It's Gotta Mean Something!

On one of the blogs I follow in Google Reader, Journeyman Philosopher, there was a book review for Above Us Only Sky by Don Cupitt. After reading the review and discussion, I tried to ascertain whether or not I could checkout the book from my local library system. Unfortunately, the book wasn't in the catalog, but a different book by the same author, After God: The Future Of Religion, was available. So, I checked it out.

Here's one of the two reviews on the work from Amazon.com:

Cupitt (philosophy, Emmanuel Coll., Cambridge) redefines what it means to believe in God while accepting that God does not exist. He argues that there is indeed an unseen intelligible, or spirit world, among us. But this world is made up of words and symbols. The world of religion is a mythical representation of the world of language. Cupitt's is a postmodern religion that sees God not as a transcendent reality but as a reflection of human selfhood. According to Cupitt, this conception of religion frees one from the belief in absolutes, which, he says, spells the death of religion. Human beings themselves are the only source of meaning and value. Belief in God, Cupitt holds, is a valuable and interesting form of consciousness. While Cupitt's analysis will not be accepted by many, his book offers a well-wrought argument.

I've only read the first two chapters thus far, but it's a most interesting read. I'm fairly certain I will enjoy the rest of the book and it may well provide fodder for future posts. Here's one excerpt:

...most human beings believe that what they call "life" itself ought to have -- must have -- a Meaning; and by a Meaning they mean an overall narrative explanation in personal and purposive (or teleological) terms. And people reckon themselves to be entirely capable of knowing and fully entitled to know what it's all about. So strongly do they think there is a Big Answer, and that they are entitled to expect it to be made known to them, that any news whatever, good or bad, about what's really going on behind the scenes is highly interesting and welcome. Isn't that why we all have such an insatiable appetite for inside stories, revelations, and conspiracy theories?