Freedom from Having to Choose Between Science and Unconditional Belief
Whittier, CA – God is a Symbol of Something True by Jack Call (O-Books) is a fresh and insightful look at what constitutes true religion for people who were raised as Christians but who no longer believe; people who still maintain a soft spot for Christianity and care about meaningfulness and morality and want to make sense of religious concepts.
Jack Call has been teaching introductory philosophy to students in southern California for many years. He has been recognized as an outstanding educator in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, and his essays have been published numerous times. A clergyman in a psychedelic church in his earlier years, which provided the theme of his two previous books, here is a man who has ‘walked the talk’ – one of many reasons why people want to hear what Jack Call has to say.
The central claim of Call’s book is that ‘everything is fundamentally all right,’ in spite (or because) of the fact that there are important things that one cares about deeply over which one has no control. This is a way of understanding religion that rejects the false predicament of having to choose between believing in a literal creator God or a blind, indifferent universe. This amazingly heartfelt book allows the reader to objectively think through many controversial claims, such as, how the Biblical account of God’s personality is a symbol of the personal significance, for each of us, of the ways in which we are helpless and yet safe; how we should hope that life is just as fresh and astonishing at the end as at the beginning; that we should not hope to be resurrected on Judgment Day, and how the meaningfulness of life depends on how we control some important issues and accept we have no control of others. Probably the most important controversial claim is that while we are in control of whether or not we act morally, we are not in control of our own salvation. Salvation being the realization that everything really is fundamentally all right!
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TIP SHEET:
Dale Salwak, Ph.D., author of Teaching Life: Letters from a Life in Literature (2008), Wonders of Solitude, Anne Tyler as Novelist, Living with a Writer, Faith in the Family: “With its firmness of thought and modesty of tone, God is a Symbol of Something True is a captivating meditation on some of the dilemmas of the modern mind and spirit. If this is any indication of how the author seeks to nourish and stimulate the thoughts of his students in the classroom, then they are fortunate indeed. I came away from it both comforted and enlightened.”
Janice Daurio, Ph.D., author of Is It Good To Be Bad? Immoralism in Narnia in The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy: “Others have tried and failed to do what Jack Call succeeds in doing in this book…to suggest thought-provoking answers to the most important of life’s questions, in a way accessible and appealing to those who describe themselves as nonreligious, as well as those who consider themselves religious. Because of the compelling objections he gives to the standard version of Christianity, this book is just as … valuable to thoughtful committed Christians as it is to the nonreligious. I don’t think there has been a better stimulus to my own thinking recently than this book. Reading it provides meaningful joy.”
Kurt Smith, Ph.D., author of Matter Matters: “In God is a Symbol of Something True, Jack Call takes the proverbial baton from Alan Watts and argues…how religion, or “true religion” as he calls it, must be understood as that which underwrites the very possibility of meaning…True religion, Call argues, arises from something akin to reverence, the insight that there are incomprehensible forces at work beyond one’s control…Call looks carefully at several important philosophical problems-for example, the mind-body problem, free will and determinism, and personal identity – showing how true religion has dealt with each. Although perfect for the general reader (which is why I make the connection to the great Alan Watts), Call’s book is a scholarly work…No doubt, whether novice or expert, readers will enjoy this insightful and clearly written book!”
