So, this week I read the book, Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn. After finishing it, I went on to another book by Quinn, The Story of B. I am almost finished with the second book, then I plan on continuing to his third book. These books are really thought-provoking for me. They are definitely altering my views on society, culture, and religion. With religion, it actually is serving to confirm where my views have been and the shape they have been taking. All I will say on the matter of religion at the moment is that the so-called revealed religions are part of the problems we face, as they serve to reinforce the (erroneous) idea that humans are separate from and superior to other life-forms. Tied up with this is the idea that humans have a responsibility to dominate and tame nature. In contrast to salvation-centered revealed religions, Quinn posits animism as a spirituality that places humans back in harmony with the wider ecosystem. The divine, the spiritual is not singular, it is a multiplicity. Now, I do want to caution that Quinn is not saying the revealed religions are responsible for our severance from the ecosystem, only that they arose in a system that was already sick.
I am not even scratching the surface of what Quinn has to say in his books, in fact I have not even really touched on his biggest insights. I only start with this bit on religion as a primer for discussion. Anyone who has read Quinn's work and wishes to expand on what I have started here, please do so. I do not want to limit discussion on the book to one topic within it.
I am not even scratching the surface of what Quinn has to say in his books, in fact I have not even really touched on his biggest insights. I only start with this bit on religion as a primer for discussion. Anyone who has read Quinn's work and wishes to expand on what I have started here, please do so. I do not want to limit discussion on the book to one topic within it.