by Thomas Schenk The Eve of Destruction I was talking with some college students the other day. I had made the comment that I was retired, and one of the students expressed doubt that he would ever be able to retire. I asked why, and he said he didn’t think the world would even be here when he turned 65. When I again asked why, he gave a short list of the world’s problems, particularly noting global warming. Shortly after... Read more
by Thomas Schenk This article is my 100th for SNS. Taken together, these articles present a fairly complete picture of my ideas about spiritual naturalism (as well as many other things.) In the past, I’ve tried to put these ideas into a unified form, like a book. I’ve never made much progress. My inability to do this used to bother me, but I’ve come to realize that the fragmented form in which I have presented my ideas on SNS is actually... Read more
by Daniel Shkolnik Image by Alice Popkorn Almost every Friday during college I attended Shabbat dinner at the campus Hillel. And every Friday night Rabbi James Ponet would climb up on a chair, hold a wine glass over his head (or a whole bottle) and yell out across the room with the earnestness of a divine messenger: “Stop!” Conversations trailed off and forks stopped moving. He would then deliver a short teaching on different themes such as the Torah portion... Read more
by Gregory Gronbacher As a spiritual naturalist, I take the ethical view that reducing suffering in the world is a moral good. When the opportunity arises, and we can realistically and practically lessen another person’s suffering, then we should do so. Such a notion is widespread and shared across many spiritual and religious traditions. And I’d argue that this principle extends to animals, as well. Whenever realistically possible, we should reduce the suffering of animals when we can. Such an... Read more
by SNS Guest (Article is by guest writer Ed Kelly Jr. See bio below.) “Socrates advised us not to live a life which is not subjected to examination.” Epictetus Discourses 1:28 How should we live? What is ethics rooted in? How do we determine right and wrong? These are the questions I have been grappling with since I expelled God from my life. I have not always thought deeply about these questions. For most of my life I only accepted the thinking or ethical... Read more
by Jeff Worthy Cultures can be defined by their stories. Today, some of our most powerful stories are conveyed through the medium of film. In 1982, a film that would go on to become a cult classic was released, and it had a profound intellectual and spiritual impact on me. That film was “Blade Runner,” starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Daryl Hannah, and Joe Tarkel. I was an impressionable young middle schooler back then, and I admit that... Read more
by James Jarrett Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature. — Augustine of Hippo So, what is Spiritual Naturalism, anyway? Maybe you’re asking that question for yourself since you found SNS. Maybe your quest for a little more spirituality with your naturalism or a little more scientific “umph” with your “spiritual but not religious” led you to discover SNS in the first place. Maybe someone else has asked you about this community you’ve... Read more
by DT Strain Often in SNS articles we are discussing our spirituality as a practice. Spiritual Naturalism is not merely some laundry list of opinions and, if your opinions, match the list, then you’re a Spiritual Naturalist. I would call this a ‘Spiritual Naturalist enthusiast’ or ‘fan of Spiritual Naturalism’. But by a practice, we mean something we apply in our lives regularly so that we continue to grow, learn, become wiser, and happier. It’s not just ‘positions’ or ‘opinions’ but something... Read more
by Thomas Schenk Spiders give many people the creeps. Yet with their ability to construct intricate webs out of fibers spun from their own bodies, we also find them fascinating. A spider’s web is sticky. Insects that fly into it become stuck. Their struggle to get free informs the spider and it moves easily over the web to put an end to their entangled victim. The spider does not get caught in its own web. This isn’t because it has non-stick... Read more
by Daniel Scharpenburg The 600s in Southern China. This place was considered a backwater, a place where uncivilized people lived. Huineng was a poor beggar in his 30s. He sold firewood to support himself and his mother, who was a widow. One day, in the city, he heard a monk chanting a line from the Diamond Sutra, “Let your mind flow without dwelling on anything.” Just upon hearing that he had a sudden experience of awakening. He desperately wanted to know... Read more
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