The Cultural Ream
Everything that I do for me.
Remember an activity might have several layers of motivation or purpose, but that part of an action that is for your personal benefit is happening in the Cultural Realm.
That includes health, education, religion, entertainment.
You can't be told to get better, you can't be forced to learn (that's the tricky bit about it), you can't be forced to believe something, and you can't be made to enjoy Abba. You do or you don't, or perhaps (like me) you didn't, and then you did! It was that "Dancing Girl" track that started it off - I was in my 30s, I'd had nothing but contempt, and then... one day... "what a fab song!" was the thought I was thinking. Anyway, that's getting off the track.
A doctor, a teacher, a priest or an artist are all engaged in helping people with the "cultural" aspects of their lives. Traditionally the Three-Fold doctrine puts all these activities in the Cultural Realm. I've noticed however that although the consumtion of their services is in the Cultural Realm, the delivery of them is not entirely. More on that later...
The point I'm making is that in engaging in Cultural Realm activity we are free - we can not be forced. This is obvious in the case of illness, and less clear in the case of religion for instance. However, although you might be forced to attend Church (if you're Catholic - Eccliastic Organisation, Mosque, Temple etc otherwise), no one can force you to engage inwardly.
Tim has brought a very interesting aspect to my understanding of the Cultural Realm as he has located competition in it. Competition brings with it an assessment of quality and a decision about which will be chosen (will win the competition). Decisions about quality and which should be chosen are a necessary and major part of life.
Competition brigs with it striving to do better. Where this striving starts to desire the destruction or anhialation of the others in the race the competition has slipped and has become rivalry.
These are the basic concepts for the Cultural Realm: I, free, liberty and competition.
The way in which the word "Free" is used here is not the "without cost" meaning, it is the "not imprisoned" meaning. If a child feels imprisoned at school, chances are the child won't be learning.
Paying it Forward
Hi Sebastian,
I'd be interested to hear more on your views about the delivery of services in the Cultural realm not happening entirely in that realm.
What I can offer is from my own experience as Treasurer of the local Christian Community here in Canberra - as we are focussed on the delivery of sacraments (baptism, confirmation, communion, consultation, marriage, funeral mainly) and we adopt the principle communicated to members and friends of the Community that "The Christian Community could not exist without your freely given contributions" .
Nevertheless, we have to make people aware of the financial running of the Community, and people will naturally ask questions (usually to the priest) like "I understand the principle of giving freely but how much do you suggest I give for a (baptism, funeral etc.)".
As a result, we have worked on and documented some guidelines to help people - for example, our priest will often tell people "well, if you pay an undertaker so much for their services perhaps you should consider donating something similar for priestly services for the funeral".
So we have these two conflicting ideas - one of giving freely, and one of at least providing guidelines on how much could/should be donated in response to various services. This also partially addresses the practical aspect of ensuring our Community can continue to exist. A large part of continuing to exist is meeting the expenses of the priests, i.e. providing them with enough to allow them to continue to "produce" what they can produce in their priestly work. Beyond this of course there are the usual expenses involved in running a small church community - administration, bills, repairs, buildings, bits and pieces to support the sacraments, donations to other communities and causes etc.
Usually the concept applied in such situations, e.g. with doctors, is that we are paying for the service provided - however I personally have come to the view that it is better to view such a gift to our Community as "paying it forward" rather than "paying it back". What I mean is that out of gratitude for what is freely given to me by the Christian Community I give so that in the future others may receive something similar, or even more.
I have never been in the position of being able to be a patron of the arts but I can see that it could be similar in one sense - it could be "for me" because "I don't know art but I know what I like" but on the other hand there has to be at least an element of faith, trust and "paying it forward" because, for example, if I pay high prices for the paintings of an up and coming artist then maybe I am also (partly) freely giving them something for the future which they are then free to use as they see fit - for example, spend it all on drink or buy a bigger and better canvas, if you know what I mean.
Freedom is the vital
Freedom is the vital element - the money has to be given without any strings attached. Trust is required. If the trust isn't there then first the light, then the warmth, and finally the life of the thing itself are all extinguished. Beyond trust is love, and gifts given freely with love, and work carried out competently in freedom with love has the opposite effect. Light pours in, warmth grows and the life of the system becomes strong.
If the trust is abused then the system suffers. However the money given was given in freedom and the consequence is not that the giver gets the money back, but that the giver thinks very hard about giving again. The people in the system therefore know that abusing trust puts their future in jeopardy.
It is interesting for you as a giver (I'm sure) to the CC and also an executive in it. You actually have TWO roles, which are COMPLETELY separate. You give freely as the giver. Then you spend wisely as the treasurer. If you were to not spend wisely it wouldn't be long before you stopped giving!
I like the reference to the payment the undertaker gets - your priest perhaps hopes for holidays abroad?!?
So here is my view of the philosophical bottom line: the CC provides Christian support to people based in freedom to everyone who wants that support. That is its purpose, and it is provided free of charge so that the "everyone" can really be "everyone". The CC Church is a system - I'm going to do systems next - and it has financial requirements to sustain itself.
In order to do be financially sustainable the CC asks that a warmth-body come in to existence around it to provide it with funds. This body is made up of people who admire, respect, love the purpose of the CC and trust that it has the wherewithall to actually deliver. This warmth body takes an interest and provides whatever support it can and enough support to allow the system to be sustained.
You, in your role, are perhaps the leader of this warmth-body. It would be normal to expect the priest to be the leader, to provide advice about what should be given, but I don't think so. He is (hopefully) doing his work to the best of his ability out of freedom and with love. He can guage the extent to which his work is meeting a need by whether the community expresses a will for it to continue by funding him. If he focuses his attention on gathering the funds then he will only discover his own will to continue!
Let's consider some scenarios to test this out.
The running costs for the Church (including the Priest's living) are a certain amount. You, and your treasury committee, have the task of bringing that money from the people you know are committed to the purpose of the church. You know these people and can advise them as to how much they should contribute based on how much is needed and how much they can afford. Remembering that it is dangerous to have all your eggs in one basket, so don't lean overly heavily on the wealthiest - you could become dependent...
Now, the Priest decides that an expensive trip to a far away place is required. It is down to the relationship between the Priest and the community as to whether the community a) believes that this trip is true to the purpose and therefore valid, b) believes that this trip is really what the Priest needs, and c) is prepared to find the money. This is a situation in which there are no contracts, where the Priest has no particular rights, but neither do the financial supports - both are giving freely. It is therefore down to the will to understand, support, and really work to the purpose.
Here is another possibility. The Priest suggests that a new church is built. He sets out a vision of what it could be, why it would be better, what difference it would make to the community. Maybe the Priest wants a swanky church? Maybe the Priest has detected a critical moment in the building of a new community and is responding to a new opportunity? It is up to the warmth-body to form a view, both of what the project entails and of the motivations for the project.
The reason why the motivation is important is because the project will only succeed if there is genuine will for it in the community. Therefore if the Priest has detected that - green light, but if the motivation is Priestly vanity, then there will be no will in the community and the project will almost certainly fail.
Perhaps the Priest will be very involved in the Church building project - perhaps it will be largly handled by the Community. It depends on the skills and desires of all the people involved. The point is that there aren't rules laid down in stone, there are people working together, trying to find the right path. The 3-fold provides an understanding of the dynamics which all can share, and which can therefore lubricate the process.
So, you have presented the accounts to the community community and someone is questioning the expenditure. "It's my money your're spending, and I've a right to demand that..." Well all you can do is explain the accounts, and point out that the money was given freely and that giving it confers no rights at all. Perhaps you could create a special giver-form that people sign when they make donations. That would bring a certain amount of consciousness to bear! You should also say that if the giver doesn't have confidence in the system then they could perhaps consider joining the Finance committee, or perhaps they should not make further donations. Thus the CC system is held to account to its purpose by the CC comunity. As you said, this concerns giving in the future, not what has been given. The system is 100% responsible for the money it has, the community is 100% responsible for the money it will have!
Deeds carried out with love don't have to be lovely. They have to be true to the purpose, they should be effective and carried to the utmost of the ability that is available. Here is a quote from the end of Chapter 13 (The Value of Life) of POF "He acts as he wants to act, that is, in accordance with the standard of his ethical intuitions; and he finds in the achievement of what he wants the true enjoyment of life. He determines the value of life by measuring achievements against aims"
In that last sentance the word "aim" represents the purpose of the endeavor. Measuring achievement against aim is the holding to account of the activity.
Interesting question - sorry if I have been a bit long winded!
professional work
Wonderful work Tim, and an interesting topic. It is every Community Churches dilemma relying on donations and people's good will; for this it should be addressed.
I can understand the sensitivity of saying 'we need money to keep going but at the same time we are not demanding on your pocket because we are offering a spiritual service to the Community but in truth we need money to keep going and please understand in turn this money is put back into our Community ... to keep it going.'
I believe it is right for the people who run the Community to receive payment in return for the spiritual services offered, not only because they need to live but also the payment acknowledges a service received. If payment is not received for services offered the person offering the service might begin to feel 'taken for granted' although he or she is offering the service out of love, we are human, and in turn the person offering the service will be distracted from what he or she does best because of this possible conflict. This besides the general running costs of the building and books etc.
I think it is important for the Community to understand you are offering a professional service - it is work taken seriously and for this it must be put on a professional basis. It is culturally professional.
The guidelines you have laid down sound good - I would make it a standard rate to avoid confusement - this is the rate. Of course, if a member of the Community is going through a rough financial patch they may discuss it with you and possibly the other members of the Community may help.
The members of the Community ought to respect this and appreciate the recognition of the service offered. It is not a business but it is God's work and God is a professional.
What really would be ideal, as well, is for all Church Communities to automatically receive funding from the Government as a non-profit organisation for the welfare of the people ...
Tim, my thoughts - I look forward to hearing what other people think on this important subject.
My regards
Caryn
postscript:
I've just read your reply Sebastian - and I really like the warmth and love it projects - your words are strong. My reply lays it down straight in saying set a fee. Sometimes I think if rules (for the good of the Community) are put in place people know where they stand ... Interesting comments!
A standard rule could be
A standard rule could be the way. I think it is the job of Tim and the others in the Finance group to work out their strategy given their situation. One problem that fundraisers face is getting the wealthy members to contribute more than the standard amount. That needs a personal connection. For many fundraising campaigns the general appeal is the last step after the netowks that support the organisation seeking funds have been thoroughly searched and milked of all large donations by hand.
I think an important point is that the 3-fold understanding gives the people on the ground the mental tools they need to find their path in their context, at the time they are doing it.
I think what I am about to say may strike many as extraordinary, but in response to Caryn's: "What really would be ideal, as well, is for all Church Communities to automatically receive funding from the Government as a non-profit organisation for the welfare of the people ..."
I fundamentally do not believe in government support. I think that is a throw back to the days before freedom was possible for everyone. I really do believe that cultural organisations that are supported by their own warmth-bodies, that they have gathered around them out of love for their purpose, are freer and more healthy.
The trouble with "government" is that it locates responsibility elsewhere, outside of yourself. As such, it is an abdication of our freedom. Sure, it makes sense for a society to organise certain aspects of its activity through a government, but the less the better in my view! This is interesting stuff, and very much core subject matter of the 3-fold Group here.
thinking
Sebastian I'm worried my comments sound dictatorial. Especially saying people need rules it sounds a bit patronising in light of your comments which includes the community acting together as one group. However, if we look at an example of a family going to the church for a Baptism they are there for the spiritual commune; they not thinking about the roof which needs repairing. If they are thinking about the roof which needs repairing, showing a love for the community church, does it somehow distract from the actually reason why they there? If the finance support structure is in place maybe it will take the off the pressure of thinking about funds for the roof and instead the thought may be - because I have contributed there is a budget for the roof and I am going to help fix it. This is saying with structure comes freedom to act?
Yes, looking for government funding does place it into politics .. but if it is the community church the people in the area pay rates and taxes for the area they live in possibly an allocation of these rates could go to the church (without raising the rates and taxes) - but the issue will be raised not everybody who pays rates in the area goes to the church. Here the same principle might apply though, the finance structure for the community is in place, we as a neighbourhood community have a budget - so much is allocated to our church and so much is allocated to the park or planting trees. The community work with the ward representative .. maybe this does happen in areas in the world already though
All that you say is true
All that you say is true and good but it is working out of the structures of the past. All of these things that you are suggesting work in practice and are perfectly valid practical routes.
What I am suggesting has benefits that are hard to imagine until you live it. You have to imagine a situation in which the community activity comes purely out of the will of the community, in freedom, with love.
Money from taxes is not free in the POF sense. The giver is unaware of what is being funded. There is no economic connection, no relationship at all, between the giver and the receiver.
An aspect of the 3-fold which I didn't mention and should have comes clearly in to view at this point. Steiner indicated that the money used in the Cultural Realm would be used up in the Cultural Realm. He saw money as having a life, not going round in endless circles. Created in the economic realm, and used up in the Cultural Realm.
In practical terms, money that dies is not a real possibility, but it is a metaphorical possibility. Money that people and business put in to the Cultural realm is money that they don't need for any other more pressing physical purpose. They give the money out of what they have availalbe after feeding everyone etc. Each giver draws the line in a different place - out of their individual freedom.
Think in to the flow of money. Think of it being earnt, being used for different things, and then what is left going in to fund the Cultural Realm. Money itself has no moral value, but what is done with money certainly does. Paying tax is not a free moral deed - it comes out of your obligations as a citizen. You can pay your tax as a free deed if you wish, but you have to pay it, free deed or not.
The money you give to the Cultural Realm has a completely different character, it is imbued with the qualities of the deed of giving. Giving money to the Church is an act. Just like any other act it can be done out of freedom and with love. A Church that is sustained by donations made out of freedom with love is being sustained in a whole different way to a Church that is sustained by tax. Think of it like conventional food vs biodynamic food. The value of food to us is in the work we have to do to digest it.
Think of a Priest in a Church where all the funds arrive out of freedom with love - how will he value that money compared to another who receives anonymous tax income? The Priest in the first situation will be brought to a far higher pitch of activity, just as our bodies are made to work spiritually harder to digest biodynamic food than they are to digest conventional processed food.
So, your idea isn't wrong at all, but what I am trying to present takes us in to the future in a different way...
Zimbabwe
Hi Sebastian
Yes, I hear what you are saying the community acting of freedom in pure will and love - I'm beginning to think you are an Aquarian :) This is it exactly.
The thing is though, I am not sure about the rest of the world, but here the cost of living is getting so high there is nothing left over and you right there - tax is not free. I also think sometimes to much is expected from businesses, again I am not sure about the rest of the world, but here the larger business are supporting the infrastructure with the amount of taxes they pay - employees tax, provisional tax, company tax, vat, UIF, skills development levy, import duties, export duties .. and im sure there is more ... it's a wonder they have anything left to put back into society out of goodwill. Although I they do sponsor cultural events, like sport for example but here if we look at it - it is advertising and a tax deduction. But sometimes I think the demands on CEO's must stressful with this pot that never gets filled.
It would be nice to apply the same principle of PoF to our taxes because we do pay our taxes for our country and as you say our taxes are in valid infastructure practices already - but how do we put the spirit into our taxes which we do pay out of good will and hard work ... we pay our taxes for our country and we pray for our country ... it is my hope government will put more into social spending than expecting non-profit NGO's to support the people who really need support and in turn it benefits the country in they becoming normal adjusted working people.
If we take Zimbabwe for example (my place of birth) it is a mess, it has collapsed into misery and poverty. Mugabe (who is wealthy mind you) did not put any money back into his countries infrastructure, he has done nothing to empower the people through work investment and promoting businesses - on the contrary he seized farms, which have gone barren - and now his latest move is demanding the businesses which are still standing to cut their prices in half - a few business men have refused and they have been arrested and put in jail.
I'm sorry im getting off the subject now but this situation in Zimbabwe is shocking - a prime example of no care for people's welfare. We are praying for Zimbabwe.
Sebastian ... I don't know what further to say.
Well you don't need to say
Well you don't need to say any more. i've agreed with you all along, I'm just trying to explain something that, if possible in a particular situation, provides an exciting path in to the future.
The CC church in Australia, or here in the UK in Stroubridge for instance, is a small scale cultural endeavour that is quite likely supportable by the system that I have outlined.
Whilst the ideas I am presenting might be quite impossible in many situations they may be possible in others. But before it can happen, we have to want it to happen. I hope that what I have written helps to light fires in peoples hearts, to enlighten their heads, so that more and more, in whatever small ways are possible, these ideas that Steiner brought in the 3-fold, based on the ideas in POF, can be brought to living reality in the world.
My birthday is the 18th of Feb.
S-)
Interesting... Government Funding
One thing I didn't mention was that our priest has recently taken contract employment, average one day a week, with a small community group - basically a group of parents of severely disabled people who can never live alone.
This group realised that they had the right to either utilise local government services made available to these kinds of people, or to take the funding directly and arrange the services themselves. They chose to take the funding themselves.
Our priest arranges activities for the group, e.g. such things as singing lessons with a qualified music teacher associated with the local Steiner school. In return she receives some of the funding on a standard per hour rate which is paid directly to the Christian Community here.
So in effect our Community also receives a level of guaranteed income, at least for the moment, from the local Territory Government in return for providing some services which the Government would otherwise provide.
Hi Sebastian You wrote,
Hi Sebastian
You wrote, "These are the basic concepts for the Cultural Realm: I, free, liberty and competition." I'd love to hear just the basic concepts for the other two realms! Just as something to work with to try to understand it better...
That's coming soon...
That's coming soon...
spot on
18th Feb - that's wonderful Sebastian :) I am preparing a Astrology chart for quick reference to signs, planets, elements etc.
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