Many people, save for perhaps artists, lack the transcendent in their lives, which is precisely the reason they're depressed, anxious and lack direction
What a beautiful epiphany you’ve had. I’ve read your work over the years and wondered how long you could endure not experiencing moments of transcendence. It’s true, we people follow the way of the chimp without these moments and sometimes with them. (Did you know chimpanzees war on each other?) So now you know your dual nature and mine and the truth which is God gives us the gift of a meaningful life simply by communing with us whenever we would like to become aware of God’s presence. I have visited AA meetings myself and find them extremely inspiring. I encourage anyone who hears that lost tinny echo to disconnect from it by putting their technology down and quietly say to their many thoughts, “I will think more about you later. Right now, I am going to spend time with God.”
Could not a agree more. Very much aligned from a faith and belief perspective. On the topic of mental health (also related to this) there is an excellent book titled “Lost Connections” by Johan Hari which puts forth that our modern disconnections from faith, nature, community, nutrition, etc. are all working together to keep us away from living deeply fulfilled lives. Great book if you have not read it.
Very good post. For all the vaunted benefits of this new rational society it is hard to deny that things just seem to be worse than before. I am reminded of a quote I recently saw, something along the lines of man being enamored by the accomplishments of the old works, but despising the beliefs that built it.
We did not evolve to need religion, religion evolved to fill a gap in our understanding. There is no depth to evangelical religions which tell you what to think, it's the opposite.
People are turning away from religion because the gap that religion filled doesn't exist. The idea that people are lost without religion avoids the harsh truth that people are lost even with religion.
We do not improve by going to church, we improve by believing in something bigger than ourselves. Those "Disney adults" you reference include some of the nicest and sweetest people I know. Meanwhile, I see plenty of church goers celebrating the suffering of others.
If religion is right for you, that's great. However, prescribing religion for everyone is insulting to our intelligence.
Yeah look this part is up for debate (I DO think it is kinda bleak if to you, "God" is just an infinitely receding line of things we don't understand yet, this isn't a great perspective for anyone who has it). As for the Disney adults, of course enjoying Disney can be fine but I just wonder if this is your 'highest' belief to the point it's your whole personality you might end up wondering why are you empty inside. If it actually does fulfill this person and they are happy then more power to them. I just don't know the answer to this, and it's also probably another debate if it's "good" that corporations have filled this void.
A lot of amazing people don't believe God exists at all, and it doesn't seem to affect them. If purpose is something you have to be given then it's not really purpose.
Your highest belief can simply be to treat other people well and live a good life. Whether you go to church or Disney doesn't really matter at all.
I should mention that I studied comparative religion in college as it's really fascinating to look at the history of how religions developed and differ. The things you raise have been arguments brought up over hundreds of years, but never proved to be true. As we've gotten less religious people have gotten happier on average.
If you read Rousseau’s critique of Pierre Bayle’s ideal society, you’ll see that the objection you move to “modern” atheism is as old as atheism itself.
Adam - Human beings make the Sacred all the time. We typically do it together and organized religion is just one way that we make it. I grew up in very religious environment. Yes there were transcendent moments but there was also coercion and deceit. I can find the transcendent elsewhere without those drawbacks. You may prefer cathedrals and choirs but those are only some of the options on offer.
We've ended up with solely living in a horizontal axis. We see others at our level, nothing is higher. We got rid of the heavens (it because dark space), we got rid of the Earth (just a resource to be exploited), so live in this thin horizontal realm. We also cut the connection to our ancestors. Without all this we have become so small in ourselves that we crave anything that might give us a temporary life.
I don't agree with transcendence because it's like a 'beam me up Scottie!" escape clause.
I believe we have to create a 'web of meaning' (Clifford Geertz) that will give the fulfillment we yearn for in our psyche. I've written about it several times. We don't have to re-invent the wheel here, indigenous peoples have the structure, we just need to update it for the times we live in and have it, not woo-woo but grounded in the real.
I agree. In a similar way, it's also weird to me when Christians want to draw lines between things like "secular" and "religious" art. I think it's better understood that everything comes from people who are living out a mixed experience between the sacred and the profane, and art has the same mixture in it. Some Christian art and architecture is as mundane as anything else because it's fitted to the broader culture you write about. This is another thing that happens when our primary values are not as much about transcendence as they are about things like finance and commodification.
If they’d get rid of the people involved in religion it would be better. I don’t trust most of the world’s 200 plus religions mainly because of authoritarianism. I don’t believe there is a god so screwed up he created a whole race of screwups. But this my own personal opinion. I’m not impressed, as an artist, by humanity. It does affect my work.
People who are successful at AA have recognized that they cannot overcome their addictions on their own, that they need a community of support group, but most importantly, that they need a "Higher Power" (as AA now euphemistically refers to God) to do what they cannot do -- help them survive going on the rest of their life still addicted, but no longer giving in to it.
The notion that "the quality of our goods is made worse without religious beliefs" is not talked about enough. It's sad how honor and morals are so cavalierly dismissed. We're left with the cancer and quality degradation of corporate short-termism. The tragedy then is that people radicalize and throw the baby out with the bathwater and dismiss the entire capitalist system as irredeemable. When in reality it is our best engine for innovation and progress.
I don't buy into that entirely. I have not observed people who have found God to have any greater moral compass than those who don't. Doestaevsky's observation maybe his own, definitely not mind. I think of myself as a moral and caring person. Having 'gone to church' my entire growing up years I never found anything resembling closeness and Godliness there. Just petty tribalistic crap. Please spare me the notion I need God and religion to find meaning in life.
I have to respectfully disagree, Adam. I don’t believe this generation is lost, but rather evolving. They’re navigating a rapidly shifting landscape of knowledge and technology, driven by a desire for empirical evidence rather than faith in a higher power. Their faith is placed in progress, learning, and self-improvement. As Stephen Fry insightfully noted in his autobiography:
‘We humans are naturally disposed to worship gods and heroes, to build our pantheons and Valhallas. I would rather see that impulse directed into the adoration of daft singers, thicko footballers, and air-headed screen actors than into the veneration of dogmatic zealots, fanatical preachers, militant politicians, and rabid cultural commentators.’
In this sense, it’s not about a loss of faith, but a reorientation of where faith is placed.
Yeah I added that point, you can def find the transcendent in nature or other things that are dogmatic-free. God does not have to mean organized religion.
What a beautiful epiphany you’ve had. I’ve read your work over the years and wondered how long you could endure not experiencing moments of transcendence. It’s true, we people follow the way of the chimp without these moments and sometimes with them. (Did you know chimpanzees war on each other?) So now you know your dual nature and mine and the truth which is God gives us the gift of a meaningful life simply by communing with us whenever we would like to become aware of God’s presence. I have visited AA meetings myself and find them extremely inspiring. I encourage anyone who hears that lost tinny echo to disconnect from it by putting their technology down and quietly say to their many thoughts, “I will think more about you later. Right now, I am going to spend time with God.”
Could not a agree more. Very much aligned from a faith and belief perspective. On the topic of mental health (also related to this) there is an excellent book titled “Lost Connections” by Johan Hari which puts forth that our modern disconnections from faith, nature, community, nutrition, etc. are all working together to keep us away from living deeply fulfilled lives. Great book if you have not read it.
Very good post. For all the vaunted benefits of this new rational society it is hard to deny that things just seem to be worse than before. I am reminded of a quote I recently saw, something along the lines of man being enamored by the accomplishments of the old works, but despising the beliefs that built it.
Great post Adam. Really. I’ve loved watching hearing your journey these years. Thanks for being brave and open.
🙏
We did not evolve to need religion, religion evolved to fill a gap in our understanding. There is no depth to evangelical religions which tell you what to think, it's the opposite.
People are turning away from religion because the gap that religion filled doesn't exist. The idea that people are lost without religion avoids the harsh truth that people are lost even with religion.
We do not improve by going to church, we improve by believing in something bigger than ourselves. Those "Disney adults" you reference include some of the nicest and sweetest people I know. Meanwhile, I see plenty of church goers celebrating the suffering of others.
If religion is right for you, that's great. However, prescribing religion for everyone is insulting to our intelligence.
Yeah look this part is up for debate (I DO think it is kinda bleak if to you, "God" is just an infinitely receding line of things we don't understand yet, this isn't a great perspective for anyone who has it). As for the Disney adults, of course enjoying Disney can be fine but I just wonder if this is your 'highest' belief to the point it's your whole personality you might end up wondering why are you empty inside. If it actually does fulfill this person and they are happy then more power to them. I just don't know the answer to this, and it's also probably another debate if it's "good" that corporations have filled this void.
A lot of amazing people don't believe God exists at all, and it doesn't seem to affect them. If purpose is something you have to be given then it's not really purpose.
Your highest belief can simply be to treat other people well and live a good life. Whether you go to church or Disney doesn't really matter at all.
I should mention that I studied comparative religion in college as it's really fascinating to look at the history of how religions developed and differ. The things you raise have been arguments brought up over hundreds of years, but never proved to be true. As we've gotten less religious people have gotten happier on average.
Agree, I said this in the story. They have something else in their life that's transcendent like art and that's great.
If you read Rousseau’s critique of Pierre Bayle’s ideal society, you’ll see that the objection you move to “modern” atheism is as old as atheism itself.
Thanks will check out - of course, we're all likely repeating many of the same arguments of our ancestors, just remixed
Adam - Human beings make the Sacred all the time. We typically do it together and organized religion is just one way that we make it. I grew up in very religious environment. Yes there were transcendent moments but there was also coercion and deceit. I can find the transcendent elsewhere without those drawbacks. You may prefer cathedrals and choirs but those are only some of the options on offer.
Thanks Adam for this, very poignant.
We've ended up with solely living in a horizontal axis. We see others at our level, nothing is higher. We got rid of the heavens (it because dark space), we got rid of the Earth (just a resource to be exploited), so live in this thin horizontal realm. We also cut the connection to our ancestors. Without all this we have become so small in ourselves that we crave anything that might give us a temporary life.
I don't agree with transcendence because it's like a 'beam me up Scottie!" escape clause.
I believe we have to create a 'web of meaning' (Clifford Geertz) that will give the fulfillment we yearn for in our psyche. I've written about it several times. We don't have to re-invent the wheel here, indigenous peoples have the structure, we just need to update it for the times we live in and have it, not woo-woo but grounded in the real.
I agree. In a similar way, it's also weird to me when Christians want to draw lines between things like "secular" and "religious" art. I think it's better understood that everything comes from people who are living out a mixed experience between the sacred and the profane, and art has the same mixture in it. Some Christian art and architecture is as mundane as anything else because it's fitted to the broader culture you write about. This is another thing that happens when our primary values are not as much about transcendence as they are about things like finance and commodification.
If they’d get rid of the people involved in religion it would be better. I don’t trust most of the world’s 200 plus religions mainly because of authoritarianism. I don’t believe there is a god so screwed up he created a whole race of screwups. But this my own personal opinion. I’m not impressed, as an artist, by humanity. It does affect my work.
People who are successful at AA have recognized that they cannot overcome their addictions on their own, that they need a community of support group, but most importantly, that they need a "Higher Power" (as AA now euphemistically refers to God) to do what they cannot do -- help them survive going on the rest of their life still addicted, but no longer giving in to it.
The notion that "the quality of our goods is made worse without religious beliefs" is not talked about enough. It's sad how honor and morals are so cavalierly dismissed. We're left with the cancer and quality degradation of corporate short-termism. The tragedy then is that people radicalize and throw the baby out with the bathwater and dismiss the entire capitalist system as irredeemable. When in reality it is our best engine for innovation and progress.
Excellent post, Adam
Is this the long-form iteration of “did you go to the gym today anon?”
lol no that is not the same thing (although gym can certainly be transcendental)
I don't buy into that entirely. I have not observed people who have found God to have any greater moral compass than those who don't. Doestaevsky's observation maybe his own, definitely not mind. I think of myself as a moral and caring person. Having 'gone to church' my entire growing up years I never found anything resembling closeness and Godliness there. Just petty tribalistic crap. Please spare me the notion I need God and religion to find meaning in life.
I have to respectfully disagree, Adam. I don’t believe this generation is lost, but rather evolving. They’re navigating a rapidly shifting landscape of knowledge and technology, driven by a desire for empirical evidence rather than faith in a higher power. Their faith is placed in progress, learning, and self-improvement. As Stephen Fry insightfully noted in his autobiography:
‘We humans are naturally disposed to worship gods and heroes, to build our pantheons and Valhallas. I would rather see that impulse directed into the adoration of daft singers, thicko footballers, and air-headed screen actors than into the veneration of dogmatic zealots, fanatical preachers, militant politicians, and rabid cultural commentators.’
In this sense, it’s not about a loss of faith, but a reorientation of where faith is placed.
Yeah I added that point, you can def find the transcendent in nature or other things that are dogmatic-free. God does not have to mean organized religion.