Summary
In layered prose and with thoughtful, accessible scholarship, Aslan narrates the history of religion as one long and remarkably cohesive attempt to understand the divine by giving it human traits and emotions. "Whether we are aware of it or not, and regardless of whether we're believers or not, what the vast majority of us think about when we think about God is a divine version of ourselves."
Reflection
One of the most fascinating books you'll likely read on the subject of religion and humankind. I have quoted Aslan's scholarship in my preaching on more than one occasion, this guy knows his stuff and articulates it in a way that is very thoughtful and engaging. A rare non-fiction page-turner!
As a parent to young children and someone who has worked with youth for many years, I am no stranger to fielding a significant degree of questions, ranging from the innocent 'out of the mouths of babes' variety to those real stumpers that really don't have an answer, the kind that make you dance around and stall for more time. I have no qualms about telling children that I don't know. And that's the truth, I really don't know much. No one really does. Most of what we read and engage regarding all-things spiritual is speculation, tradition and belief. That said, I always love the questions that cut to the chase and inquire about the beginning of time or the nature of God. Those are really fun to explore together. And so Aslan had me when chapter three came to a close and he posited that before the belief in God arose there was belief in the existence of the human soul. Here's an excerpt from that chapter (pg. 47):
"Where did the idea of the soul come from? The truthful answer is that we don't know. What seems clear, however, is that belief in the soul may be humanity's first belief. Indeed, if the cognitive theory of religion is correct, belief in the soul is what led to belief in God. The origin of the religious impulse, in other words, is not rooted in our quest for meaning or our fear of the unknown. It is not born of our involuntary reactions to the natural world. It is not an accidental consequence of the complex workings of our brains. It is the result of something far more primal and difficult to explain: our ingrained, intuitive, and wholly experiential belief that we are, whatever else we are, embodied souls."
I know, right? Of course he's got all the scholarship to back this up leading to this paragraph, but I have really enjoyed reflecting on this with the religious and non-religious alike. From my recent fascination to ghosts and people who can seemingly communicate with the dead to being one who studies ancient literature for a living to the hundreds of movies, television shows and fictional books that all depict people having souls, plus all of the conversation about consciousness in psychology circles and podcasts -- the assertion about the primacy of 'soul belief' is a really interesting insight.
It's also something that a person is practically forced to ponder when someone close to them dies. In this case, I have mourned several loved ones over the last few years and with each one of their deaths, I find myself saying, "now they know." Aslan believes that it is this quest for the existence of the soul that led to the "concept of an active, engaged, divine presence that underlies all of creation and how that divine presence was gradually personalized, given names and backstories, endowed with human traits and emotions and cast into a thousand different forms...all giving way to the single divine personality we know today as God."
Is he onto something or is he just another voice in a sea of voices when it comes to understanding the universe of spirituality? I have said it before, and I'll say it again: I don't know. But it's sure worth your time reading and thinking about.
Photo by Chelsea Bock on Unsplash & Photo by Josh Marshall on Unsplash
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