Spirituality and morality in human behavior. On the Moral Nature of Man and the Moral Law

The constant decline of the people is only an external manifestation of the deep painful changes taking place in the minds of modern Russian people. This happens when a people loses the will to live, forgets about education - about the natural reproduction and multiplication of oneself in a series of generations for every healthy community of living beings. In human communities that differ from ordinary animals in a special quality - spirituality, and education should be primarily spiritual. Even bodily nutrition, the peculiarities of the cuisine of different nations are necessarily based on some kind of worldview, as a rule, doctrinal ideas (on a number of spiritually based rules of abstinence, on food prohibitions, etc.). In the same way, bodily exercises, games and martial arts of different peoples are rooted in their spiritual and ritual traditions (and if, for example, some Russian teenagers study the Chinese martial art of wushu in depth, then at the same time they spiritually absorb Chinese pantheism, are brought up on it and form from themselves, without realizing it, a kind of sect, cut off from the living whole of their own people, and some kind of, albeit absurd, grafting onto the Chinese folk tree).

Unfortunately, only quite recently, at the turn of the millennium, the destructiveness of the disappearance of the educational principle from education and all culture was realized at the highest state level, after which the federal program "Patriotic Education of Citizens of the Russian Federation for 2001-2005" was written and adopted. On the ground, their own subprograms of this direction were created and implemented (for example, “Patriotic education of the population of the Novgorod region for 2002-2005”). Programs for 2006-2010 have now been adopted and are operating.

Thus, at least in recent years, the activities of the Ministry of Education have been determined by the desire for an urgent and comprehensive restoration of the educational principle in public education at all levels: from elementary school to higher education. The Government of Russia approved the "Concept for the modernization of Russian education for the period up to 2010". As noted in 2002 at the X International Christmas Educational Readings by V.M. Filippov, who at that time served as the Minister of Education of the Russian Federation, “this document summed up many years of discussions about ways to develop the education and upbringing of the younger generations. Figuratively speaking, he returned the state to the sphere of education, restored the union of the state and society, which had been subjected to difficult tests, in the matter of educating young people. This event contains significant spiritual and moral meaning. And that's what it consists of. First. Education is considered in the Concept “as a paramount priority in education”. I quote more specifically the decision of the Government of Russia: “Education should become an organic component of pedagogical activity, integrated into the overall process of learning and development. The most important tasks of education are the formation of civic responsibility, legal self-awareness and spirituality among schoolchildren.

These general methodological guidelines, as well as their testing in the course of the implementation of state and regional programs of patriotic education, became the basis for the systemic transformation of all educational work in the field of public education scheduled for 2008. The expected update will significantly affect the content of knowledge passed from generation to generation. In particular, since 2007, a new educational concept has been discussed, according to which it is planned to introduce from 2009 into the next generation of state standards of general education an entire educational area "Spiritual and Moral Culture": "The solutions proposed in the Concept will allow us to move forward from the currently available relative opportunity(highlighted by the authors of the Concept. - A.M.) systematic study of the spiritual and moral culture of society, including religious, familiarization of students with the spiritual and moral values ​​and traditions of their family, people in a public state-public (secular) school - to guarantees such education as an integral part of the educational process. Obviously, the proposed renewal will not be limited to the level of only secondary education and will subsequently affect all other levels of the educational system - from preschool to higher professional.

Now we are re-aware of a simple and obvious truth: there is simply no abstract and certainly generally useful knowledge, all knowledge is obtained thanks to a certain worldview and bears the imprint of this worldview, its image, and it is precisely this way of being embedded in knowledge that contributes to the formation of the human personality, the soul. Knowledge is spiritual food for a person, it nourishes, educates the soul, being assimilated by it, becoming its own for it. This is the deep essence of education as a developing, educating and formative spiritual nourishment.

So, it is possible to speak about the loss of the educational principle in education that took place in the past years only in a certain sense - in the sense of the rejection of state administration in this area. In fact, a person, along with knowledge, in any case, still receives certain food, only society, the people sometimes do not want to follow this super-important matter, let it take its course, and here education can really be shaken and even turn into something the opposite, because along with good spiritual food in the stream of knowledge that is not subject to verification by experienced people, poisoned, malignant food can also come across, that is, not food anymore, but a destructive poison that does not educate, but destroys the soul (an extreme example of such “education "- teaching children in criminal communities, resulting in "good" criminals, but bad people).

Fortunately, in reality the social education of the people cannot proceed completely spontaneously and uncontrollably. Even in cases of extreme neglect, it still consists of more or less conscious, albeit disparate actions taken in individual families for the sake of procreation (and from growing families that speak the same language and believe in one God, people ). However, public education turns out to be much more effective with a conscious, purposeful and consistent impact on the whole society as a whole, and in this case the selection of spiritual food is especially important. Recognition of the spiritual properties of knowledge on the basis of the experience of the older generations is precisely one of the main tasks of education (along with the extraction of good-quality knowledge itself).

The rapid return to the bureaucratic and state language of the concepts of "moral education", "spiritual and moral education", "spiritual education", "civil education", "patriotic education" is fraught with the danger of deadening the deep root meanings of these words, that is, those meanings which developed over many centuries of our folk history under the sun of Orthodoxy, but in the 20th century they faded significantly under the influence of a spiritless power.

In particular, the concept spiritual education in its full, not truncated volume, it implies belief not only in spirituality, the incorporeality of the human soul or, if you like, personality with its consciousness and superconsciousness (according to the word usage of modern science), but also necessarily belief in the existence of superhuman spirits, both good and evil, and, above all, faith in the existence of the Spirit of God. At the same time, one must remember that spirituality can be both light and dark, both good and evil, both moral and immoral. Therefore, the now increasingly used and seemingly cumbersome expression "spiritual and moral education" does not seem redundant.

Moral

The purpose of education is to develop in individuals and society as a whole a certain, characteristic of a given people and based on the worldview of a given people. morality - a kind of ability and skill to choose and do in any life circumstances not just what Like, but only those that you like that, in the light of existing social experience, are not destructive, not harmful to life and therefore will contribute to its extension, and hence the preservation of the very possibility of choosing what you like in the future. A simple example: if a person, out of ignorance, likes some beautiful, tasty, but deadly poisonous fruit and he eats it, then in the future he will no longer be able to repeat such a choice. Like bodily food, spiritual food carries a certain internal charge of influence on a person, in this case, a spiritual, ideological influence, the essence of which, ultimately, comes down to either the affirmation or denial of life, that is, either morality or immorality. . Any worldview that denies eternity and the enduring value of a private, unique human existence (different types of atheism, pantheism), in fact, is immoral, because in one way or another it inspires the idea of ​​the end, the suppression of this private human life. Such a worldview can logically justify any kind of violence against others and over oneself, any kind of self-destruction (for example, drug use or outright suicide in the circumstances of a seeming impasse in life).

Moral with its craving for the preservation and infinite extension of human life is inevitably associated with religion , because only on the basis of faith as a completely special kind of knowledge can one explain the integrity and boundless infinity of being. In the life of each nation, its own moral (or relatively moral) view of the universe as a whole is developed. In particular, all solid scientific theories, including the most modern ones (not to mention the great ancient mythologies that preceded science), are based to one degree or another on belief in some kind of image of infinite being. And the infinity of being, by its very essence, responds to any faith, and faith begins to work, to prove its truth, fidelity in life (the root meaning of the word "faith" just means the deepest and most direct contact with the truth). Faith as such is “the fulfillment of what is expected” (Heb. 11:1). Another thing is how moral faith is: that is how it is prolonged in its existence, and the people who profess it do not disappear from the face of the Earth.

Here we come to another feature of education: it is not only moral, but moral in a certain religious sense. And this meaning is different for different peoples.

The religious character of the people is formed, matures for centuries, and in some cases for millennia. If this morality is strong, just, true, then it contributes to the extension of the people's life, and if it is false, to suppression (in this case, one should speak of the people falling into destructive immorality). History testifies: if a nation condones the spread of immorality in its midst (in any manifestations known and proven by experience), it begins to weaken and disintegrate. The same is true within the private life of each individual. It is no coincidence that immorality is also defined as corruption.

For Russia, the Russians became the state-forming people, and Orthodoxy became the nation-forming faith. Whatever modern neo-pagans say, the pre-Christian paganism of the Slavs did not give rise to a single powerful state (especially as vast as the later Orthodox state), just as it did not give rise to a single powerful people, held together, bound into one whole by a common faith in a certain world order. Faith is imprinted in the language, in verbal concepts, and a single commonly understood language becomes the basis, the spiritual root of the people. Paganism cannot give rise to such a single powerful people by its very essence: it creates an infinite number of "gods" - almost for every bush and every hummock - and contributes not so much to the unification of the people, but to fragmentation into separate rival clans and families, into separate, private languages, stricken with a craving for endless fragmentation (this is the meaning of the concept of "paganism").

The decline, it would seem, of the most Orthodox Russia by 1917 testifies to only one thing - the loss of the inner strength of the people's faith, apostasy, which steadily increased during the second half of the 19th century, and the gradual strengthening of the country after 1917 testifies to the latent restoration of the Orthodox faith among the people . And yet, the false materialistic faith imposed from above (deeply immoral and suicidal at its very core) could not nourish a healthy people's life and create a stable state. To exist for a long time, the state itself must maintain a certain and, moreover, correct (true) faith. The painful crisis of the end of the 20th century is the final proof of the weakness and destructiveness of the atheism chosen after 1917 and at the same time evidence of a breakthrough outward, from under the bushel, deep Orthodoxy, which, as our more than a thousand-year history testifies, is capable, if its purity is observed, to revive and people and state.

The general pattern of the historical life of peoples is retribution through generations. No wonder the biblical Moses led his people through the desert for forty years: during such a period you can earn the promised land by fasting, prayer and repentance, or vice versa - by immoral deeds doom a hitherto prosperous country to some Egyptian executions.

Population, citizens and patriots

Lately there has been talk of patriotic education of citizens , as well as population. In this regard, it is necessary to clarify the fundamental meaning of these concepts and determine their true relationship.

Patriotic education is a high manifestation of benign social education. Like no other type of education, it is aimed at preserving, reproducing and multiplying the people. This fundamental feature of patriotic education is reflected in the name itself. Word « patriotism » , like most expressions for "-ism", used to denote abstract concepts, is relatively new for us. Before him, since the time of Peter I, the word « patriot”, which is a translation of the ancient Greek “patriotis” (“compatriot”, and together with “patriots” - “paternal, domestic, great-grandfather”, in turn goes back to “patir” - “father, parent”). Thus, the origin of the concept of "patriotism" contains the idea of ​​the closest and warmest, truly family relations in society. Even before Peter I, in the Old Russian language, there was a word for expressing this concept - philanthropy . In the first half of the 19th century, a close, but broader concept was established. nationalities . The very word "nationality" may have invented the book. P.A. Vyazemsky in 1819 as a snapshot from the French nationalité, in any case, he himself thought so: “The word, if necessary, it will take root ... The ending “awn” is a glorious pimp.”

A patriot feels himself a compatriot, a relative of the whole people as a big family. At this level of human relations, the desire for personal gain is replaced by sacrifice in the name of preserving and continuing the life of the whole - a large national family, in which the achievements of each become a common property, and the common property serves each compatriot. As the highest expression of human dignity, patriotism is a phenomenon of an exclusively spiritual order, which has nothing to do with blood-and-blood, essentially animal, ties, on the basis of which racism, nationalism arise (with such particular manifestations as chauvinism, fascism, in other words, Nazism) . In Western European culture, the concept of "nation" (nātio - "birth, clan, people"), Latin in origin, developed in two opposite directions, trying to reach extremes here and there: on the one hand, strengthening the ancestral, pagan roots of the concept and passing, thus, into Nazism, on the other hand, strengthening universal human traits in nations, erasing private originality and passing through internationalism to supranational faceless gray “all-humanity”.

Slavic-Russian, Orthodox on a spiritual basis, patriotism (as well as Greek Orthodox, Byzantine) is aimed at the multi-colored, multi-ethnic development of the human race as a whole. This is an exceptionally creative state of the people's spirit, alien to any suppression of any other people. At the same time, the patriotic mood of the spirit naturally penetrates into the blood and family relations of compatriots within one nation, spiritualizing these relations. This directly affects the Gospel revelation, not forgotten by Orthodoxy, about the mysterious spiritual and linguistic preservation pre-established from above of each of the peoples that arose in history (“languages”, in Old Slavonic) until the end of the world and the Last Judgment over all these peoples (moreover, the Gospel affirms further the eternal life of these peoples as certain conciliar persons): “When the Son of Man comes in His glory ... then He will sit on the throne of His glory, and all the nations will be gathered before Him; and separate them from one another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and he will set the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left... And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matt. 25:31-33, 46).

A patriotic feeling is inseparable from the desire to give birth and raise children, to nurture grandchildren and great-grandchildren, not just in their native land, but among their people, their native language and the worldview transmitted by this language, which basically unites compatriots, does not allow them to weaken in internal strife, helps to set and achieve common life goals. One cannot become a patriot without a deep comprehension of one's national language and without realizing it as a native one. At this level, the language begins to be assimilated along with mother's milk, and therefore a true patriot should be born in this fatherland and receive initial education in it.

Population in a broad sense, this is everyone who lives on this land, inhabits it, including patriots. However, obvious non-patriots also live along with the patriots. They are designated by the concept of the population in the narrow sense, being the opposite of patriotic compatriots. Residents deprived of patriotic consciousness, cohabitants of one place are united mainly by economic, business attachment to this place, and the attachment is not necessarily permanent. The population understood in this way has the consciousness of temporary workers, nomads, hired workers, settlers who live according to the law: “My hut is on the edge, I don’t know anything (and anyone). A powerful stratum in the population is made up of convinced, conscious criminals of various kinds, forming rootless or clan-blooded secret communities. The population does not have a consciousness of belonging to the local state-forming people, fatherland, homeland, and there is no love for these life givens. Settlers often perceive themselves as belonging to some other, non-indigenous people for a given place and consciously do not want to learn the language of the indigenous people, all the more so to recognize it as their native language and raise their own children in this language. Such internally closed communities of settlers (including outright criminal communities) form a kind of state within a state, usually becoming advanced, advancing detachments of other peoples, whose patriots they in some cases recognize themselves as.

At the same time, among the new settlers there are always people who sincerely want to join the family of the indigenous people, stay on this land, in this country and raise their children, and even more so their grandchildren, in this indigenous language as their own. Every healthy state, every full-fledged people welcomes such a wish of its guests and, having set a trial period of several years (each state has its own), rewards the settlers with dignity citizens as a transitional stage on the way to joining the state-forming people.

Citizenship is a sign of inclusion in the state, exercising power recognized by the people. Citizens, in the fundamental meaning of this concept, are distinguished by the defensive consciousness of the inhabitants of the “city”, united by belonging not just to a certain place of residence, but to their own place, dear to themselves and therefore fenced, fenced, protected. This word is derived from the Old Slavonic "grad"- fenced place (in Russian - "city", fenced place). The concept goes back to the ancient city-states (in particular, the Greek policies). At present, the concept of "citizens" refers to the recognized, legalized inhabitants of all populated areas within a certain state, protecting them with its authoritative and legislative protection from external hostile influences. Citizens, in fact, are the main force of the state, they are united by the desire for joint self-defense against any external threats, as well as the desire for the internal successful development of their integral community. Hence the stable concept of "civil defense" and the opposite concept of "civil war" (the first corresponds to a healthy state of civil consciousness, the second - to its illness and decay). Citizens recognize their certain obligations to this closed community of people, and the community in the form of a state endows citizens with certain rights, advantages that non-citizens are deprived of. Citizens must, at a certain level sufficient for communication, master the indigenous state-forming language, although they are not required to recognize it as their native language. The formation of proper civic consciousness contributes civic education . Civil consciousness lends itself to a more accurate legal description in comparison with patriotic consciousness, based on the highest spiritual qualities of a person: love, conscience, faith, fidelity.

Patriotic education can apply to the population as a whole, and maybe to more cohesive, orderly sections of the population - citizens and patriots. In the current state program of patriotic education, we are talking about citizens, and not about the entire population of Russia, although the population that has not yet received citizenship, as a whole, is inevitably covered by this educational influence, due to this, gradually transforming into citizens and patriots.

Our state thinking in its newest state is close to recognizing, so to speak, the inconsistency, but also the inseparability of the Russian state and the Orthodox Church. In the field of public administration of public education, this was first announced by the letter of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation to the educational authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation dated October 22, 2002 No. 14-52-876 in / 16 “The approximate content of education in the academic subject “Orthodox culture””. The appendix to the letter, among other things, refers to "the outstanding significance of the Orthodox Christian religion in the history and modern life of Russian society and the state, the place of Orthodox culture in the national historical and cultural heritage." It is the innermost spirit of the future state development that emanates from this letter, and not the rational and logical content, which does not introduce anything new into the already existing state of public education, so alarmed the modern liberal public. The concept of civic consciousness is approaching sovereignty, patriotism - with nationality and Orthodoxy, and all this predicts the possible restoration of the trinity of "Orthodoxy - autocracy - nationality." In any case, before our eyes the state is moving towards the Church, as if recalling the merits and possibilities of the ancient Byzantine and Russian symphony of authorities.

The concept of inclusion in the new generation of state standards of general secondary education of the subject "Orthodox culture" as part of the new educational area of ​​the curriculum "Spiritual and moral culture" // http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=documents&div=700. (2007)

Letter to P.A. Vyazemsky in A.I. Turgenev dated November 1819 // Slonimsky A.L. Pushkin's skill. M., 1959. C. 385.

Spirituality is often confused with morality. Meanwhile, these are quite different, albeit overlapping, concepts.

A truly spiritual person is, first of all, a person of conscience, living according to its clear and precise laws. Moreover, this life is extremely sincere, there is no ambiguity and slyness in it. There is not and cannot be a double bottom in spirituality. Either she is, or she is not. The spiritual principle affirms the priority of the spirit and the Higher Principle in human life. Genuine spirituality is inseparable from religiosity. It connects a person with God, makes us voluntarily follow His highest imperatives.

Morality is a less ontological concept. She is something more external than internal, and allows for acting, acting, forgery, pretense. Sometimes a person enters a high moral image invented by himself and grows together with it so much that everyone begins to believe in this created image. Example: one doctor without fail met all the requests of people, went to the patient at night to the ends of the world, supplied medicines free of charge, gave advice.

And only the old priest, who confessed as a doctor, knew that he did all this out of vanity and love of glory.

So often outwardly our neighbor is a saint without five minutes. In fact, worse than the devil.

Some will say - so what? The main thing is that a person helped his neighbors and did good deeds. Is it objectively good? Good! Why dig into his soul and look for nuances that no one needs? You never know what's going on in someone's soul? And done good - it is good. And the destiny of those - one hundred percent paradise.

Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov, the most famous Russian ascetic and theologian, once said approximately the following: if a person were justified only by his good deeds of the heart, then the coming of Christ would not be needed. And indeed, how many good people lived in the past centuries. There were those who with their good covered many deeds of today's Christians. They saved someone in a fire, served bread to the hungry, gave the last shirt to the beggar, helped the widow plow the field and feed her children. There were also inscriptions on Egyptian tombs: “I did not kill anyone, did not shed tears, did not mock the old man, did not upset my father, indulged my mother, shared bread with the hungry, freed the weak from the strong within my capabilities, did something useful to the ruler and told him the truth , did not offend the widow, gave a boat for crossing to the other side of the Nile. Then I died."

However, the entire collective experience of mankind shows that people in all their parameters have fallen so much that without help from above they will never rise again. Our lives are evidence of this. We want good, but we do evil. The whole history is a continuous series of craftiness, deceit, wars, violence and cruelty. Rare years of a truce - and everything repeats again from the beginning ...

So - regarding human goodness: it is always connected with some subtle passions and emotional states that live in us. When doing a good deed, we, without noticing it ourselves, often do it for certain reasons - out of subtle vanity, because of the desire to hear praise, or because we don’t want someone to condemn, or, conversely, we do good only with that so that the hated supplicant will lag behind us once and for all. In general, we act like people in whose souls good and evil are mixed in such a way that sometimes we ourselves do not understand why we are doing something this way and not otherwise.

And it happens differently. A person does good deeds out of a frankly mercantile calculation, hoping for gratitude and reward from the one to whom he is beneficent. He visits, for example, a lonely old man, brings him food, cleans his apartment, and in his heart he cheerfully arranges it for himself as a reward for his labors.

The Lord requires from us unselfishness and self-sacrifice. After all, if we think sensibly, a person by himself cannot even take a step without the Higher Beginning, which gives him both breath, and strength, and life itself. Moreover, all this is given absolutely free of charge, on the basis of great and all-encompassing love. The Giver of good also expects the same from man. Therefore, any good that is not purified from selfishness and ambition, from calculation and mammon, is not accepted by God, and He does not consider such deeds to be a manifestation of our love for Him. So just good deeds do not save - you must first consider their components and understand the driving motives. It is not labor that is saving, but the humility and awe that is born from it before the Higher Beginning, which bestows upon us all that is good. So a student who has successfully done something does not thank himself, but his teacher. Without this vertical, good deeds always carry inevitable dark fragments, a fly in the ointment.

Let me give you one more example. After the war, military instructors worked in many schools, who taught military affairs. Often these were front-line soldiers who went through the battles of the Great Patriotic War, were injured and received medals "For Courage". They, as a rule, did not have a family and lived entirely in the interests of the school and children. They had their own corner in the communal apartment, where they slept and had disturbing war dreams. These were the real heroes. So, let's say, one of them constantly worked with schoolchildren, taught them how to use weapons, demanded from them high morality, courage and real male friendship. Moreover, he taught a chivalrous attitude towards girls, disappeared with the guys in the game "Zarnitsa" - in short, he was for them a real father and an authoritative educator. And along with the ideals of goodness and humanism that this military instructor planted in the souls of the guys, he told them that all priests are crooks, that there is no God and cannot be, and that all churches must be closed. His words, no doubt, fell on the soul of the guys as a guide to action. They grew up resolute and courageous, worked not for fear, but for conscience, supported the weak, defended women ... and at the same time became ideological haters of God and sincerely believed that the fight against religion was one of the most important and useful things in their lives.

Question: was that military instructor moral?

Try to answer honestly.

There are any number of polite people who make way for you, distinguished by human decency, high principles, loyalty in friendship and readiness to help in trouble, but at the same time unbelievers. They do not recognize the Higher Beginning and consider it superfluous. They are doing well as it is. And here is the question - is their morality saving for them, is it useful?

With regard to temporary benefits - obviously.

But as for salvation - it is extremely difficult to say. Such morality is limited in its perfection and gradually degrades, because, as a rule, it is fed only by human ambition and love of glory, which has no support from above. The autonomous principle in man has its limits. To replenish the spent energy, he needs food from the outside. To do deeds of love and decency, he needs spiritual support. From himself, as a limited being, he cannot receive it. Hence the gradual degradation of the morals of such "autonomous" people. In fact, their condition is extremely problematic. It is enough to criticize them in some way, even if it is extremely benevolent, and you will immediately see how all the pretty masks will fly off from them, and they will show their true face. As the same Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov wrote: “The doer of human truth (that is, formally moral deeds - ed.) is full of self-conceit, arrogance, self-deception ... pays with hatred and vengeance to those who would dare to open their mouths for the most thorough and well-intentioned contradiction to his truth ; recognizes himself worthy and worthy of earthly and heavenly rewards ”(Collected Works of St. Ignatius, vol. V, p. 47).

SPIRITUAL AND MORAL MEANING OF A CHILDREN'S TOY

The toy belongs to the fundamental universals of being, such as, for example, a house, a dwelling. It affirms the values ​​of culture and passes on experience to new generations of people. It contains the potential for the development of culture, both negative and positive.

The toy is not only an integral part of the game reality, or an element of the objective world included in the game, it is a kind of link between the child and the objective world. A toy is a purely human phenomenon, since in animal games it appears as a random object and is not endowed with a symbolic meaning, it is not specially made, it is not preserved or transferred to other creatures.

Toys in the Russian tradition embodied the image of an ideal world, built a complete picture of the world. For the Russian tradition, the image of wild animals as toys was never welcomed, especially predators: a bear, a wolf, a wild boar, as well as images of the other world, evil spirits. This indicates that, apparently, the oral tradition - bylichki, fairy tales, folklore, in which such characters abounded, had no analogues in the children's toy tradition, and were not used or made in the "amusing craft".

As for the system of influence of a traditional toy on the mind of a child, it was intuitively found, influencing all levels of sensations - tactile, visual, sound. Of particular importance was the material from which the toys were made. For example, a rag doll, unlike a plastic one, removes the psychological barrier between the child and the "world of big things", brings up an affectionate, warm, joyful, trusting attitude towards the world, which is necessary for a full-fledged child's life. That is why toys made from natural materials are so valued today.

A toy is not only an accompaniment to the game, not only a means of communication between a child and an adult, a child and peers, but also a means of education, a means of entertainment, and even a means of treatment. The game and the toy are the most important components of any culture, therefore, what is the culture, so are the toys.

A toy is a cultural tool through which the state of modern culture (civilization) is transmitted in a special “folded form”, its direction in motion: towards life or death, prosperity or degradation, towards mutual understanding or alienation. With the help of a toy, the very essence of human relations and a complex world order are conveyed to a child.

A toy is a cultural psychological means of mastering a child's own behavior. Fear of the dark, for example, can be overcome by a child with a toy wooden sword, a weapon of self-defense.

A toy is a spiritual image of an ideal life, an ideal world, it is an archetype of ideas about goodness - real or imaginary. A genuine toy affirms goodness and presupposes the distinction between good and evil. For example, the ball symbolizes the perfect shape of the ball - the Sun or the sphere of the Earth. The pyramid is a hierarchical world order, the doll is the image of a person. If in a traditional folk toy the simple-hearted love of an adult for a child, recognition of his right to a special play space is revealed, then in the modern situation the toy is capable of creating monsters inside the soul of a small person. A modern industrial toy often forms and fixes such personality traits in a child as relaxed will, indifference of feelings, slow mind, consumerism.

In the modern gaming civilization of adults, when the game as the most important attribute of the child in a transformed form is usurped by adults, the social situation of childhood is such that there is a tendency for the child's play culture to die out. Children stop playing! This is noted with concern by many scientists in the world, warning of unpredictable consequences.

The main means of education that contributes to the full development of the child, including spiritual and moral, is the creation of an educational environment that forms the personality, in which an adequate hierarchy of goals and values ​​of a person’s life and the necessary components of his full-fledged life are laid.

The most important component of the educational environment for a child is a game and a toy. The child identifies himself with the toy, not only with its “habits”, appearance, but also with its hidden essence, entering into a personal-semantic relationship with it, into a dialogue.

Therefore, it is extremely important to determine the spiritual and moral meaning of a toy for a child, what values ​​it conveys, whether it contributes to the formation of conscience, the distinction between good and evil, and the desire to follow moral standards.
The absence of this turns the toy into an anti-toy.

"Orthodox Games", 2016
© From the book by V. V. Abramenkova “What do our children play? Toy and anti-toy”, 2006

Before talking about the relationship between such complex, in our opinion, concepts, it is interesting to trace the origin and content of the terms "ethics", "morality", morality, which A.A. Huseynov. The term "ethics" comes from the ancient Greek word "ethos" (ethos). Initially, ethos was understood as a habitual place of living together, a house, a human dwelling, an animal lair, a bird's nest. Subsequently, this term began to denote the stable nature of a phenomenon, custom, disposition, character. Such a change in meaning is instructive: it expresses the connection between a person's social circle and his character. Starting from the word "ethos" in the meaning of character, Aristotle formed the adjective "ethical" in order to designate a special class of human qualities, which he called ethical virtues. To designate their totality as a special subject area of ​​knowledge to highlight this area of ​​knowledge itself as a science, he introduced the term "ethics". For an accurate translation of the concept of "ethical" from Greek into Latin, Cicero constructed the term "moralis" (moral). He formed it from the word "mos" (mores - plural) - the Latin analogue of the Greek "ethos", meaning character, temperament, fashion, cut of clothes, custom. In the IV century AD. in Latin, the term "moralitas" (morality) appears, which is a direct analogue of the Greek term "ethics".

Both of these words are included in the new European languages. Along with them, in a number of languages, their own words appear, denoting the same reality, which is generalized in terms of "ethics" and "morality". In Russian it is “morality”, in German it is “Sittlichkeit”.

In the process of cultural development, these words are assigned different meanings: ethics mainly means the corresponding branch of knowledge, science, and morality (morality) - the subject studied by it. In ethical and pedagogical literature and practice, there is a fairly common view of morality as a set of rules, norms of behavior that regulate the relationship of people, their behavior.

Most modern researchers recognize the existence of two relatively independent spheres in morality: moral consciousness and moral practice. By definition, L.A. Popov, moral consciousness is "a kind of fusion of feelings, ideas, in which the deepest, fundamental aspects of human existence are specifically expressed - the relationship of the individual with other people, with society, with the world as a whole" . Depending on the carrier, moral consciousness is divided into individual and social. L.A. Popov distinguishes three basic components of individual moral consciousness [ibid., 49–50]. The first of them is concepts, ideas about good and evil, duty, conscience, higher values, etc., which constitute the rational part of moral consciousness. Even Socrates and Plato emphasized the important role of reason in the moral life of man. It is the mind that develops a moral strategy for a person's life, analyzes this or that situation, the tactics of specific actions. Reason in certain situations can "bridle" passions. “Blessed is when all the passions of the mind are in power,” says a popular proverb. However, are we always pleased with a person who lives by reason alone? Is he not the personification of coldness and even indifference? In addition, there are situations in life when a lack of information or time does not allow us to make the right decision. Here, moral feelings (of conscience, duty, justice, etc.) come to the aid of the mind - the second component of individual moral consciousness.

The role of feelings is great in the moral life of a person. They accumulate his moral experience. It is they who capture the shades of actions, situations, they are a powerful stimulator of certain actions, the translation of intentions into specific actions. For a moral life, harmony of mind and feelings is necessary.

The third component of moral consciousness is the will, which manifests itself in perseverance, determination, in a certain mental attitude and readiness for specific actions. Morality exists not only in the form of moral consciousness. Moral feelings and ideas are manifested in a wide variety of actions, in which the attitude towards other people, society as a whole, and finally, towards oneself is expressed. L.A. Popov identifies the following features of moral relations:

in the process of these relations, moral values ​​are embodied, the life of an individual is correlated with the highest values;

moral relations do not arise spontaneously, but purposefully, consciously, freely;

moral relations do not exist, as a rule, on their own, but are a component, a side of relations - economic, political, religious, etc. .

To understand the essence of morality, the identification of its functions also plays an important role. In ethics, five functions of morality are distinguished: evaluative (existing is compared with what should be), cognitive (obtaining knowledge about the inner world of both one’s own and other people), ideological (the world is viewed through the prism of moral concepts), educational (contributes to the formation of a person’s personality), regulatory (directs the thoughts and actions of an individual).

In essence, morality refers to the sphere of due, it indicates how a person should act. Morality in some cases is considered as a synonym for morality, but often these concepts are divorced. Morality refers to the sphere of due, ideal and acts as a set of requirements for human behavior. Morality, on the other hand, belongs to the sphere of the real and reflects the essence of his actions in the real experience of the life of a family, people, and state. In connection with the foregoing, the norms of morality in relation to the individual are often external in nature. A person builds his relationships with others not depending on the requirements of his conscience, but because it is required by the norms of morality in a given situation. And only spiritual values, their meaning, endowing them with personal meaning make it possible to give morality a universal character, to apply its prescriptions in various life situations. It seems that it is values ​​that are the link in the content of the concepts of "spirituality" and "morality".

Analyze the Russian folk proverb "Good in temper, but worthless in temper."

The degree of spirituality of a person is almost impossible to assess from the outside due to the impermeability of the soul to the external gaze. Morality is the nature of a person's attitude to the world around him, primarily to another person, society. It is judged by a person's actions, although their inner motives for the most part remain hidden from others. Therefore, not all moral deeds can be at the same time truly spiritual, that is, performed out of disinterested motives for good or for the sake of good.

T.I. Petrakova believes that between the concepts of “spirituality” and “morality” there is not only a semantic, but also an ontological connection: “The norms and principles of morality receive an ideological justification and expression in the ideals of good and evil, which are categories of spirituality… , "vertical" aspirations of the individual, then morality is the sphere of "horizontal" aspirations: relations with people and society. The classical formula “the spirit creates forms for itself”, being an expression of the relationship between the spiritual state of a person and his activity, T.I. Petrakov, is of fundamental importance for understanding the specifics of spiritual and moral education, since from it it becomes obvious that the spirit can be realized not only in spiritual practice, but also in real human actions, cultural creations, in a high emotional experience [ibid, p.65 ].

Thus, spirituality and morality, in our opinion, are interrelated: spirituality brings meaning to the norms of morality, and morality is one of the steps of a person's ascent to spirituality.

Bibliographic list

Aristotle. Works: In 4 vols. -M.: Thought, 1984. -T. 4. - 860 p.

Berdyaev N.A. Existential Dialectics of the Divine and the Human // World of Philosophy: Man. Society. Culture: At 2 hours - M., 1991. - Part 2. - S. 48 - 56.

Bueva L.P. Spirituality and problems of moral culture // Vopr. philosophy. - 1996. - No. 12. - S. 3 - 9.

Hegel G. Philosophy of Spirit // Works. - M., 1956. -V.3. - P. 16.

Huseynov A.A., Apresyan R.G. Ethics: Proc. – M.: Gardariki, 2002. – 472 p.

Dmitrieva N.G. Fundamentals of spiritual and moral education // Beginning. school - 1994. - No. 4. - S. 47 - 50.

Znakov V.V. Human Spirituality in the Mirror of Psychological Knowledge and Religious Faith // Vopr. psychology. - 1998. - No. 3. - P. 104 - 114.

Koval N.A. Spirituality in the system of professional development of a specialist: Dis. … Dr. psikhol. Sciences. - M., 1997.

Osipov A.I. Orthodox understanding of the meaning of life. - Kiev, 2001. - 239 p.

Petrakova T.I. Humanistic values ​​of education in the process of spiritual and moral education of adolescents: Dis. … Dr. ped. Sciences. - M., 1999.

Plotin. Selected Treatises: An Anthology of World Philosophy. - M., 1969. - T. 1. - Part 1. - S. 538 - 554.

Popov L.A. Ethics: a course of lectures. - M.: Center, 1998. - 160 p.

Siluyanova I.V. Spirituality as a way of human life // Philos. Sciences. - 1990. - No. 12. - P. 100 - 104.

Usova A.V., Usova N.A. Philosophical worldview: fundamental approaches to the content of the category "spirituality" // The problem of human essence and personality type: Materials of the II and III regions. interuniversity conf. - Chelyabinsk: Chelyab Publishing House. state ped. un-ta, 2003. - S. 163 - 173.

Cherkasov V.A. Spirituality as a pedagogical concept (an aspect of secular spirituality) // The problem of human essence and personality type: Materials of the 1st region. interuniversity scientific-practical. conf., 20 Dec. 2000, Chelyabinsk. - Chelyabinsk: Chelyab Publishing House. state ped. un-ta, 2001. - S. 27 - 31.

On December 12, 2017, Archpriest Vyacheslav Perevezentsev, rector of the St. Nicholas Church in the village of Makarovo, made a presentation
at the II Bogorodsk Christmas Readings at the Moscow Regional Drama and Comedy Theater in Noginsk
““Morality” and “spirituality”: correlation of concepts”

T The theme of the relationship between the concepts of "morality" and "spirituality" seems to me very important. In the course on "Basic Theology" or "Moral Theology", which are taught in our theological schools, this topic is necessarily seriously studied. But we are not in the seminary, and therefore I will try to cover this topic in the most accessible language.

1. Morality and spirituality are inextricably linked, and as a result, they are often confused. However, it is necessary to distinguish between them. But before talking about the similarities and differences between these concepts, I would like to dwell on what very often complicates or complicates this conversation. This difficulty lies in the fact that if By “morality” we all understand more or less the same thing, i.e., certain rules that guide a person in his moral or life choice, then with an understanding of what “spirituality” is, everything is much more complicated.

D Recently, the very concept of “spiritual” in our country was banned: on the one hand, it did not correspond to the Marxist-Leninist ideology prevailing in the country of victorious atheism, on the other hand, it did not fit into the natural science paradigm. If it was somehow accepted, it was only as a very vague concept of the world of culture, primarily in its aesthetic and (with some reservations) ethical manifestations. It was considered indecent to speak of the manifestation of the Spirit in a religious sense. Idealism in all its forms was perceived as superstition.

V At the end of the 20th century, with the collapse of the socialist system, the situation in our country changed radically. One can even say that the very words "Spirit" and "Spirituality" have become fashionable. Probably, in this way, the "spiritual hunger" accumulated over 70 years made itself felt. The shelves of bookstores have become littered with philosophical, psychological, religious and pseudo-religious literature about the Spirit and the Spiritual, but it has not become much easier to understand what “spirituality” is.

V"Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language" by V.I. Dahl presents the following definition of spirituality: “Spirituality is the state of the spiritual. Spiritual, incorporeal, not corporeal, consisting of one spirit and soul ... everything related to the soul of a person, all his mental and moral forces, mind and will. Spiritual is all non-material. This is a literal and therefore precise definition, but, unfortunately, a very general, broad one.

V In sociology and cultural studies, "spirituality" is often called the unifying principles of society, expressed in the form of moral values ​​and traditions, concentrated, as a rule, in religious teachings and practices, as well as in artistic images of art. Within the framework of this approach, the projection of spirituality in the individual consciousness is called conscience, and it is also argued that the strengthening of spirituality is carried out in the process of education, ideological and educational or patriotic work.

D For everyday consciousness today, “spiritual” is often associated with “Orthodox”, “patriotic”. We, Russians, are already spiritual by definition, because we are not the same as there - in the "spiritual" West. We have "spiritual bonds", and they, you know what, it's shameful to talk.

W Long before our today’s battles, Joseph Brodsky bitingly, but very accurately, described this kind of “spirituality”:

“Someone Orthodox enters, says: “Now I am in charge.
I have in my soul the Firebird and longing for the sovereign.
Soon Igor will return to enjoy Yaroslavna.
Let me cross myself, otherwise I'll hit you in the face.
Worse than corruption and deprivation - thoughts of Western infection.
Sing, harmonica, drowning out the saxophone - the fiend of jazz.

T So what is "spirituality" from the point of view of the Orthodox Church? Here, too, we will not meet one single definition, but they all converge in one way or another on one thing. Spirituality is the action in man of the grace of the Holy Spirit, but it manifests itself in the fruits of the Holy Spirit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Gal.5:22). That is, a spiritual person, from the point of view of Orthodoxy, is one who has these fruits in himself. And, let's put it this way, it is as much more spiritual as these fruits are abundantly manifested in it, and vice versa. And here is how often he goes to the theater or to the conservatory, whether he attends patriotic rallies, whether icons hang in his house and whether he goes to the Temple, whether he listens to jazz or sings to the harmonica, and even whether he has “Heat in his soul.” -bird" is not so important. That is, it is very good to read serious books, go to the theater, be a patriot and play the harmonica, but this may have nothing to do with spirituality.

TO Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos), the foremost contemporary theologian, writes: “Orthodox spirituality is the experience of life in Christ, the atmosphere of a new man, reborn by the grace of God. This is not about an abstract emotional and psychological state, but about the unity of man with God. Union with God is in the Holy Spirit. As prof. A.I. Osipov: “Spirituality is Godlikeness. The spirituality of a person is determined by the degree of God-likeness. Therefore, by "Orthodox spirituality" we will understand that which leads us to unity with God.

2. Having dealt with the definitions, let's talk about the similarities and differences between morality and spirituality. What unites morality and spirituality? I would say not what, but who. This HUMAN.

P It is clear that we can look at a person in different ways or from different points of view. We have been taught for a long time that man is just a highly evolved animal. Then it is inappropriate to talk about spirituality, or only in the sense that morality is spirituality, that is, a kind of superstructure on the basis (economics).

H o if we get rid of the rigid ideological view of man, how do we see him? What is a person? Well, like, a person is… HOMO SAPIENS. A reasonable person. What is the etymology of this familiar term? Sapiens is intelligent, that's understandable, but what is homo? Homo from humos (humos), that is, earth, black soil. An earth that has become sentient. We recall the Bible: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). It is important that the term homosapiens appears in the West in modern times. This is the time of the crisis of historical Christianity, and therefore what makes a person a person comes down exclusively to reason, that is, to the moral, spiritual sphere. There is also no room for the spirit in such an anthropology.

V back to etymology. What does our Russian word "man" mean? It is obvious that it has two roots - "brow" and "age". When I ask the children, they quickly figure out that “chelo” means head, face, hence “to beat with a forehead” in Russia. With the "age" is a little more complicated. Today, a century is 100 years, but earlier in Russia, “century” did not mean a century, but simply “eternity”. So, we have a "face" and "eternity". Further, you can get both the “Face of Eternity” and “The Face Turned to Eternity”. Both understandings tell us about the most important thing: a person is the one who is connected with Eternity. So using Latin, in Russia they would say not “homosapiens”, but “homo spiritualis” or “clericus”, which means “spiritual person”. However, in many respects it was under Western influence that clerics began to be called clerics in Russia, but the fact of the matter is that, according to the wonderful intuition of our beautiful and powerful Russian language, we all, and not just priests, are spiritual persons.

AND To complete the anthropological digression, here is an old Jewish anecdote:

There were 6 Jewish wise men!
Moses said everything is from God.
Solomon said that everything is from the mind (head).
Jesus said everything is from love (of the heart).
Marx said that everything is from hunger (stomach).
Freud said that everything comes from attraction (sex).
And Einstein said everything is relative.

3. E Einstein was certainly a wise man, but other wise men are closer to us. Here is how St. Apostle teaches about man. Paul: he singles out three principles in a person - body, soul and spirit. This is an anthropological scheme, which is commonly called trimeria(tripartite) app. Paul, and it will be useful for us to understand the essence of the relationship between morality and spirituality.

I AM I will try to describe this trimeria very briefly and very generally.

Body- this is that in a person that will connect him with the material world, and that in a person that belongs to this world.

Soul- this is what connects a person with other people and what makes a person involved in the human community.

Spirit- this is that in a person that will unite him with God and that which makes a person God-like.

V It is important that trimeria has strictly hierarchical and holistic structure.

hierarchical- this means that these levels (body-soul-spirit) must be strictly subordinated, lined up strictly vertically - the body is below, the spirit is above, the soul is in the middle. This means that the spirit must rule over the soul, and the soul over the body.

V In reality, we see a completely different picture. A person turns out to be as if turned upside down: the body with its desires and passions controls the soul, and the spirit is generally thrown out as useless to a landfill. These are the consequences of the fall into sin, what the holy fathers called the fundamental corruption of human nature, the result of which was death. After all, the human body, like everything else in the material world, is subject to the laws of time and space and has a beginning and an end. And if everything in a person is subordinated to the body, if the bodily dominates the spiritual, if we become slaves of our lower nature, then we get what is inextricably linked with this nature - corruption and death. “Death and time reign on earth,” said the poet (V. Solovyov).

AND In this sense, the Salvation that comes to us with Christ is the possibility of this anthropological upheaval, the restoration of the true hierarchy in man, as it was revealed in Christ — God who became Man, therefore, although death captivated Him, it could not hold Him.

AND more about hierarchy. It is known that the physical sphere has a strong influence on the mental sphere. We all know well that the feeling of hunger, malaise, our illnesses leave a mark on our souls. The soul, our feelings, emotions, strongly depend on what happens to our body. It is not so well known, but it is already a proven fact that the state of the soul affects the body. Often, recovery from an illness depends not only on proper treatment, effective pharmacology, but also on the right mental attitude. There is even a whole area of ​​medicine and psychotherapy that deals with these issues - psychosomatics.

A the sphere of the spirit in man is fundamentally independent of the lower structures. The spirit is independent of the body, of mental processes, of everything ordinary, including emotional experiences. The body and soul in a person are fundamentally not free from each other and from the world, they are bound by the laws of time and space, the laws of this world.

D the spiritual in man is an area of ​​FREEDOM. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17). And it is to this freedom that man is called. “You are called to freedom, brothers” (Gal.5:13). To freedom from the laws of the fallen world, to freedom from sin. And this freedom is achieved only on the path in the realm of the spirit; morality cannot help here.

Holism means integrity. Namely, that a person is both a body, and a soul, and a spirit. Definitely all together. A body without soul and spirit is a corpse. A spirit without body and soul is a ghost. A soul without a spirit and a body is a psyche. It is clear that all this means that the person simply does not exist, he has died.

A when there is a body and soul, but there is no spirit, or rather, it is not in demand in any way, what happens? It turns out we, we are with you, modern people. We are kind of handicapped. Hands, legs seem to be in place, eyes still see and ears hear, but the soul hurts, and we don’t understand what is missing.

H not enough spirit. The realization of this fact is the beginning of healing, the beginning of the restoration of the fullness of human nature, the beginning of salvation. It is no coincidence that the first commandment of the Beatitudes of the Savior sounds like this: “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:3). The poor in spirit are those who do not have a spirit, but they really want to receive it and ask for it. And the one who is sure that he is spiritually healthy, that everything is in order with his spirituality, will not ask for anything, but will remain with nothing, or rather with his confidence that he is “not like all these…” .

TO By the way, here is another interesting etymological fact. The Greek word for salvation (soteria) literally means the achievement of wholeness, replenishment or healing. The Savior is the Healer, but not in the exclusively medical sense, but in the one we were talking about here - he gives the restoration of the integrity of a person when he lives in all his fullness both bodily, mentally and spiritually.

4. T Now let's look at this tripartite anthropological scheme in the light of our question of morality and spirituality. It turns out this picture:

E This scheme clearly shows us that morality and spirituality are inextricably linked and fundamentally different.

5. Bound for, as we have already noted, both morality and spirituality are manifestations of human life, and only human life. For example, our smaller brothers, although they have a physiology similar to the human one, and a living soul (although fundamentally different from the human soul, because animals have instincts instead of culture and morality), they are not involved in the spiritual sphere at all. And therefore their salvation, entry into Eternity depends entirely on man. “For the creation waits with hope for the revelation of the sons of God… in the hope that the creation itself will be set free from the bondage of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Rom.8:19,21) .

WITH they are also knitted hierarchically, in the sense that the higher influences the lower. Morality can do without spirituality. Both an atheist and an agnostic can be very moral people. We all come from the USSR, and therefore, it seems to me, it is not worth giving examples to confirm this thesis. We personally knew and know such people, and over the years they have been set as an example to us (say, pioneer heroes).

A here spirituality cannot do without morality, but not in the sense that morality influences, determines spirituality. No, we have already shown that the sphere of spirituality is fundamentally independent, free. And in the sense that on the path to spirituality morality is a necessary step that cannot be bypassed or jumped over, it cannot be canceled by entering this sphere of the spirit, just as physiology cannot be canceled.

B Moreover, the criterion that we have a genuine spiritual experience, that we are involved in spiritual life, lies precisely in the moral sphere, that is, the fruits of the Holy Spirit are manifested precisely in the world of people: these are love, joy, peace, steadfastness, kindness, generosity, fidelity, meekness, self-control. (Here I quote the words of the Apostle Paul from the "Epistle to the Galatians" in the new translation of the Russian Bible Society). So, to live a spiritual life, to be a spiritual person, and not to show one's spirituality in love, joy, kindness, etc., is impossible. This means being, as patristic tradition teaches, in delusion, that is, in a false understanding of oneself and one's spirituality. Vivid historical examples of this kind of discrepancy between spirituality and morality, the state of delusion is the image of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, who, as you know, was a pious man, who loved both prayer and fasting, and, moreover, a bloody and cruel murderer, at whose hands many nobles, and ordinary people, and even saints (St. Philip of Moscow and St. Cornelius of Pskovo-Pechersk). One can also recall the so-called "old man" Grigory Rasputin - a man undoubtedly mystically gifted, but also deeply vicious.

P Let us emphasize once again: morality can exist without spirituality. Another thing is how deep it will then be, approved within a person, and not connected exclusively with the area of ​​human behavior.

D spirituality is inconceivable without morality. It is a deep source of moral behavior, forms and preserves morality. Rep. said this very accurately. John the Theologian: "Whoever says, 'I love God,' but hates his brother, is a liar" (1 John 4:20). Love for God is a spiritual sphere, love or hatred for a brother is a spiritual (moral) sphere. And, according to the apostle, if a person thinks that he has reached the spiritual, bypassing the moral, then he is a liar.

6. And now about the difference between spirituality and morality

— Morality directs a person to good as it is currently understood in the human community, not necessarily associating it with God. This understanding can change, morality also changes. For example, throughout a thousand-year history in Russia, abortion, the murder in the womb of one's child, was considered not only a sin, but also a completely immoral act. But now society is changing its attitude to this act, now they don’t punish for it, but even give sick leave paid by the state, and for many this act becomes not only permissible, but also moral.

A attitude towards the so-called "enemies of the people", a sincere desire for their death, not because they have done something terrible, but simply because they are "class hostile elements"? And to destroy such an enemy, even without any trial against him, is not just a good thing, but a morally worthy one. In order not to multiply numerous examples of how morality, not rooted in spirituality, depends on the political situation, I will quote the words of Lenin, which many have already begun to forget: “Our morality is completely subordinated to the interests of the class struggle of the proletariat. Our morality is derived from the interests of the class struggle of the proletariat.” One should not only think that this kind of attitude has gone into the distant past and died along with the idea of ​​building a universal communist paradise on earth, or at least in a single country. Any political system, any government will try to manipulate the moral consciousness of its citizens in order to achieve the state good, as it understands it. And the less morality is rooted in the spiritual realm, the more successful these attempts will be.

— Spirituality directs a person to God, Which is not only absolute Good, but also absolute Truth and absolute Beauty.
- The goal of moral striving is the fulfillment of the requirements of conscience and the achievement of moral perfection.
— The goal of spiritual life is holiness, God-likeness.
- Morality is expressed mainly in the practical activity of man.
— Spirituality affects the inner world of a person, not only actions, but also thoughts of a person.
— This or that moral system helps a person orient himself in the ethical world, distinguishes good from evil, and even, through conscience, passes judgment on a person’s actions. But no morality or even conscience gives the strength to change, correct one's life, give triumph to good and conquer evil.
– Spiritual life is the possibility of gaining the power that will help a person "avoid evil and cling to good" (Rom.12:9). This power is called the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the acquisition of this grace, according to the words of St. Seraphim of Sarov, is the meaning of the Christian life.

7. The state can and should take care of the moral state of its citizens.

D To do this, it has the tools of lawmaking, as well as policies in the cultural, social and educational spheres. As the musician and art critic Mikhail Kazinik remarkably recently said, speaking at the Federation Council: “If our country, when planning the budget, wrote “culture” as number one, then all other areas would automatically rise by many percent. One percent added for culture is the same as 15% for health or 25% for education. We have been convinced of this for a long time. Where culture is in second place, the first will have to pull out money for health care. Because people without culture get sick. Any country is great by what it has contributed to the world treasury of civilizations, and not by how much sausage it has eaten in a certain period of time. Culture is the most important thing." But it is important, taking care of the moral and cultural state of our citizens, not to forget that the moral state of the country's elite is even more important for the fate of the country. It is no coincidence that people said: "The fish rots from the head."

8. B Society cannot live without morality

- people will simply start eating each other, which is what we see during the Troubles. A strong state rests not only on a strong army and police, but also on the moral strength of its subjects or citizens and, most importantly, on the moral strength of its rulers. After all, if this moral strength weakens, if the authorities begin to trample on the laws of goodness and justice, then, according to the apt remark of Blessed. Augustine, “how is it then different from a gang of robbers?” “In the absence of justice,” he writes, “what is a state if not a simple band of robbers, just like a band of robbers, what is if not a state? And they (the robbers) are a society of people, governed by authorities, bound by mutual agreement, dividing the booty according to the established law. When such a gang of lost people reaches such proportions that it captures cities and countries and subjugates the people to its power, then it openly receives the name of the state. It is clear that such a state simply has no future. Hence the title of this year's Christmas Readings, "Moral Values ​​Are the Future of Mankind."

9. O the state should not care about spirituality because it is not in her competence. This is the concern of the Church. And no one, except the Church of Christ, can help a person to embark on the path of salvation.

D the spiritual life, as we have found out, has a very different task or goal than morality.

Union with God, salvation from sin, overcoming death. And neither morality, nor culture, nor the state can solve this problem, nor should they.

V from a remarkable dialogue from the last and largely prophetic book of V.S. Solovyov "Three Conversations":

"Politician. But does cultural progress set itself such tasks as the destruction of death?

Mr Z I know that he doesn’t, but that’s why you can’t put him very highly himself. If the last result of your progress and your culture is, after all, the death of each and all, then it is clear that any progressive cultural activity is useless, that it is aimless and meaningless.

P True spirituality cannot be used for the purposes of this world, no matter how noble these goals may be: to raise morality, the cultural level of the population or patriotism. How wonderfully F.M. wrote about this. Dostoevsky: “If you distort the faith of Christ, connecting it with the goals of this world, then the whole meaning of Christianity will be lost at once, the mind must undoubtedly fall into unbelief, instead of the great Christ ideal, only a new Tower of Babel will be built.”

AND last thing. Is it possible to compare a spiritual person and a moral person? It's possible, but pointless. You can compare which of the people runs faster while they are running, but when the treadmill is over, you will have to fly, and here the running skill is not the best helper. We must learn to fly, not just run.

WITH those who have embarked on the path of spiritual life should in no case consider themselves more moral than those who have not embarked on this path, they simply consciously prepare their souls for Eternity. Knowing that no one but themselves can take care of this. Remember the words of the Savior: “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). They leave the assessment of their own morality to the judgment of the people, and prepare their hearts for the judgment of God, for “man looks at the face, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7) .

W Concluding my report at our Christmas Readings, I would like to thank everyone for their attention and, congratulating on the upcoming New Year and Merry Christmas, recall the words of a mystic of the 17th century, who definitely knows a lot about spiritual life: "Christ could have been born a thousand times in Bethlehem - you still perished if He was not born in your soul."

V From this I wish all of us: to feel the grace of God in our souls, to embark on the path of spiritual life and follow Christ!

Text: Archpriest Vyacheslav Perevezentsev
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