Week in Review (4/29-5/3)
On becoming more human, celebrity conversions and the guy who invented boardwalks
I took this photograph on the world’s largest floating boardwalk.
Heaven Can Wait
Did you ever see the film, Heaven Can Wait? If you did, you likely forgot. It was 1978.
The film is an American sports fantasy comedy-drama. Joe Pendleton, quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, is killed in an auto accident. In the afterlife, Joe discovers that his guardian angel has taken him from his body prematurely, and he is due many more years on earth. Unable to return to his body, Joe assumes the form of greedy multimillionaire industrialist Leo Farnsworth. As Farnsworth, Joe attempts a return to football. And yes, there’s a Super Bowl victory in the end. I’m such a sucker for this kind of thing. Don’t even get me started on Field of Dreams or The Natural.
Here’s the central scene, which includes a trip to Heaven… not that you want to spend six minutes watching it, but I got a good laugh out of remembering the film and the depiction of Heaven.
Speaking of Heaven, I started this week with an article on the pearly gates.
For most people who leave religion, their former beliefs are scrutinized and many discarded. Some religious teachings are easier to discredit and leave behind, such as Hell or eternal conscious torment, or the doctrine of original sin, which states that each of us are born with condition that makes us estranged from God.
Other religious beliefs aren't quite so easy to walk away from. For example, the afterlife belief in Heaven. I decided to write and publish an in-depth article on this subject. I titled it: “Does Heaven Exist? Did religion get Heaven wrong?”
Why is heaven such a cherished idea?
I don’t think it's terribly complicated. The two things we fear most - death and suffering - are resolved and eradicated by religion’s notion of heaven, which is a ready-made paradise of perpetual and eternal bliss, and the absence of all suffering. We are fond of the idea of immortality and eternal paradise.
Religion is fond of locating transcendent realities in physical spaces:
God is a supreme being in the sky
Spiritual truth is found in a sacred book.
Evil is personified in Satan.
Heaven is a place beyond the clouds.
Church is a building you go to.
In my view, conceptualizing these realities in this way has a huge downside at best, and can be misleading and harmful at its worst.
In the Heaven article some of the topics I discuss are:
A brief history of the evolution of the notion of Heaven
How Jesus and the New Testament do not support the traditional Christian teaching on Heaven
How Jesus and an atheist philosopher are both in agreement on what Heaven is
How religion messed up making Heaven an afterlife location
Does Heaven exist and if so, where and how
Paracelsus wrote, “In every human being there is a special heaven, whole and unbroken.”
The Absurdity of Life
This week I also continued my series “Philosophers You’ve Never Hear of” and chose Albert Camus. The article is titled: “Life is absurd... and that's the good news”.
Some of the issues I cover in this article are:
Is the “meaning of life” and myth and marketing scam?
How religion prevents natural human happiness
A “meaningless universe” sounds depressing, but could it be the foundation for true liberation and living life well?
Addressing the Camus Suicide-Question that shocked the world of Western philosopher
What is likely to prevent regret about the life you've lived
This was the first book I ever read on Albert Camus. Yes, that’s my behemoth Dell computer.
In November 1st, 1954, he wrote in a journal:
“I often read that I am atheistic. I hear people speak of my atheism. Yet these words say nothing to me; for me they have no meaning. I do not believe in God and I am not an atheist.”
Camus was a contrarian and rebel. He refused to accept the distinction of being a “philosopher” and as you can see, wasn’t accepting of the label “atheist”, despite not believing in God. I am compelled by his sense that the human person cannot be shoved into any box or defined by any label. Each of us is a confluence of paradox, nuance, and ambiguity. Or as Lemony Snicket put it on, The Grim Grotto, “People aren't either wicked or noble. They're like chef's salads, with good things and bad things chopped and mixed together in a vinaigrette of confusion and conflict.”
Perhaps above all else, I admire Camus for how he lived, felt, and processed life so deeply. In his personal journal he recounted a visit to Greece.
He writes:
“Cool and bright morning. The shade between the trees surrounding the ruins is quite precious. The light is divine. Swim and lunch in Xylokastro. The clear water is not as cold but the air has become mostly transparent and all the mountains on the other side of the Gulf of Corinth are revealed with strange purity… I cease noting here these pleasures which from now on overwhelm me. Chaste pleasures, sober, strong, like joy itself, and the air that we breathe.”
That same evening he journals:
“In the luminous and clear sky the moon’s tip like a hawthorn petal. The honeysuckles, the bay far off in the night, the mysteries of life.”
I’m a late bloomer. Better late than never. I once thought I was getting more emotional with age, but then I realized I was only recovering my humanity. For too many years it was buried beneath layers of a religion that told me my heart was deceitful and wicked. I once was a frozen man, but I thawed out. My heart and I become friends, and we could no longer betray the other. Free at last.
I believe in the goodness of our common humanity, however diminished, bruised or buried it might sometimes seem. The saga of our species found something transcendent within ourselves and discovered that acting upon it was wise, meaningful, and beautiful. I believe when we are true to our highest nature, we are loving, kind, peaceful, compassionate, empathetic, kind, caring, courageous, generous and accordant.
Religion taught me that being human was the problem. Eventually I discovered that the problem was not being human enough. I love Albert Camus not because of his brilliance as an existential philosopher, but because of his humanity.
In Being Jesus in Nashville, I wrote:
“The Christian church cannot accept that Jesus was fully human as we are because the assumption is that our kind of humanity would compromise his divinity. Jesus would have none of it and the title he preferred for himself was "Son of Man," which was a title of radical solidarity with the human family. In other words, he's one of us.
Jesus said, "I am the truth." What truth is that? The truth that we all are human and divine. Unlike the religious leaders of his day, Jesus did not judge, shame or condemn people for their humanity. Instead, Jesus demonstrated new possibilities for what it means to be human.
Jesus was special, but not because he was more divine than the rest of us, but because he was courageously more human than most. It takes guts to be human the way Jesus was. Religion tells people we need forgiven and rescued from our humanness. What we actually need is to reclaim it.”
Russell Brand did what???
This week, the big news was that Russell Brand converted to Christianity, which sent shockwaves throughout social media.
I have followed Russell Brand off and on for many years. I appreciate the work he has done in the area of drug addiction. A former heroin addict himself, Brand has been a vocal activist and advocate in the treatment of drug addition. He testified before a parliamentary committee about drug addiction. This is a short clip from that testimony. Years ago I watched Brand’s performance of the Messiah Complex, which was brilliant in many ways.
I don’t know what’s more interesting about the Russell Brand conversion story - the fact that Russell Brand was born again, or the response to his newly found salvation. I plan to address both in a Substack article this next week.
The World’s Largest Floating Boardwalk
This past week, Amy and I went to a wedding in Spokane Washington, and stopped off in in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to walk the world’s largest floating boardwalk, Completed in 1985, the boardwalk is a 3,300-foot long, 12-foot wide floating walkway.
A few of the most-known boardwalks in the U.S. are: Navy Pier Boardwalk; Atlantic City Boardwalk; and Coney Island. Alexander Boardman, a railroad conductor, conceived the idea of constructing a boardwalk as a means of keeping sand out of the railroad cars and hotels. He was the mastermind behind the Atlantic City, New Jersey boardwalk which opened in 1870, and is the first U.S. boardwalk. At 5.5 miles long, it is also one of the world’s longest, busiest, and oldest boardwalks. New Jersey is home to the world’s highest concentration of boardwalks.
For nostalgic Americans, boardwalks are the stuff of summer dreams, mixing memories of salt water taffy at sunset, white-knuckled wooden rollercoaster rides and kids with dogs racing along weathered walkways.
Atlantic City Boardwalk, 1905
Coney Island Boardwalk in 1953.
I took this photograph at the Clearwater, Florida Boardwalk.
If you’re looking for a fascinating book on boardwalks that you could display on a table, America’s Boardwalks is a strong consideration.
Rachel Carson wrote, “The edge of the sea is a strange and beautiful place.”
Dear Jim
In my weekly Week in Review, I plan to add a “Dear Jim” section in which I answer a question someone might have that they’d like me to address. You can leave a comment or send me a message with a question of interest.
This week’s “Dear Jim” question comes from someone who trying to figure out the meaning of a flat tire.
Dear, Jim:
Today something happened for the first time. I got a flat tire while I was driving. I guess I should consider myself fortunate that this is my first flat. But it made me stop and wonder. Is God possibly trying to get my attention through the flat tire? Is it a sign from God?
I've been pushing myself a lot lately. Maybe God is trying to get my attention. I haven't been spending much quiet time with him lately or reading my Bible with any consistency. What are your thoughts, Jim? I'm here on the side of the road at a loss. What does this flat tire mean and how do you think I should respond?
Sincerely,
Flat Tire Tom
My answer:
Dear Flat Tire Tom:
The most common cause of a flat tire is puncturing of the tire by a sharp object. In the United States, approximately 7 tire punctures occur every second, resulting in 220 million flat tires per year. Even the most durable tires wear down and weaken. Not to mention, roads often contain potholes, sharp nails, debris and other objects that can easily puncture a tire and cause a flat.
Statistics show that every driver will experience on average up to 5 flat tires in their lifetime. I've considered and reflected upon all that you said and here's my personal guidance on how to respond to your situation.
1. Turn on your emergency lights. Let other drivers know your car is disabled so they will slow down.
2. Check to see if you have a spare tire and car jack. If you know how to change a tire, go ahead and do it. If not, call for roadside assistance.
3. Upon returning home, try to relax and realize that this happens to every person. According to statistics, it will probably happen to you four more times.
4. The meaning of this ordeal is this: you had a frustrating but common human experience, which had a common human solution. It means nothing more than this.
Tom, I don't think God had anything to do with your flat tire. What first came to your mind was associating the flat tire with your frenetic pace of life. The very fact you thought this may mean it would be a good idea to step back and consider how you're investing your time and energy, and if this represents what truly matters to you in life and how you want to be living.
It seems you are also expressing guilt about your inconsistent commitment to various religious disciplines. Find what nourishes your soul, awakens and empowers the better angels of your nature, and connects you with deep joy and peace. I believe God would be good with all that.
Rather than thinking of God giving you a flat tire, perhaps take it as a meaningful coincidence. Think of your frenzied lifestyle and the flat tire as a falling together in time, a kind of simultaneity. Perhaps not too dissimilar is the idea expressed in the axiom, "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." Or another way to put it would be to say that every moment and experience of your life is useful for your growth and self-actualization.
Rather than look into the sky, trying to figure out why God is pulling the strings of your circumstances for some mysterious reason, simply respond to situations as they require and pay attention to how any particular experience may be an invitation to experience life more deeply, meaningfully and skillfully.
Sincerely,
Jim
In Summary
What if Heaven isn’t a location beyond the clouds but a reality we touch in our deepest innermost being?
People seek to transcend their humanness, but what if we’ve never truly occupied it.
A boardwalk saunter is good for the soul.
We had a flat tire from a screw and had to replace all four, and I can’t believe how expensive tires have gotten.
The big Dell computer is as old as dirt and I lug it around to coffee shops, mouse an all… pretending it’s a laptop.
Jim I love your writing! I know you have likely done this in the past but when you say most people are good at their core, how do you process the concept of really evil people and the atrocities they commit? Thanks
I believe everyone is good at their core. For me it’s usually a comparison to horses because that is what I know most about. They all come to you as a four legged equine. What we do to them with our methods of training and teaching is how they turn out. People will say this horse is bad or mean or give it some human component which isn’t possible for it to have and not realize that it was the input that changed the behavior. Most times with some thought and insight it can be brought around to a different way of thinking. And there I am in a nutshell. Thanks for your time