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Don Cupitt: Taking leave of God (and everything else!)

Information: This article gives a brief review of the work of the English theologian and philosopher Don Cupitt, and in particular his development of a non-realist (anti-realist) position in his understanding of God. Quotes are by Don Cupitt unless otherwise noted. Author's note: On his website Cupitt expresses a preference to be considered a philosopher, rather than a theologian. Although I respect his wish, I have chosen to categorise this article in the theological section on this website, because I feel this is representative of the religious themes and ideas he discusses in the body of work this article is concerned with. A version of this article was originally published on the website www.faithnet.org.uk.

Introduction

'I am still sometimes asked to write an autobiography; but my writings have been my autobiography; in the sense that through them I have slowly worked my Way towards a personal religious outlook and philosophy of life with which I can feel content.'

Don Cupitt (b.1934) was ordained to the Diocese of Manchester in 1959, and until the early 1990s was a priest in the Church of England (NOTE: He still remains a priest of 'good standing' in the church). Despite being known more for his radical theological positions (the book Taking Leave of God (1980) expressing one of the most well-known), he began his spiritual journey as an orthodox Christian. However, he was not content with a simplistic form of faith, and as such sought to revise what he held to be inadequate views of God. Aside from a brief foray into the realm of Christology (Christ and the Hiddenness of God (1971), The Myth of God Incarnate (1977, John Hick Ed.), a desire to revise inadequate religious concepts has been a dominant theme in his work.

Cupitt's theology has undergone a radical transformation over the years, spanning his literary career up to the present day. As a consequence, one must be very specific when speaking of 'Cupitt's ideas on...', as very likely what he once thought about a matter will have changed.

'Much of Cupitt's thinking clearly belongs to the philosophical tradition rather than to theology, and the best clues to his ideas can often be given by quoting the philosophers who have been important to him at different times.'

The early years (-1980)

Followers of Cupitt's religious 'transformation' identify various stages of theological development in his writings. The first stage can be said to define Cupitt's attempt to uphold orthodox theology, but simply offer a restatement and re-interpretation of key themes in it (rather than rejecting them for new ideas). Most notably, he criticised the various forms of projection-theory of religion (which he would later embrace), and sought to establish a degree of objectivity in faith (this being the idea that beliefs are true in themselves, and not simply because one believes them).

In The Leap of Reason (1976), Cupitt began to align the idea of objectivity with transcendence, claiming that this was necessary for 'creative advance' and morality (although he admitted there were problems in trying to speak of that which is beyond our sense perception, and admitted to a degree of agnosticism when attempting to do so).

Ironically, his move away from 'orthodox belief' came as a result of wanting to remain faithful to key Christian themes, yet reinterpret these in the context of contemporary society.

Taking leave of God

With the release of Taking Leave of God (1980), Cupitt began a new stage in his theological development. On his website, Cupitt says that it was due to the publication of Taking Leave of God, that his career was essentially 'shut down'. This book also led to him (wrongly) being considered an atheist, with him being dubbed, 'the most radical theologian in the world'. It was also around this time that he wrote a book and presented a series of programmes for the BBC (both entitled The Sea of Faith, which explored the decline of religious belief in the West. In many respects, it might be said that it was due to these that Cupitt's career was revived, and his work become more popularly known.

The Sea of Faith Network was formed as a direct result of the TV programme.

Cupitt had three specific objections to orthodox Christian belief at this time:

• Objections to specific doctrines (notably the orthodox teaching that Jesus was God Incarnate).
• Objections to the repressive backwardness and irrelevance of much of Church life (E.g. institutions, practice and dogmas).
• Objections to the objective content of the Christian faith (i.e. a theistic view of God).

Also at this time Cupitt began to immerse himself in the work of Christian mystics (such as Meister Eckhart), and began to focus more on spirituality and the search for religious meaning 'within'.

Through his reading of the mystics Cupitt began to form the opinion that human language could never fully express the reality of God, and as such he gradually began to internalise the 'God image' and embrace a projection theory of religion (something he had earlier sought to avoid). As a result, Cupitt finally embraced the notion that God is not a Being who exists independently to us, but is instead a product of our language (and ideas). In other words, it is not that God created us in God's image, but that we created God in our image (through language).

'To say that God is love is in effect to say simply that love is God'

The moral oppressiveness of an objective God

Aside from the problem of saying anything meaningful about God, Cupitt also argued that the traditional view of God (as one who has commanded us to act in a certain way), needed to be rejected  in order for genuine moral choices to be made by us. In other words, we cannot be said to be making a decision to freely do something, if God is there 'standing over us' or telling us what to do!

'How can such a [oppressive] faith ever be the means whereby I become autonomous and fully-liberated spirit? It is impossible.' [Bracket mine]

So with this in mind, the more God is seen to be perfect, complete or unchangeable, the more we are presented with the reality of living under the dominion of a cosmic tyrant, who will allow nothing (least of all religion) to change, progress or develop. Although many people take comfort in the fact that God has decreed a certain way of life for humanity to live by (e.g. The Ten Commandments), Cupitt takes the opposite view and sees this as something which impinges on our moral and religious freedom. If God exists, then we appear to have very little choice in terms of matters of faith, and how to live our life.

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The post-modernist years (1981-1996)

The principle means by which Cupitt eventually dispensed with the idea of a God 'out there', is that we only say what God is not (via negativa) rather than what God is (via positivia). However, on its own the via negativa cannot be easily distinguished from atheism (for if we cannot say anything about God, then what is to stop us concluding that God is not there at all). Although Cupitt remains adamant (to this day) that his is not an atheist (more a religious humanist), he was led to the idea of God's non-existence through his belief that the divine reality is all a construct of our language. In other words, the limits of language are the limits of God's reality.

However, influenced by post-modern writers (such as Derrida), Cupitt then extended this notion to say that the limits of our language not only express the limits of God's reality, but also the world we live in. In fact, if God is a human creation through language, then surely the world around us is also a product of our language as well? Put another way, Cupitt was led to the conclusion that nothing exists  the world, outside of our language!

In his book The Last Philosophy (1995), Cupitt begins by evoking the reader to try to conceive of something that lies beyond language, and if one does this to avoid using language to think about it. That fact that we cannot do this (as far as Cupitt is concerned), led him to conclude that even 'nothing' is defined by our language!

In some respects, Cupitt's 'nothing-other-than-language' view is a logical outcome of the humanist's position. For if there really is nothing other than the physical realm, then all we are left with is all we can see. Furthermore, if there is nothing beyond the physical realm that exists as either Ultimate Being (God/soul) or Ultimate Value (morality), then we truly are (and have been) the creators of this world and all its values through nothing more than language. Thus, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God' (John 1:1), perfectly describes Cupitt's view of the world and the universe.

Cupitt explored the moral implications of his 'nothing-other-than-language position' in his book Solar Ethics (1995). In this book he described the 'moral life' as living as one wants to. Using an analogy with the sun, he says that people should live their life fully in the midst of others (and for others), unashamedly declaring who they are (and want to be). This is in stark contrast to the view which says that the best life for us is the one lived for God, and as God decrees it should be lived.

Recent trends in Cupitt's work (1996-)

Cupitt has continued to explore the theme of language in his work, but also the idea that 'true religion' is about adding value to the world we live in. In terms of language, he has tried through several books to show how through our ordinary use of religious terms, we can see evidence that traditional religious concepts have been (and are being) revised.

'Ordinary language is already 'the best radical theologian''.

Cupitt has also been exploring what he calls a 'Kingdom theology', which for him is nothing less than an expression of what religion has always been (once freed from its various ontological and metaphysical restraints). Although many may lament the decline of the religion in the West, Cupitt does not but sees its reinvention through new forms of language as just another part of the way things are (and have always been).

'Religion today is fast becoming more democratic, more identified with the way ordinary people experience their life, and more ready to accept and embrace everything's transience. Belief in life after death is dying out. Religion is becoming less and less a matter of seeking an anchorage in a point somewhere outside life, and more and more a matter of simply saying Yes to life.'

As someone who denies the existence of an objective reality called 'God' or any inner reality called a 'soul', Cupitt has naturally become increasingly drawn towards utilising the insights of Buddhism in his work.

Concluding thoughts

Critics of Cupitt have often accused him of not arguing for, but simply stating his case. Certainly there is ample evidence throughout his writings that despite drawing on the works of others, that this is often done in an uncritical manner. However, in general Cupitt's relaxed and clear approach to theological discourse makes his books interesting and stimulating reading, and he continually pushes the limits of humanist religious discourse to dramatic effect. He also clearly challenges those who hold to 'simplistic' notions concerning the nature and being of God (realism). However, the fact that he never seems to adequately engage with any thinkers (or systems of thought), may be a reason why he is often sidelined by the academia. For humanists (non-theists/atheists) to gain the best from Cupitt, they may have to use him more as a resource with which to accumulate a case against the 'objective' existence of God, rather than rely on his words in any absolute sense.

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