From Huston Smith: Why Religion Matters
There is within us—in even the blithest, most lighthearted among us—a fundamental dis-ease. It acts like an unquenchable fire that renders the vast majority of us incapable in this life of ever coming to full peace. This desire lies in the marrow of our bones and the deep regions of our souls. All great literature, poetry, art, philosophy, psychology, and religion try to name and analyze this longing. We are seldom in direct touch with it, and indeed the modern world seems set on preventing us from getting in touch with it by covering it with an unending phantasmagoria of entertainment, obsessions, addictions, and distractions of every sort. The longing is there, built into us like a jack-in-the-box that presses for release. Two great paintings suggest this longing in their titles—Gauguin's Who Are We? Where Did We Come From? Where Are We Going? and de Chirico's Nostalgia for the Infinite… Whether we realize it or not, simply to be human is to long for release from mundane existence, with its confining walls of finitude and mortality.
Tyson writes:
All that Smith is saying is that there is, deep within every man’s heart, a deep longing and an aching hunger for the infinite, for something greater than “this mortal coil.” No matter the temporary pleasure we may gain from the myriad distractions of this world, we are never truly fulfilled in this life. Smith says that we all acknowledge, somewhere deep inside ourselves, that we were meant for something greater. By now you are probably aware of my general take on life, and won’t be surprised by my answer.
I couldn’t agree with Smith any more. He was not specific, but the longing he refers to is that pull we feel in the deep heart’s core, calling us back to our Creator. We were made for God by God, and since we can never be truly united with him in this life, we can never truly fulfill that longing we feel for Heaven and for Him. At least not in this life. Writing this, I can’t help but feel that I’ve come across shallowly or religiously. I can’t emphasize enough how much I truly believe this in every fiber of my being. This might because I recognized this ache in myself some time ago, and have come to grasp that I can never be truly filled until I am with Him.
Have you ever noticed the difference that real faith and security makes in some people? In certain people, sometimes in people that I don’t expect, you can see (I feel like an idiot saying this) a certain…brightness…about them. It’s certainly not a light that you can see, and it’s not a feeling. It’s indeed, not perceptible with any of the five senses, but it’s there. Certain people just radiate “blessed assurance,” and it affects them and their environment. They seem, even when they are sad or angry, somehow calmer and happier. It’s as if their spirits are always looking up to Heaven, and Heaven is shining back with light we can’t see. I might be the only person who thinks this, but I think that people whose faith is unshakeable have just a glimmer-the shadow of a shadow-of their crown of glory already on their heads.
14 comments:
I agree with Tyson’s claim about the longing for our creator. No worldly tangible or even intangible thing or idea could ever satisfy this deep longing except for God. No one can deny they have not felt the ache the Huston Smith refers to and Tyson shows that the only way to satisfy the “ache” is through Him. I think Tyson and Huston Smith would most likely agree that God can only fill the void left empty by the world.
Ford
I agree with Tyson and Ford on this. I think that God is what everybody is longing for (and my question is, is that the same God for everybody? There are many different religions in this world.) and I believe that we will only get this fulfillment after our lives have ended. This is ultimately a very religious aspect. There is nothing that we can buy that will fill this place in our lives. I believe that the "void left empty by the world" will only be filled after we have parted from this life.
But money can make people happy, right? Then you can buy lots of things to make you happy and get people to like you.....
Just kidding.
But really, I think this is different for everyone, i don't think someone who does not believe in God has a hidden longing for Him. You could say that they are longing anyway and are just ignorant of God, but really, there is no way to know that unless you are psychic. So i believe that people may not be longing for God, but just for other fulfilling things, such as love, contentment and happiness.
I agree with the runner. I think we all have a deep dis-ease or longing within us but it may not necessarily be a longing to be with God. I think that we simply want comfort in knowing where we came from and what will happen when we die. We long to be something more than we. Believing in God also includes eternal life after death. The longing comes from being human; being mortal.
Since the argument that we long to be united with God in heaven has been pretty well worn out, I'll just go with something else. I think the runner hit it on the head with the last word of his post. Happiness. If not God, then it is the complete happiness that eludes us all- basically what Tyson said God gives you. While people are happy momentarily, or for a while, no one is always just plain happy with how their life goes. You can win a football game, but still have had better stats, you can marry a woman, but no person is perfect, you can have all the money in the world, but you are always missing something. No matter how many material things we have thrown at us, we still seek an all encompassing happiness, and obviously people aren't very good at finding it.
I agree with Chase. It takes alot in this world to find true happiness. We say "the grass is always greener on the other side," and I think that is very true. Humans do always feel there is something better, something they are missing out on. People are greedy, they want more, more, more. We are always looking for happiness, whether it be in money, women, religion, or even drugs. People will go to extremes to make themselves happy.
I also agree with Huston Smiths claim about a longing for freedom and the unknown. Smith says, "Whether we realize it or not, simply to be human is to long for release from mundane existence, with its confining walls of finitude and mortality." I think he is exactly right. Humans are always looking to excape their bounds. They are always trying to push limits.
I agree with everyone it seems on this. With Tyson in that I believe that I have a greater hunger for something more and that to me is a relationship with God. However I agree with Arthur that there may not be a desire for God but more of a desire of fulfillment. This could come from material things for people and it could come from the search for a higher power but the point is that people are searching for it somewhere.
Happiness can be a means of fulfillment, but the ultimate means of fulfillment is purpose. Without purpose, we feel our lives are empty, and worthless. Purpose can be given through many different ways also. As Smith mentioned, God, literature, psychology, and many other arts and beliefs allow us to find purpose in our lives. If you think your purpose is to be happy, then this works out perfectly for you.
Well, I am going to have to say that I don't fully agree with what Tyson and Ford said. They say that the void in us is caused by not being with God. Well, what do you say about people who are atheists? They do not believe in God, so are you saying that they can never truly be at ease? I think the dis-ease Smith was talking about might have to do with fear people have of after death. That fear is what causes our dis-ease, the way it prevented people from committing suicide in Hamlet.
As insightful as your comment is, i think it lacks some perspective Tyson. Some times people look beyond their creator and try to find their own purpose in the universe. Although a majority of our planet believe in a higher power, there are people who might be Christians, Muslims, Jews, or other religions and still look beyond creation and God (since most of them believe there is a higher power anyways.) Purpose and reason standout to me.
But the problem is, this dis-ease comes especially when we are materially satisfied and are not even remotely concerned with the fear of death. The most successful of us, the safest and securest, still have that little itch in the back of their minds, and I don't think it's Death. I agree with Justin that it's something like a lack of purpose, but what is our purpose? From a Christian perspective, every human's purpose is to love and be loved by God. And we can only do that really well when we are united with him.
Well, I think the problem we have here is what Chase said in class today. As we learned with Mr. Hale, a good argument cannot be had without a fundamental agreement in the beginning. Here, that would be some sort of agreement about God. However, it seems as if many of us have different views and we can't come to a conclusion because of the basic differences of those views. Therefore, an argument I make against what you are saying will seem crazy to you, because that's what you believe.
I think there is a basic religious instinct in all people. Some people become Christians, some Muslims, some Hindus, etc. Some do become atheists, and answer the question of God's existence in the negative; but I still think, that by virtue of being human, even atheists feel the kind of dis-ease that Smith is talking about. His book is titled, Why Religion Matters, but his definition of religion is quite broad; he doesn't limit it to one specific religion. His argument throughout the book is that people have tried to substitute science for religion and it hasn't worked. The part of the quotation that strikes me as so true is the inability of material goods, entertainments, distractions, etc. to satisfy the empty place in our souls.
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