Dominion Governance, II

Dominion Governance, II

By John Taylor; 6 April, 2006

Dominion governance is the measure of legitimate governance, for
dominion is by nature universal, eternal, perfect; it spans all
changes and accidents of this earthly plane. It is permanence in the
midst of change.

"How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom
is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to
generation." (Daniel 4:3, WEB)

Yesterday we discussed an historical chain of events that led
inexorably from a false but widely-held belief that mankind, God's
highest creation, was flawed and unequal, which caused slavery, racism
and eventually a terrible war between the states. The repercussions
forced the reluctant denizens of a remote forested land into
confederation; the new nation they named the Dominion of Canada, using
a term of great import in Holy Writ. We looked at some mentions of
"dominion" in prophesy and ended with the Master's own musing upon
Canada's unique name. He cited a verse from the chapter of the Qu'ran
known as Mulk, Dominion. The early part of this chapter is a challenge
to look thrice at God's handiwork and try to find fault. Here is one
translation of the verse `Abdu'l-Baha pointed to. God,

"...created the seven heavens one above another; you see no
incongruity in the creation of the Beneficent God; then look again,
can you see any disorder?" (Q67:3, Shakir)

The Qu'ran concludes by saying that even if you look a third time,
that is, you look and look and look, until your eyes grow tired, you
will never find a difference, defect, flaw or "incongruity" in His
creation. Ostensibly this is a puzzling statement, since nature
clearly is replete with flaws; organisms make mistakes, they can be
cruel, insensitive, even kill one another and in the end each dies and
disintegrates. That is hardly perfection. And besides, monotheism
itself decrees that only God can be absolutely perfect and complete.

The Master offers an interesting interpretation of this puzzling
suggestion. What is meant is not that creation in all aspects is pure,
perfect and immaculate but only that the highest pinnacle of creation,
mankind, is made "without difference." That is to say, we are created
impartially. God does not favor one person over another, or one race
or any other grouping. Each of us is tested and challenged equally.

I ask: what else can the Qu'ran mean by "looking thrice" at creation
other than the three step dialectic of thesis, antithesis and
synthesis? Nature gives birth, it dies, it rises again in a new
regeneration. But humans, unlike lower creation, are not subject to
brute evolutionary forces but rather to selection criteria that are
essentially moral. "He that created life and death that He may try
you, which of you is best in conduct." (67:2, Pickthall) God is
infinitely far exalted above us and all must ultimately fail to attain
to his holiness. Our only distinction can be among our own human kind,
and as the parable of the tares also teaches. The value of our fruits
will be evident only in the end, the final judgment, after the
dialectic sorting out of life and death. Any previous partiality is
noisome, prejudicial, unknown in divine rule; it would be
"incongruous" indeed. Each is given by providence our own due share of
potential virtues and vices and we must know and have faith that our
lot is ultimately best suited to the needs of our own nature.

Dominion governance, then, stands essentially upon impartial equality,
and that rests on what Leibniz intuited, that in spite of the
all-too-apparent surface shortcomings of nature, in the final
synthesis all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds. If
it happens, it is part of His order, it is part of a testing process,
the best thing that could happen to each part of creation. Because God
ordained it and He knows best, it must be for the best.

The Qu'ran makes no claim to being original. Clearly, the name "Mulk"
of this Qu'ranic chapter is a reference to the concept of dominion in
the much older story of Genesis. In this primal story of human
provenance God creates the natural universe, populates it with life
and only at the end turns to making humans. Unlike any other creature,
He conceives of us as nothing less than reflections of Himself. Even
as he creates us He offers to share His rule over the plants, birds
and animals that are already running about free on the surface of the
earth.

"God said, `Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the
sky, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every
creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' (Gen 1:26, WEB)

Dominion over nature is the first thing that God gives man to make use
of after he attains to his station as mirror of God. The use of
"dominion" is infinitely significant; the word is not a weak one. It
means total rule, absolute sovereignty, it refers to an area under the
complete domination of a higher authority.

But again, the first thing that strikes the reader of Genesis is that
our world is really not like that. In every meaningful respect human
dominion is far from complete. Only until very recently have humans
gained anything like complete dominion over nature. Until about a
century ago, wild animals were a clear and present threat and hunters
and trappers were admired as valiant protectors. Even now our rule
over nature is shaky at best. The threat of bird flu is sneaking up on
nations around the globe; authorities in England recently made
provisions for the mass burial of three hundred thousand plague
victims, just in case. There seems to be nothing we can do, even armed
with modern science, to prevent a pandemic. Meanwhile hurricanes
inundate cities, regions are devastated by tsunamis, towns disappear
under landslides. Is that dominion over nature?

It is inconceivable that the Supreme Being should ever tell a lie or
break a promise. He promised us dominion, not influence or hegemony,
that is, rule conditioned by willing consent. Dominion comes from
Dominus, Lord, an absolute monarch; it means total, unconditional
control.

Let me draw your attention to what I think is the crucial feature of
this offer by God of a share in His dominion. He starts off in the
singular, "let us make man in our image," but then insensibly switches
to the plural, "let them have dominion..." What does that mean? Two
things. First the individual is concerned with the "image of God," we
are tasked with reflecting Him in our heart. Two, the extent of
dominion is the reflection of refection, so to speak. Collective
dominion reflects many individuals' reflection of the image of God.
According to this no individual has direct sway in a dominion. Even
God does not take on the singular, He uses the royal "we," saying,
"let us make man in our image." Nobody ever has or ever will work
aught on their own behalf in a dominion, because that would be
prejudicial, incongruous, flawed. The only way for human dominion ever
to be complete or satisfactory is to reflect God, to work creatively
in shared dominion. The God of Genesis promised dominion over creepy
things crawling on the dirt if and only if we know God by looking at
His image in the self. Only that shows in the individual who he is and
what he can do as an image of God. But when it comes to outward
service, it is good only if done for all of humanity. Love is only
good as an expression of love for God and all humanity. There can be
no flaw in this.

Consider this repeat in the same Book of Genesis of the same lesson
about dominion. It too is addressed to humans collectively, not as
individuals.

"God blessed them. God said to them, `Be fruitful, and multiply, and
replenish the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the
sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that
moves on the earth.'" (Gen 1:28, WEB)

The better we understand dominion the less willful, the more content
we become. Legitimate governance in a divine dominion is flawless,
there are none to blame because every turning is the best of all
possible decisions in the best of all possible worlds. There can be no
anger or protest; that, God forbid, would rebellion against God. To
accept dominion is to offer the fruit of our individual prayer and
reflection to all; that means learning to rule together, unitedly,
collectively and responsibly. Anything less falls short of divine
universality. All this is a holistic, divine creative process flowing
by nature from the individual's essential nature as image of God. Paul
showed brilliant insight into this when he commented:

"For by him were all things created, in the heavens and on the earth,
things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
principalities or powers; all things have been created through him,
and to him." (Col 1:16, WEB)

When I go for my walk through Dunnville I often pass by our old post
office building; behind its bright, illumined "Canada Post" signs one
discerns its original dedication on a high ledge, etched in stone,
"Dominion Post Office." Canadians no longer call our national
government that, of course, since we are now an independent nation
like any other; now we call it the federal government.

Whenever I look up at that post office sign of late, I wonder.

The whole world would be wise to take a hint from the reluctant
Canadian fathers of confederation. Why not call the United Nations or
its successor, "the Dominion?" Not the Dominion of Humanity or the
Dominion of God but since it would be both, just "The Dominion."
Nations do not call themselves "intercity" governments; they have a
word on its own, national. So why call UN functions "international"
functions? Why not dominion functions?

The word dominion evokes everything that a world government strives
for, total equality, complete freedom from corruption and tyranny,
impartial rule only by a Supreme Being and groups of humans who
reflect Him inwardly and outwardly. It means security, content,
independent support of all for all. A world government could call its
buildings, offices and functions by a divine name, dominion buildings,
dominion offices and dominion functions. The UN building in New York
could be renamed the Dominion Building. Dominion is shorter and sounds
more natural than the acronym "UN" for United Nations.

With rising standards of world governance by the Dominion the word
dominion itself would become a touchstone for all good governance, not
just on the international level. I mentioned a few days ago that few
governments, even the most advanced, are worthy of the name
"democracy," and suggested that we should call them 35 percent
democracies, or 55 percent, or whatever. With a dominion government
setting the standards, you could say that a given country claims to be
democratic but it is only 84 percent up to dominion standards. People
looking to move into a home would be duly notified that this house is
in a neighborhood run up to 57 percent of dominion standard in a town
of 84 percent dominion; it is served by a school of 48 percent
dominion, and so forth. Such is the power of a word.

Let me close with two points made by the Master. Abdu'l-Baha once
predicted the triumph of a new dominion of spirit when on a walk in
England. A young woman drive by on a bicycle and that reminded him of
the coming liberation and equality of women.

"In this age of spiritual awakening, the world has entered upon the
path of progress into the arena of development, where the power of the
spirit surpasses that of the body. Soon the spirit will have dominion
over the world of humanity." (Abdu'l-Baha in London, 81)

He also pointed out that in order for us to have the dominion of
peace, we must expunge the sinister dominion of war.

"Know thou that all the powers combined have not the power to
establish universal peace, nor to withstand the overmastering
dominion, at every time and season, of these endless wars. Erelong,
however, shall the power of heaven, the dominion of the Holy Spirit,
hoist on the high summits the banners of love and peace, and there
above the castles of majesty and might shall those banners wave in the
rushing winds that blow out of the tender mercy of God." (Abdu'l-Baha,
Selections, 173)

--
John Taylor

badijet@gmail.com