Lay Theism

I have been wanting to post on Mr. Pausch’s death by pancreatic cancer and his religion, but really couldn’t find much to say beyond the other extensive reporting, and thought I was getting out of control with the obituaries (Snow and Carlin). 

Richard J. Radcliffe on the Law Religion Culture Review has an excellent post on Pausch and his religion (or lack thereof). I will point out that Pausch comes very close to embracing atheism when he says:

I was raised Presbyterian and attended church regularly until I was about 17. I like the fact that [Unitarian Universalism] appeals to reason and thought more than dogma.

I think this was a man who had sworn off religion much the same way I have.  If I found myself in his situation, I would conduct myself in the EXACT same way (well, I don’t teach, so it would be unlikely for me to give a last lecture).  My children do not know that I am a non-believer.  Many of the things I tell them have a universal non-religious wisdom just as the things Randy left for his children.  It’s possible he folded in more religion privately, but the philosophy he shared publicly is what will endure and be repeated thus defining who Randy Pausch was.  This will be what everyone, including his kids, will remember.

The best things I have seen come from him in his last few months of life are:

Never lose the child-like wonder. It’s just too important. It’s what drives us.

Wait long enough and people will surprise and impress you.

Do not tell people how to live their lives. Just tell them stories. And they will figure out how those stories apply to them.

We’re not going to talk about spirituality and religion. Although I will tell you that I have experienced a deathbed conversion. I just bought a Macintosh.

I’ve heard this said before and strongly subscribe to the notion:

The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people!

He was an impressive man and it gratifies me a great deal to see what an effect he has had on others. 

Kudos, Randy, and thanks for speaking out publicly for your kids.  It made us all better people.

In light of Tony Snow’s untimely death today, I think this piece he wrote not quite a year ago for Christianity Today is pretty sad:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/july/25.30.html

To believe in something so fervently just to bring comfort to yourself and your loved ones about the pain, suffering, worry, and randomness of such events makes no sense. Even some of the passages seem written to convince the reader (and maybe even the writer) that his beliefs are not just fantasy.

Blessings arrive in unexpected packages—in my case, cancer.

Seriously?

Those of us with potentially fatal diseases—and there are millions in America today—find ourselves in the odd position of coping with our mortality while trying to fathom God’s will.

Uh, yeah… it’s certainly a challenge to discern “God’s Will” in a plan that includes as much death, disease, and destruction as His apparently does.  Just because people find strength through adversity does not mean there is a grand design or a designer.  In fact, I would suggest that this is direct evidence that there is NOT.

Although it would be the height of presumption to declare with confidence What It All Means, Scripture provides powerful hints and consolations.

OK, this is a problem.  Hints?  Consolations?  If I were all powerful and had left behind a book that was to give My most intelligent creatures some indication of my design, I might do better than vague hints and worthless consolations.  The bible is such a inconsistent mess, it’s hard to believe anything sensible can be gleaned from it. 

I don’t know why I have cancer, and I don’t much care. It is what it is—a plain and indisputable fact. Yet even while staring into a mirror darkly, great and stunning truths begin to take shape. Our maladies define a central feature of our existence: We are fallen. We are imperfect. Our bodies give out.

Here’s where a believer’s logic completely breaks down.  If it is “The Will of God” that you have cancer, why are you seeking a cure?! It’s God’s Will! Quit trying to alter God’s blessing for you. Even worse, these great and stunning truths were already there before you had cancer.  You were mortal before you had cancer. Why is it after these awakenings that people decide to live their life differently or more purposefully?

Love is free, and if you aren’t getting plenty of it, then you are not living right. Experiencing love without God getting the credit is wonderful. It focuses the energy and directs the action… it’s all you.  There is no other force behind your life.  Whatever you do with and for others is entirely your free will.  That’s what makes it so amazing.

Now get off the Internet, and go hug your kids, or kiss your wife, or walk your dog… Go tell someone that you love that you love them, especially if that’s not something you say frequently.