I re-read this again and loved it even more than the first time Silvio. So many good insights and reflections o religion that parallel some of my thoughts on religion. I really loved this part:
"And about reading, about immersing ourselves in books, at some point he says that “Humans generally have too complex a brain for the life they live, a large part of their brain capacity is not used. And one's life isn't enough. You need to have parallel lives or you can't resist. So reading really is a necessity. A vital necessity”. This made me think that, like reading, religion is a tool to create scenarios and stories and possibilities and parallel realities and fantasies. Maybe religion is part of what we need to fill that excess brain capacity. I personally can’t do that, but I have a tremendous amount of respect for those who can."
Camilo! Thank you, my friend. Religion is one of those neverending quests that make up so much of our lives, like it or not. And it doesn't really matter whether you're a believer, a devout, or nothing at all. So glad this will make you think. :)
Nice, Silvio! Great, optimistic musings on religion and believing, a complicated and broad topic in itself, but you manage to bring it down to personal and interesting conclusions.
Relate a lot to your story, probably since Italy and Mexico have very similar backgrounds on that regard, only maybe we're one generation behind on thought-process.
Also, loved the ending, you talk without being explicit about my main issue with catholicism: its guilt-infused teachings (or at least how it was passed on to me).
As a side note, your fellow countryman Paolo Sorrentino explores this love-hate, nuanced relationship with catholicism beautifully in most of his movies, especially in the amazing The Young Pope series, highly recommend it if you haven't seen it.
Thank you, Oscar. I haven't watched Sorrentino's series, but I've heard about it. If you recommend it, then I will watch it. On the rest, yes, our cultures are pretty much the same religion-wise, as have been our upbringings, even though they're one generation apart. At the end of the day, it all boils down on what you need to live your life as best as you can. Religion is the answer for a lot of people, even for those who believe knowing that what they believe couldn't possibly be true. But it helps them. And I admire this ability to give themselves to a story, to make it the essence of their existence.
For me religion became the beautiful thing when the quest for convincing answers ended and the true love that is mystery came into view. Guilt makes for terrible lovers and if we are to love God with all our heart I too found this shamed into piety incompatible with my own life.
Then I'm excited to agree with you in the invitation to design ones own religion! I believe this is in fact the great quest of every life. That Religio in the Latin means The Binding or what we would more elegantly call today a relationship. The danger of this is that we can design our own God which will always fall short of God. But I believe in discovering God we design our own religion or more literally a relationship with this divine person.
And like most great relationships we have, we discover more of ourselves than we ever could in getting to know someone else. I think there will always have to be fear, and terror, and drama, but it can be conquered by this love.
Your exchange with your daughter here at the end was perfect for me. In its own way a demonstration I believe of that abundant grace and extravagant love that begins with our own God who so loved the world.
There are many other contemplations I keep thinking about here. Is it perhaps that we are turned off by the culture of religion rather than religion itself?
You have given us so much with your words Silvio and I know I'll be sitting with them more this week. And I need to get to Italy sometime and exchange these thoughts with you over a glass of wine, but until then and next time. My best to you my friend.
"Is it perhaps that we are turned off by the culture of religion rather than religion itself?" -- this is so interesting, Steven. There is, indeed, a culture of religion that probably messed things up for me and many others when it came to embracing its purest essence. Hard to bypass that, though, in today's world. As always, your thoughts are so profound and original. This reply of yours will make me think for a while. "And I need to get to Italy sometime and exchange these thoughts with you over a glass of wine" -- you're always welcome, my friend. It'd be awesome to get together, be it in your Pacific northwest or in Italy. Soon. Thank you for your words and for always being here. :)
I just love it. It's like your hopped into my brain and stole my thoughts. Your conversation with your kid sums everything up perfectly, what a chocolate covered cherry on top to find at the end!
The interchanges with your daughter carry the true scent of religion to me. All that wonder, and all those divine questions. Made more divine by being unanswerable. It seems that children already embody your later decision. "I decided that I believed in a higher power or spiritual reality, someone or something that I wouldn’t even call God." A childlike, bare, open awareness seems to already be this free and unfettered, without a name like God. And in most cases it leaves their spirit more intact, and bright, and strong, and beautiful.
Thank you, Rick. Indeed, these are divine questions (and "made more divine by being unanswerable" is a beautiful qualification). The intriguing aspect, to me, is that children expect an answer. They don't know that these questions are unanswerable. They expect an answer and such answer MUST make sense in the context of their own universe. And, again, we go back to the power of stories, their ability to make life bearable. Livable, in essence.
I enjoyed reading your reflections on religion, Silvio. I also appreciate your point about feeling like you would be faking it.
Also, this quote you shared is wonderful: “Humans generally have too complex a brain for the life they live, a large part of their brain capacity is not used. And one's life isn't enough. You need to have parallel lives or you can't resist. So reading really is a necessity. A vital necessity”.
Thank you, Sandra. Yes, I found that so interesting and true, from an author I respect a lot like Houellebecq. Recently, I also heard someone say "Life's too short to live only one life", referring to the importance of reading as a way to live as many parallel lives as the books we are reading. :)
That's a big reason why I love books (and movies)! They're the closest I can get to living as many lives as possible. I'm craving a life of many lives lol
A piece on religion: let’s do it! Thank you Silvio, as always, I agree with you and your vision. I suspect that - in order to disagree - we should discuss about soccer, but I don’t know anything about that!
Wonderful, Silvio. Every time I read your work - and it’s not frequently, I admit - it’s like I’m having another IRL conversation with you.
I’ve noticed that religions that have as a premise that “you has sinned” were the original (brilliant) master marketers: “here’s a problem about man, here’s what life could be like, and here’s what you need to do.”
A life of repenting for ones sins has never had an allure, personally. Much less for all the beautiful questions that remain unanswered by a religion unless one crosses the bridge and believes. Nevertheless, it's a compelling way to draw in believers to feel a sense of deep belonging.
What you wrote here is so powerful, but maybe because I'm biased and you've captured my thoughts exactly: "But I like the idea of the Central Organizer. Who wouldn’t? And I like the idea of designing my own religion. A story of happiness and laughter and positiveness, where we’d go about life fearlessly and confidently, where there’d be no sinning and penitences and deliberate suffering, no terrifying images or dramas. A story without guilt."
Our brains are designed to be hyper alert to fear and threats. So we naturally think more about what's going wrong, than what is good or what could be. The idea of designing your own religion speaks to me about the power of creating a positive aspirational story to walk towards, rather than a negative one to run away from.
The idea of "designing my own religion" - for me - is how our soul exists. It's the expression of all the sum of our experiences - physical, mental, spiritual, and other realms we don't yet know of - and how we convey that in real life, and in the stories that we tell now, and other tell about us.
Thank you so much, Eric, for your thoughtful reflection. We think alike on many matters on religion, it seems. Glad my thinking resonates and makes you think. I think Steven a few comments above yours has introduced the idea of "the culture of religion" which I found very intriguing. Maybe what you mention about "marketing" ties somewhat to that: “here’s a problem about man, here’s what life could be like, and here’s what you need to do.” I happen to strongly believe that's the case. But then again, I'm always open to destroy my strongest beliefs when evidence shows me another way. And on designing our own religion: I've always thought that believing directly, without intermediaries, should be the way to go. But then, later in life, I realized that we do need a story, without which our "direct belief" wouldn't have so much of a long runway.
First of all: what tough questions your daughter was asking!
On religion: I agree with you and Houellebecq (he will be very pleased that I think as he does) but, as usual, what you write makes me think of something else, or makes me consider what I think in a different light. Lately for example I've been thinking about eliminating as much as possible idle or useless thoughts, redundant information, books that don't interest me. It's not a judgment on them, it's that they are just not interesting to me. One thinks, "Well, easy, isn't it? You're not interested in what you're not interested in. Very interesting," but the point is that by nature I am curious about a thousand things and would like to know much more than what I (don't) know. That’s fine, isn’t it? Yeah, except that the problem is to figure out what is really important and interesting, and eliminate everything else. For me it is not so easy. The method of "not giving a fuck" about something is not always easily applicable.
But I'll get to the point: the point is that religion is also an elegant and very solid system of saying "Only this is important, the rest doesn't matter." And it is a very well-conceived system, covering literally everything from cradle to grave, and also beyond.
I don't know if religion is "ready-made thinking": like you, I don't believe. I observe that every religion has its own inherent mathematical beauty: it is a construction that admits nothing but itself, it is self-referential, it is self-resolved. Then we can only look at it with admiration. Still asking ourselves, "But will it really all fit in there?" And that is why -- I believe -- we do not believe and ask questions (not as deep as your daughter's, at least not mine). In the end, in short, we keep telling ourselves, "It's all very nice, but there must be something more."
These are very interesting thoughts, Martino. "Every religion has its own inherent mathematical beauty: it is a construction that admits nothing but itself, it is self-referential, it is self-resolved" -- Loved this. And it resonates. I think that probably religion's true purpose has little to do with the god or deity it refers to. It's about navigating the sea of life as confidently as possible. For some people religion is a source of confidence and courage. For me, most of them are intriguing stories but they stop there. And, like you, my chronic curiosity keeps me from dismissing them just on the fact that I don't believe in the supernatural entity they worship. Thank you for your always thought-provoking ideas. I'll be waiting on a piece on religion on ll Pensiero Lungo! :)
I re-read this again and loved it even more than the first time Silvio. So many good insights and reflections o religion that parallel some of my thoughts on religion. I really loved this part:
"And about reading, about immersing ourselves in books, at some point he says that “Humans generally have too complex a brain for the life they live, a large part of their brain capacity is not used. And one's life isn't enough. You need to have parallel lives or you can't resist. So reading really is a necessity. A vital necessity”. This made me think that, like reading, religion is a tool to create scenarios and stories and possibilities and parallel realities and fantasies. Maybe religion is part of what we need to fill that excess brain capacity. I personally can’t do that, but I have a tremendous amount of respect for those who can."
I'm going to keep thinking about this.
Camilo! Thank you, my friend. Religion is one of those neverending quests that make up so much of our lives, like it or not. And it doesn't really matter whether you're a believer, a devout, or nothing at all. So glad this will make you think. :)
Nice, Silvio! Great, optimistic musings on religion and believing, a complicated and broad topic in itself, but you manage to bring it down to personal and interesting conclusions.
Relate a lot to your story, probably since Italy and Mexico have very similar backgrounds on that regard, only maybe we're one generation behind on thought-process.
Also, loved the ending, you talk without being explicit about my main issue with catholicism: its guilt-infused teachings (or at least how it was passed on to me).
As a side note, your fellow countryman Paolo Sorrentino explores this love-hate, nuanced relationship with catholicism beautifully in most of his movies, especially in the amazing The Young Pope series, highly recommend it if you haven't seen it.
Thank you, Oscar. I haven't watched Sorrentino's series, but I've heard about it. If you recommend it, then I will watch it. On the rest, yes, our cultures are pretty much the same religion-wise, as have been our upbringings, even though they're one generation apart. At the end of the day, it all boils down on what you need to live your life as best as you can. Religion is the answer for a lot of people, even for those who believe knowing that what they believe couldn't possibly be true. But it helps them. And I admire this ability to give themselves to a story, to make it the essence of their existence.
Those scattered thoughts flowed quite well!
For me religion became the beautiful thing when the quest for convincing answers ended and the true love that is mystery came into view. Guilt makes for terrible lovers and if we are to love God with all our heart I too found this shamed into piety incompatible with my own life.
Then I'm excited to agree with you in the invitation to design ones own religion! I believe this is in fact the great quest of every life. That Religio in the Latin means The Binding or what we would more elegantly call today a relationship. The danger of this is that we can design our own God which will always fall short of God. But I believe in discovering God we design our own religion or more literally a relationship with this divine person.
And like most great relationships we have, we discover more of ourselves than we ever could in getting to know someone else. I think there will always have to be fear, and terror, and drama, but it can be conquered by this love.
Your exchange with your daughter here at the end was perfect for me. In its own way a demonstration I believe of that abundant grace and extravagant love that begins with our own God who so loved the world.
There are many other contemplations I keep thinking about here. Is it perhaps that we are turned off by the culture of religion rather than religion itself?
You have given us so much with your words Silvio and I know I'll be sitting with them more this week. And I need to get to Italy sometime and exchange these thoughts with you over a glass of wine, but until then and next time. My best to you my friend.
"Is it perhaps that we are turned off by the culture of religion rather than religion itself?" -- this is so interesting, Steven. There is, indeed, a culture of religion that probably messed things up for me and many others when it came to embracing its purest essence. Hard to bypass that, though, in today's world. As always, your thoughts are so profound and original. This reply of yours will make me think for a while. "And I need to get to Italy sometime and exchange these thoughts with you over a glass of wine" -- you're always welcome, my friend. It'd be awesome to get together, be it in your Pacific northwest or in Italy. Soon. Thank you for your words and for always being here. :)
I just love it. It's like your hopped into my brain and stole my thoughts. Your conversation with your kid sums everything up perfectly, what a chocolate covered cherry on top to find at the end!
Thank you so much, Yehudis. Glad it aligns with your thoughts. And it resonates. :)
The interchanges with your daughter carry the true scent of religion to me. All that wonder, and all those divine questions. Made more divine by being unanswerable. It seems that children already embody your later decision. "I decided that I believed in a higher power or spiritual reality, someone or something that I wouldn’t even call God." A childlike, bare, open awareness seems to already be this free and unfettered, without a name like God. And in most cases it leaves their spirit more intact, and bright, and strong, and beautiful.
Thank you, Rick. Indeed, these are divine questions (and "made more divine by being unanswerable" is a beautiful qualification). The intriguing aspect, to me, is that children expect an answer. They don't know that these questions are unanswerable. They expect an answer and such answer MUST make sense in the context of their own universe. And, again, we go back to the power of stories, their ability to make life bearable. Livable, in essence.
God that's so true. There really should be some sort of mandatory basic training you have to pass before becoming a parent!
Indeed! I guess you and I, as parents, know one or two things about that!
I enjoyed reading your reflections on religion, Silvio. I also appreciate your point about feeling like you would be faking it.
Also, this quote you shared is wonderful: “Humans generally have too complex a brain for the life they live, a large part of their brain capacity is not used. And one's life isn't enough. You need to have parallel lives or you can't resist. So reading really is a necessity. A vital necessity”.
Thank you, Sandra. Yes, I found that so interesting and true, from an author I respect a lot like Houellebecq. Recently, I also heard someone say "Life's too short to live only one life", referring to the importance of reading as a way to live as many parallel lives as the books we are reading. :)
That's a big reason why I love books (and movies)! They're the closest I can get to living as many lives as possible. I'm craving a life of many lives lol
A piece on religion: let’s do it! Thank you Silvio, as always, I agree with you and your vision. I suspect that - in order to disagree - we should discuss about soccer, but I don’t know anything about that!
Hahaha true!
Wonderful, Silvio. Every time I read your work - and it’s not frequently, I admit - it’s like I’m having another IRL conversation with you.
I’ve noticed that religions that have as a premise that “you has sinned” were the original (brilliant) master marketers: “here’s a problem about man, here’s what life could be like, and here’s what you need to do.”
A life of repenting for ones sins has never had an allure, personally. Much less for all the beautiful questions that remain unanswered by a religion unless one crosses the bridge and believes. Nevertheless, it's a compelling way to draw in believers to feel a sense of deep belonging.
What you wrote here is so powerful, but maybe because I'm biased and you've captured my thoughts exactly: "But I like the idea of the Central Organizer. Who wouldn’t? And I like the idea of designing my own religion. A story of happiness and laughter and positiveness, where we’d go about life fearlessly and confidently, where there’d be no sinning and penitences and deliberate suffering, no terrifying images or dramas. A story without guilt."
Our brains are designed to be hyper alert to fear and threats. So we naturally think more about what's going wrong, than what is good or what could be. The idea of designing your own religion speaks to me about the power of creating a positive aspirational story to walk towards, rather than a negative one to run away from.
The idea of "designing my own religion" - for me - is how our soul exists. It's the expression of all the sum of our experiences - physical, mental, spiritual, and other realms we don't yet know of - and how we convey that in real life, and in the stories that we tell now, and other tell about us.
Thank you for your soulful story, Silvio.
Thank you so much, Eric, for your thoughtful reflection. We think alike on many matters on religion, it seems. Glad my thinking resonates and makes you think. I think Steven a few comments above yours has introduced the idea of "the culture of religion" which I found very intriguing. Maybe what you mention about "marketing" ties somewhat to that: “here’s a problem about man, here’s what life could be like, and here’s what you need to do.” I happen to strongly believe that's the case. But then again, I'm always open to destroy my strongest beliefs when evidence shows me another way. And on designing our own religion: I've always thought that believing directly, without intermediaries, should be the way to go. But then, later in life, I realized that we do need a story, without which our "direct belief" wouldn't have so much of a long runway.
First of all: what tough questions your daughter was asking!
On religion: I agree with you and Houellebecq (he will be very pleased that I think as he does) but, as usual, what you write makes me think of something else, or makes me consider what I think in a different light. Lately for example I've been thinking about eliminating as much as possible idle or useless thoughts, redundant information, books that don't interest me. It's not a judgment on them, it's that they are just not interesting to me. One thinks, "Well, easy, isn't it? You're not interested in what you're not interested in. Very interesting," but the point is that by nature I am curious about a thousand things and would like to know much more than what I (don't) know. That’s fine, isn’t it? Yeah, except that the problem is to figure out what is really important and interesting, and eliminate everything else. For me it is not so easy. The method of "not giving a fuck" about something is not always easily applicable.
But I'll get to the point: the point is that religion is also an elegant and very solid system of saying "Only this is important, the rest doesn't matter." And it is a very well-conceived system, covering literally everything from cradle to grave, and also beyond.
I don't know if religion is "ready-made thinking": like you, I don't believe. I observe that every religion has its own inherent mathematical beauty: it is a construction that admits nothing but itself, it is self-referential, it is self-resolved. Then we can only look at it with admiration. Still asking ourselves, "But will it really all fit in there?" And that is why -- I believe -- we do not believe and ask questions (not as deep as your daughter's, at least not mine). In the end, in short, we keep telling ourselves, "It's all very nice, but there must be something more."
These are very interesting thoughts, Martino. "Every religion has its own inherent mathematical beauty: it is a construction that admits nothing but itself, it is self-referential, it is self-resolved" -- Loved this. And it resonates. I think that probably religion's true purpose has little to do with the god or deity it refers to. It's about navigating the sea of life as confidently as possible. For some people religion is a source of confidence and courage. For me, most of them are intriguing stories but they stop there. And, like you, my chronic curiosity keeps me from dismissing them just on the fact that I don't believe in the supernatural entity they worship. Thank you for your always thought-provoking ideas. I'll be waiting on a piece on religion on ll Pensiero Lungo! :)