Are you familiar with Pierre Proudhon?  One of history's most famous anarchists, in his short life (1809-1865), Proudhon established an enduring reputation as one of Europe's most controversial and insightful thinkers.  One of his most famous observations is, "Property is theft," which, if one thinks about it for a while, in many ways rings true.  He also wrote an influential book called God is Evil, Man is Free.
     It was this book that made me think the other day, once again, about the meaning of history.  For Proudhon, history has nothing to do with transcendent purpose or meaning. In fact, he suggested, history is simply humanity's effort to cast off what he called the "strictures" of God.  God, he argued, only tries to hold people down; humankind is better off without him.
     So said many others, of course, as the nineteenth century moaned and groaned with the birth pangs of modernity.  But Proudhon had a good point.  Let me explain.
     Viewed incorrectly, God can indeed be a hindrance to human development and achievement.  If we picture God as an unyielding tyrant who always insists on his way, regardless of what we may want or think, we miss who he really is.  God did not create us as parrots or robots.  He created us as rational and choice making beings.  He wants us to make choices; indeed, he expects us to make choices.  Yes, God has instituted a moral structure in the universe, and yes, God has wishes for all of us, but God's expectation is that we will choose him with intelligence and freedom.  He's not trying to force himself down anyone's throat.
     Hence, if we, as Proudhon suggested, discard God, well, that is certainly our choice.  God wouldn't have it any other way.  Yet we should understand, as God has all along, that we are captives of our finitude.  If we throw out the infinite, who will we be?
     Ironically, we will be chained more firmly than ever:  to ourselves.