanks for asking the question, it does highlight areas that I’d like to know a lot better. The thing about the subject as with a number of others in Christianity that can have a certain … stigma attached to them is that they are liable to certain conditioned responses that aren’t primarily based on what Scripture says, but reflects their agenda and prejudice.

For all that, I take the words of Jesus about Satan very seriously. When Jesus encourages me to pray that I will be delivered from the evil one, I get the impression He knows what He’s talking about. When the scripture talks about how Jesus is tempted by the evil one after His time of fasting then I take that seriously. I don’t dismiss the figure of the evil one as a metaphor or convenient device for all of those unpleasant impulses people can have from time to time.

Q – You have been teaching for years and years. What have you learned in that experience? Please include lessons of seriousness and gravity, and pleasing lessons that brought you a smile?

As you’ll read soon, teaching is a passion. It’s something that I perceive to be a core part of how I’m designed that I love to learn and I love to teach and facilitate learning however and whenever I can. It’s something that I’ve done in one capacity or another for over twenty years and the enjoyment only shows signs of increasing now in the light of what I’ve had the opportunity to do in recent years.

Here are some notes on what I’ve learned in my years of teaching:

I am a teacher; I have to learn: I’ve taught in different settings. I’ve been able to be with a learner or group of learners over a period of time and I’ve had the one-off settings. I’ve delivered material I put together and I’ve delivered material prepared by others. In all of that, what I’ve learned is the importance of my own commitment to learning. For example, I find it helpful when teaching on passages of scripture to go through the process I went through to gather the conclusions that shape what I teach. I find it helpful because it shows my own learning method to those I’m teaching and it reaffirms my commitment to learning which also is a clear message to those I teach that I’m not teaching from a position of comprehensive knowledge and it’s not my job to just download aspects of that knowledge. The teaching is as much about developing the process of how to get and sort out information to build on as it is to take on that information. For that to be effective for me as a teacher, learning is crucial. Even learning to be a teacher is something important for me so I don’t get complacent and feel that I can just operate based on how I’ve done things before.

Learning to teach stretches the understanding of learning: One thing I was able to teach and train on was employability – essentially how to negotiate the process of finding, applying, interviewing and successfully integrating into the workplace. That’s something that I started over a decade ago and to get into it I observed how others delivered it. I had some experience in creating my own teaching material and I had a lot of experience in delivering other people’s material. I kept those two things very separate, though, so it didn’t occur to me that a mixture of the two could take place.

I had the honour of observing a guy called Kevin deliver the subject. I had the set outline in front of me and expected him to faithfully keep to the script, but it became clear as he got to know the learners and how they engaged that he had no intention of being doggedly stuck to the script. He was confident in knowing the aim of the session and the desired outcomes for the learners and he was able to shape and mould the lesson session around that.

That experience did wonders for my own approach to teaching and understanding what it is to learn. It can get very formulaic as though it’s all set there and that’s the only way learning can take place. It’s very liberating to stretch and flex and work through effective ways that learning can take place. Just when I think I’m getting a good idea on that, experiences will happen even in subjects that I’m comfortable with where I’m reminded that it’s not about the script – it’s whether effective learning is taking place and where it’s not, what can be done about it.

It’s good to have an idea of your teaching style … and not get stuck in it: Of late I’ve really enjoyed being a teacher that facilitates the learning experience. By that I mean, I love being more like someone who might know where we’re going but is challenging you to know if you know the map, can work out the routes, can see where we are and can figure out how we’ll progress in the journey with only the occasional assertions on my part. I love that. I can do teaching as the lecture where you’re supposed to pick up the goodies from me as I drop them off. I also have a very good idea of where I thrive in my teaching style. I’m not suggesting that I want to be a flexible teacher able to meet everyone’s needs. I’m not that kind of person and have no desire to be that kind of teacher for sure. What I like, however, is the chance to see some different ways of delivering the same material and so appreciate why what I do works well for me, or how what I do can be adjusted for different people.

There is such a thing as failing in teaching, but the bigger failing is not acknowledging and learning from the failing: There is a sentiment that I’ve come across that says almost anything is tolerable. It’s the kind of sentiment that suggests there’s no such thing as a silly question. It’s the kind of sentiment that suggests that there are no winners and losers, it’s all about participation. I get where that thinking comes from and sympathise with an approach to teaching that is more about encouraging and enabling, than being somewhat more blunt, harsh and clinically competitive when it comes to teaching. However, there are bad lessons. And by bad lessons I mean it on both sides – the learner(s) clearly are not bothered to learn and I’ve clearly not come with the mindset to make the experience as enjoyable and beneficial as possible. There are quite a number of other variations on what makes a bad lesson – sometimes on my part in terms of not being adequately prepared or by taking things for granted and operating on my know-how rather than being sensitive to what the learner needs. Sometimes it can be on the learner’s part for so many reasons.

In all of that, the worse thing for me has been needing another session to get me to learn from the first time of failing. I prefer it to be about acknowledging the failures or failings in the learning experience and acknowledging them as well as learning for them.

Teaching is a passion as well as a profession which helps when the going gets tough: As you’ll find out soon, I prefer teaching people who want to be taught. There have been scenarios, however, where I’ve been in a learning setting with a group of learners a few of whom are not as interested in learning as the others. they make it their point to make sure I get that point early on. It is something I take delight in to see the passion for teaching emerge to negotiate those settings with the right mix of careful consideration for those who are of that mind in the hope that I can convince them of some merit in what’s going to happen. That mix also goes along, however, with the clarity and strength of character to gain an understanding that even if they’re clocking out of learning, they won’t be a disruptive force to those who do want to learn. It’s only the passion that emerges that enables me to make agreeable scenarios from potentially problematic scenarios.

Don’t teach anyone who does not want to be taught. Mandatory and compulsory learning environments are the worst. I mean the most challenging … and I mean the worst. I like making connections with people in learning scenarios in a bid to remind them that what’s happening here is a transaction between two humans of worth. It does not have to work on a superior-inferior dynamic at all. Indeed as a teacher, I believe that I’m here to serve the learner. For all of that, though, I know my limitations and I appreciate that I will not be able to connect with everyone and will not be in a position to convince certain people that the learning experience is worth the effort. Not only am I aware of that, but I also don’t go out of my way to beg anyone to change their minds. If someone does not want to learn, I will not force them and if it were possible I’d be happy for them to leave the learning scenario. I’m not looking for the learners to all be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in their eagerness to learn – it’s not a prerequisite for learning. But I certainly have a much stronger preference now to teach people – individually and collectively – who have made a choice to be there to learn. That gives the learner a distinct stake in the affair and once they see that I’m up for it, this makes the engagement a lot more worthwhile. I understand to a degree compulsory learning for children under your care, but even that is more parenting than it is specifically and exclusively teaching.

I hope there are lots of other things I’ve picked up in the time teaching, but these points give a fair overview at the time of writing.

Q – Please watch this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkTXe1Pr1_c) if you can. It’s a video depicting in artform different types of human trafficking. And consider life in general for those who don’t experience anything like that. Consider the systems we live in and under. And in that consideration, provide your analysis of the following claim: the abolitionists of various western countries (e.g., UK, USA) failed to abolish slavery.

Warning. Watch the video if you have the constitution to engage with some fairly emotionally graphic and evocative content. It’s a tough watch, put it that way and if you’re into having a positive and flowing outlook on life, this video will not do those sentiments any good at all.

And that is the premise to engage in this particular exploration of the slavery issue.

Slavery. It’s such a fascinating concept and involves elements that people don’t want to address. It’s a term that can get people feeling hot and bothered because of the portrayal of it in various quarters at different times in history. Images of people shackled, treated inhumanely, transported from one continent to another, treated inhumanely, subjected to conditions that clearly were not designed for their welfare to the economic benefit of others, treated inhumanely. People have those images imprinted on their minds and are horrified at the thought and feel a way to know that they don’t live in a country that condones and propagates those kinds of things. People watch those things and are given the history outlines that suggest that back in the late 19th Century moves were made to make such ways of treating others illegal. Then through the 20th century, the narrative gives the impression that peoples were able to liberate themselves from those shackles.

As long as that narrative and version of slavery are pushed then some can sleep easy at night knowing that it doesn’t take place in this country.

However, that version of slavery doesn’t truly address the much bigger and wider idea of what it is to be enslaved – what it is to be dependent on a system where someone is mastered by another. Indeed there are depictions of slavery that actually make it look acceptable and even appealing. When you are enslaved all of your idea of ownership and identity is given over to someone or something else. There’s no true liberty from it because of the grip that the master has on you, but it can appear reasonable and appealing if you’re said to “benefit” from that way of living.

When I consider it, sometimes, I think that a lot of what passes for working relations and employment in certain areas is really sophisticated and reasonable slavery. When I consider it, sometimes, I think that a lot of what is defined as the political, cultural and social systems are really just more amenable and appeasing forms of slavery. A good indication of something a form of slavery is what happens when you look to break free from the grip that the system extends.

The video depicts a girl living in harsh conditions and falling into a system of human trafficking that is truly grotesque and gruesome. Yet in there as well is also the system that gets people hooked to situations that subjects them in ways – whether to a political and economic system or to issues like alcoholism and cycles of abuse. Some sociologists would want to make a connection between certain systems and social conditions that make such forms of slavery possible. To a degree, however, as long as people look to capitalise on others for their own benefit and can set up systems to trap people in a mindset of dependence then forms of slavery will prevail in all walks of life however “liberal” and “free” they think they are.

It’s in that sense that I concur with the statement at the end that the effort to abolish slavery is a resounding failure.

Continuing on that theme and the implicit connection I refer to as aspects of what expresses itself as human nature, the reason why such failure is evident is that although there may have been a political and social movement to get rid of those versions of slavery I mentioned earlier, as ever it is not just about legislating against something. It’s about the role of conditioning to allow us to be aware of slavery and understand what about it can be disagreeable and wrong and how it connects with a view of the human. therein is the challenge because any views of the humans are rooted more in what’s socially useful for the time rather than an enriching, inspiring objective foundation of what it is to be human. Keeping it relative and somewhat convenient for certain centres of power essentially means that we can convince ourselves that we’ve eliminated slavery when all we’re really doing is putting a cover on a version of it.

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You have not failed to ask questions that challenge me seriously and these have joined that growing collection of challenging questions. Many thanks for that, bro.

Here are some questions for you:

Q – What qualities make a good character?

Q – Describe what it is that you enjoy about playing music?

Q – Are there any human beings that you’d be interested in talking to in order to gain knowledge and insight on a matter of interest to you – whether that’s in music, or in matters that you write about? If so who would those individuals be and what would you ask them? If not why do you think that’s the case?

Words have value when they’re communicated with clarity and understanding, you excel in that which makes the conversation so stimulating, Hesediah. Thanks for your time.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden