on subscribing.

My cousin, Carolyn, who once was lost, but now is found, said recently in one of her comments, "Here's what I think about the yearning. We need language to talk about the new god that we are seeking. The old language doesn't work for us any more."  

I agree.

And, I don't think the insufficiency in language is specific to Christianity, but spans our search as a whole.  In his new book, Religion for Atheists, philosopher and atheist Alain de Botton acknowledges the holes in atheism and the failure of secular society to address two central needs of humanity:

"...firstly, the need to live together in communities in harmony, despite our deeply rooted selfish and violent impulses. And secondly, the need to cope with terrifying degrees of pain which arise from our vulnerability to professional failure, to troubled relationships, to the death of loved ones and to our decay and demise...The error of modern atheism has been to overlook how many aspects of the faiths remain relevant even after their central tenets have been dismissed.”

I like that.

And, not just that, but his willingness to look beyond a definitive atheistic box....his refusal to just blindly subscribe and discredit the other side. I'm here; you're there. Such blind subscription is easy. We don't have to think as much; just follow your box.  And, I think it's easy to just let the box define you more than who you really are.

In this TED talk, de Botton differentiates between secular society and religion, adding that secularism is all about [higher] education and information - the lecture.  Religion, on the other hand, is more about sermonizing. "A sermon wants to change your life, and a lecture wants to give you a bit of information. And I think we need to get back to that sermon tradition.”

Touche.

He goes, on, elaborating about other values of religion including rituals, the importance of good oratory, and the need to join together and collaborate in order to change the world. I think what I liked so much about this had less to do with the fact that he is an atheist, and more that he is open minded enough to risk ridicule from peers and actually look to the other side for truth. He is "an independent", acknowledging not just our human need for each other, but the discrepancies in his own belief system - the latter of which, in my opinion, gives him credibility.  So, lest you think I'm proselytizing for atheism, I'm not.  I'm just saying all this because this is the kind of stuff that makes me think and helps me on my quest.  I also say this because whether you are a democrat or a republican, whether you are a Christian or atheist, there is great benefit in looking at all sides, gleaning bits of truth where we can. Because "no knowledge has a monopoly on knowledge." Jonah Leher

I could go on.  But, it's nice outside and if I remember correctly, it is the Sabbath. 

Here's the video...

And thanks to Maria Popova at Brain Pickings for stirring my mind.