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Concepts: A ProtoTheist Quest for Science-Minded Skeptics ReviewAs the author is quick to point out, an obvious characteristic of life is purposefulness. As living creatures, we all have a sense, either unconscious, conscious, or both, of purpose. But how does this purposefulness, or "Life-Urge" fit into how we view ourselves, from a religious point of view?
Carleton says there are four main ways in which people can do this. First, one can view oneself as "Me." That is, the sense of purpose is one's own purpose and no more. Second, one can view oneself as a living being among many living beings, all of whom have a sense of purpose. Third, one can view oneself as part of Life, which has a unified Purpose (basically, a Buddhist point of view). Fourth, one can view oneself as an entity whose purpose is secondary to what really counts, namely one or more Goddesses or Gods and Her, His, or Their Purpose. The author strongly prefers the second of these viewpoints, which he calls "prototheism."
This idea is contrasted with what today is practically a majority concept, namely the fourth point of view: ascribing the Life Urge to a single Deity. Of course, monotheistic religions today generally prescribe specific theologies, sets of beliefs, and practices to vast numbers of people. But Carleton shows that even now, there are alternatives for people who want more flexibilty, freedom, or privacy in their religious practices.
Still, all this is the icing on the cake. I left out decribing the cake, namely the initial chapters of the book. Here, Carleton starts with an excellent summary of the origin of Catholic Christianity (there are appendices that discuss Protestantism, Judaism, and Islam). He starts with the origin of the concept of deities, but adds that when one considers, say, fire to be a deity, it "closes out any attempt to learn the true nature of fire."
Given the tendency for origins to be viewed in religious ways, Carleton gives some more excellent summaries....of the way we view origins scientifically. In roughly sixty impressive pages, he covers the origin of our Universe, the origin of the Earth, the origin of life on Earth, the evolution of life to arrive at humans, and the origin of human society and of societal theistic beliefs (if you think all this is easy to write, you try it). After that, he speculates about the attributes of the conscious and unconscious parts of our thinking and responses, and how that has contributed to our sense of purpose and of religion.
So what is to be done about the fact that much of the world is monotheistic today? Carleton basically advises tolerance, not potentially risky and disruptive confrontation. Attitudes are changing. Let them. His recommendations are to move in a direction (towards prototheism) that he feels we are heading in anyway.
I recommend this book. Nobody is going to agree with every single point in it, but it has plenty for us all to think about.
Concepts: A ProtoTheist Quest for Science-Minded Skeptics OverviewWhy is belief in God so common? This book is a search for the source of such beliefs, for the roots of theism, termed prototheism. Prototheism is a science of religion, not a religion. Its notion is that theistic belief is an age-old misconception of an Urge to Life which emerges naturally from deep in humans. This Life Urge is innate in all Life. But in us humans it emerges into consciousness where, rather than being owned as inherent in human nature, it is more often experienced as ‘faith' and projected out onto gods/God. The book first looks at how belief in gods may have originated in early humans and evolved into the Greco-Roman religion which dominated the Mediterranean world when Christianity began. The book then suggests how Christianity itself came to dominate the western world. Next it examines the Concepts Christians used back then to explain their world, versus the Concepts that have gained acceptance in just the past few centuries to explain our world today. The book does this by going back to beginnings — of the Universe, of Earth, of Life, of animals and of humans — to trace evolution's trajectory. Then it surveys what has been learned about brains and consciousness in the past century. With that updated perspective, the book takes a fresh look at ‘religion' — at how belief in gods/God ‘out there' might be reinterpreted as a Life Urge that emerges spontaneously in humans and at how a rapport with one's Life Urge might be fostered. And also from that perspective, the book looks at our runaway material culture and suggests a prototheistic ethic consistent with and supportive of evolution's trajectory, as we perceive it. Throughout, but especially at the outset, the book tries to be sensitive to how theistic beliefs were instilled in most of us and may still linger in the ways we think and conceptualize our world. It suggests ways the reader might ‘rewire their brain' in making this often arduous paradigm shift. Although addressed to Christians, appendixes speak to Jews and Muslims.
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