The Year of Living Biblically
Once in a while I'll do a book review. Actually, this may have occurred only twice before in this entire journal, but today I've finished a book I'd like to share with you all. By author A.J. Jacobs, it's a funny but introspective book where he tries to follow all of the Bible's commandments for a year. That's 731 of them, not the OG 10.
When Jackie told me about this book, I thought it would be funny and educational, like his other book The Know-It-All (where he reads the entire Britannica Encyclopedia). She described a scene where he "stones" an admitted adulterer. Granted, it was a pebble and only one throw, but his intent to strictly follow the Bible was there. I knew the Bible was full of unpracticed commands so figured this book would be complete ludicrous.
It wasn't. What it revealed was the saddest part about agnostics/atheists, the most common criticism, that we believe in nothing at all. For instance, of how believing in a higher being means we are all connected and that makes him feel, for the first time, significant. He writes of the joy he is finds in praying. When thanking God, it forces him to be grateful. When bowing down before a meal, it forces him to respect life, connected to the animal, the farmer, the grocer, the circle of life. The rituals he forces upon himself, making him part of the religious community at large, makes him part of his Jewish ancestry.
Now, I consider myself an agnostic- not that I think about it often. But I am spiritual (see http://madcow23sg.livejournal.com/311268.html for how nature inspires me). I believe in community, we should fight for the poor and weak (just like the Bible). I believe in the glory of the world. Here, it's less about the glory of God's creations but instead because everything is such an amazing feat of evolution. Just something as simple as throwing a ball and catching it is something nonprogrammable in a robot (it didn't used to be anyways). A lot of things he was reading, such as "thou shall not covet," I've long believed leads to a happier life as well. Imagine, the liberation of not having to compete with the Jones.' I have rituals too, my navy showers, fanatic reusing, and countless others. Some of them make my life "harder," but they also give my life meaning. When I ride public transit even if they take me twice as long, I know I'm doing my part to save the environment. It's integral to my identity and the rituals have become easy and second nature.
But if my fellow agnostic/atheist feels lost and meaningless, then I might wish religion upon them. Because if you feel like you are just one insignificant person in an American rat race, then I understand why you would feel like you shouldn't buy your way to happiness, why you might abuse an unseen stranger, why you feel lonely in a time of mass communication. Humans evolved for society and as such, crave structure and community. Religion may be the opiate of the masses, but it is an opiate. But whatever you choose, I hope you find it.
When Jackie told me about this book, I thought it would be funny and educational, like his other book The Know-It-All (where he reads the entire Britannica Encyclopedia). She described a scene where he "stones" an admitted adulterer. Granted, it was a pebble and only one throw, but his intent to strictly follow the Bible was there. I knew the Bible was full of unpracticed commands so figured this book would be complete ludicrous.
It wasn't. What it revealed was the saddest part about agnostics/atheists, the most common criticism, that we believe in nothing at all. For instance, of how believing in a higher being means we are all connected and that makes him feel, for the first time, significant. He writes of the joy he is finds in praying. When thanking God, it forces him to be grateful. When bowing down before a meal, it forces him to respect life, connected to the animal, the farmer, the grocer, the circle of life. The rituals he forces upon himself, making him part of the religious community at large, makes him part of his Jewish ancestry.
Now, I consider myself an agnostic- not that I think about it often. But I am spiritual (see http://madcow23sg.livejournal.com/311268.html for how nature inspires me). I believe in community, we should fight for the poor and weak (just like the Bible). I believe in the glory of the world. Here, it's less about the glory of God's creations but instead because everything is such an amazing feat of evolution. Just something as simple as throwing a ball and catching it is something nonprogrammable in a robot (it didn't used to be anyways). A lot of things he was reading, such as "thou shall not covet," I've long believed leads to a happier life as well. Imagine, the liberation of not having to compete with the Jones.' I have rituals too, my navy showers, fanatic reusing, and countless others. Some of them make my life "harder," but they also give my life meaning. When I ride public transit even if they take me twice as long, I know I'm doing my part to save the environment. It's integral to my identity and the rituals have become easy and second nature.
But if my fellow agnostic/atheist feels lost and meaningless, then I might wish religion upon them. Because if you feel like you are just one insignificant person in an American rat race, then I understand why you would feel like you shouldn't buy your way to happiness, why you might abuse an unseen stranger, why you feel lonely in a time of mass communication. Humans evolved for society and as such, crave structure and community. Religion may be the opiate of the masses, but it is an opiate. But whatever you choose, I hope you find it.