Thread by @Helenreflects

I need to move my teaching online (sense of dread)... but will continue my #PORcourse philosophy of religion course on twitter here. Today's on Abraham Joshua Heschel's God in search of man (1955). Particularly, I discuss how wonder and awe bring one closer to God 1/

As my students and I are grappling with this unprecedented Covid crisis, now's a perfect time for stillness and considering Heschel's work which is aphoristic and profound. You could start by watching this video (interview a few weeks before his death) 2/
youtube.com/watch?v=FEXK9x…

Memorable moments from this video.
Heschel starts out by saying "A life without discipline is not worth living" (2:18), this is an interesting link to the importance of orthopraxy in Judaism, the importance of the right practices (compare to orthodoxy in Christianity) 3/

The book God in search of man has an intriguing title. Heschel argues that God is more in search of us than the other way around. The holistic message of the Hebrew bible is that God takes us, humanity, seriously. 4/

Heschel: Hebrew scriptures show us throughout (e.g., story of Adam, Eve, serpent) that God is disappointed in us, but allows us to be free. Our freedom is questionable gift but our greatest gift. God does not intervene.
Interviewer: If God is not going to intervene, why pray? 5/

Heschel's intriguing answer (not an exact transcription):
"The primary purpose of prayer is not to make requests, but to praise and sing. Prayer may not save save us but make us worthy of being saved" (around 7:50)

Heschel resists the pull of hedonism in contemporary society. The value of our life is in the totality of experience, not just in pleasure.
Religion is:
1. Answer to the ultimate problems of human existence
2. But also challenges *any* answers we as humans have (19:46). 7/

Heschel does not think religion is there to provide easy and definite answers. If you read the scriptures holistically, you see there are no easy solution. People in the scriptures (and God) are wrestling with issues. 8/

Heschel's advice to young people (end of video)
* work on yourself (self-discipline)
* seek ancient/contemporary sources of wisdom
* life is a celebration (you need moments of exultation and celebration in your life). 9/

Heschel (1907 – 1972), American, Polish-born theologian and rabbi, left Poland when it fell under Nazi regime and lost many family members inc his sisters in a concentration camp. I'll focus on here on Heschel's notions of awe and wonder and how practices can help elicit them.10/

Heschel argues religion offers us a *legacy of wonder*. In life, we tend to take things for granted. Though we're surrounded by marvelous things we tend to not see it anymore. He thinks this complacency lies at the root of sin 11/

"Modern man fell into the trap of believing that everything can be explained, that reality is a simple affair which has only to be organized in order to be mastered"
He sees theologians in the middle ages as the originators of this bad attitude, which infected science too 12/

He sees wonder as both at the origin of science and religion. Wonder characterizes the attitude of a religious person. But it is also the semen scientia (seed of knowledge), the drive of scientists to discover and understand the world around them 13/

A related feeling is radical amazement (elsewhere also denoted as awe) at the world around us. Gradually, as modern life advances, we lose this sense of wonder and amazement. But Jewish practices help us maintain this sense. 14/

* prayer three times a day
* blessings uttered at set occasions such as eating, drinking, seeing a rainbow, seeing the first blossoms in spring
"The sense for the "miracles which are daily with us", the sense for the "continual marvels" is the source of prayer". 15/

This use of practices to train our minds to be open to the world is, in Heschel's view, the essence of Jewish religious life. Wonder and awe are prior to faith. They are forms of cognition that make us see the world differently and make us receptive to God 16/

Heschel's claims of wonder and awe as semen scientia suggest a deep connection between science and religion. Often these are seen as very different in their epistemology and attitude (cf Coyne), but for Heschel, awe and wonder underlie them both. 17/

See this recent cool paper suggesting that science, through awe, can promote religious belief sciencedirect.com/science/articl… 18/

See also this paper of mine on the relationship between science and religion through awe and wonder (I also have a shorter piece on this topic commissioned by @Aeon, coming out in then near future if they like it) philpapers.org/rec/DECAAW 19/

Heschel's God in search of man and Man is not alone are among the most profound philosophy of religion texts I read. It's difficult in easy times to be in awe of God. It's perhaps even more difficult in this time of upheaval, class cancellations etc. to be in awe of God 20/

See here a list of blessings (inc for negative experiences)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_J…
Anyway, now going to try to make a video (or maybe I'll just leave it at the Heschel interview) for next class! /end

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