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On Religion

2011-06-21 · John · watch on YouTube · Philosophy & meaning · reflection essay

Lower-confidence wave

2011 videos did not pass the QA gate (17 %); their analysis is shown but less reliable.

John argues that people of all faiths and none live in functional nihilism yet all feel called to meaning; debating whether God exists avoids the deeper question of how to bring meaning to human life, which religion and secular humanism both answer.

What is said

00:00:00 — Why the brothers avoided religion; John's chaplaincy and divinity school enrolment

  • ★★ In the description John invites viewers to continue the conversation about religion in Your Pants (yourpants.org). — 00:00:00 · Your Pants
  • ★★ Nerdfighters often ask whether the brothers are religious; they have been reluctant to discuss it because the quality of internet discourse about religion is atrocious. — 00:00:01 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★★ A decade ago John worked as a chaplain at a children's hospital, and he was briefly enrolled in, though never attended, the University of Chicago's divinity school. — 00:00:10

00:00:29 — Functional nihilism: we act like nihilists but feel called to meaning

  • ★★★ John submits that almost all human lives are lived in functional nihilism: very few believe life is meaningless, but almost all act as if they did. — 00:00:29 > «functional nihilism»
  • ★★ John could use his mind for cancer research, novels or quantum mechanics and his body to plant trees or fight wildfires, yet spends free time on TV, games and lols. — 00:00:47
  • ★★★ Christians, Muslims and atheists alike share this worldview: almost none would give up comforts to help others, so judged by actions humans look like nihilists. — 00:01:16
  • ★★★ But we are not nihilists, John says, because everyone feels called to make the world better, understand the universe, make art and contribute; everybody wants their life to matter. — 00:01:32

00:01:44 — Why John won't debate God's existence: the fire analogy; religion and humanism answer the call to meaning

  • ★★★ That call to meaning founds religious and successful secular worldviews alike, which is why John doesn't care to debate the existence of God. — 00:01:44
  • ★★ Analogy: woken by smoke and an invisible voice shouting that the house is on fire, John wouldn't care whether the voice was God or a fireman; he'd just leave. — 00:01:56
  • ★★★ For John, debating the mere existence of God is a way of avoiding the deeper, more devastating question of how to bring meaning to human life. (hedged) — 00:02:12
  • ★★★ John thinks religion is essentially a response to revelation calling us to embrace meaning, or create it if it doesn't innately exist; the same holds for atheistic humanism. (hedged) — 00:02:21
  • ★★★ Everyone faces the same question, what to do with our consciousness: fight poverty, climate change, disease or war, or spend everything on a perfectly manicured, weed-free lawn. — 00:02:32

00:02:46 — Aside: John's neighbour and the lawn

  • ★ John is on a lawn kick because his next-door neighbour is unhappy that John left the country for two months during lawn-growing season; the lawn is full of dandelions. (playful) — 00:02:46

00:02:58 — Balancing meaning with funny stuff; Nerdfighteria asks these questions through many lenses

  • ★★★ John: how to balance the urge to be more than nihilists with blunting consciousness's sharp edges through funny stuff like Paula Deen riding Paula Deen riding him, or Humpy Hank. — 00:02:58 · Hank Green
  • ★★★ Nerdfighteria has discussed these questions for years, some through a religious lens and some through a secular one; the lens interests John less than the questions. — 00:03:10 · Nerdfighteria

00:03:20 — Baby rhinoceros, 36 sandwiches as penance, sign-off

  • ★★ Apologising that the video had few jokes, John shows a baby rhinoceros and, as penance, says he will eat 36 disgusting sandwiches on Friday. (playful) — 00:03:20 · Punishment

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