I actually appreciate this angle. Instead of arguing metaphysics like it’s a cage match, ask whether the practices work. Gratitude, ritual, singing together, meditation — humans have been stress-testing those for millennia. That’s not superstition, that’s iteration. Where I’d push back a little is the idea that we can strip theology entirely and just keep the tools. Sometimes the story is what gives the ritual its voltage. Still, if science is finally admitting that ancient communities weren’t just randomly chanting into the void, that’s progress. Turns out cathedrals may have been proto-laboratories all along.
This was an amazing podcast! Rainn and Dave made such a fantastic case for the benefits of these spiritual tools and the importance of community and committment.
I'm a reform Jew. I regularly attend Shabbat services and adult education courses taught by our very knowledgeable rabbis. Through the teachings and rituals I have learned to be a better person. For me it's not what God expects of me but how can I be a better citizen of the world.
This podcast is one that I have been waiting for, because the resolution of apparent conflicts between religious faith and science is so important to me. I listened to the podcast yesterday afternoon and immediately ordered Dave's book. For years, I have felt that I was dabbling in religion, for want of a better word...picking out which disciplines I would observe and which I would not, and still feeling that I was on the outside looking in. In the podcast I heard that "religion asks something of you." Bingo, and duh, I knew that all along but wasn't accepting it. After years of going to church off and on, I have returned to attending services in person instead of online, and yesterday for the first time in my long life I attended an Ash Wednesday service and received ashes on my forehead. It brought me to tears. I have a very long way to go, but eventually I will get there. Thanks again, Soul Boom. This is why I bought the book and the workbook and subscribe to the dispatch and the podcasts, and this is the kind of conversation that I have been looking for. Thanks, too, Rainn, for continuing to ask your guests to define the word Soul.
I actually appreciate this angle. Instead of arguing metaphysics like it’s a cage match, ask whether the practices work. Gratitude, ritual, singing together, meditation — humans have been stress-testing those for millennia. That’s not superstition, that’s iteration. Where I’d push back a little is the idea that we can strip theology entirely and just keep the tools. Sometimes the story is what gives the ritual its voltage. Still, if science is finally admitting that ancient communities weren’t just randomly chanting into the void, that’s progress. Turns out cathedrals may have been proto-laboratories all along.
This was an amazing podcast! Rainn and Dave made such a fantastic case for the benefits of these spiritual tools and the importance of community and committment.
I'm a reform Jew. I regularly attend Shabbat services and adult education courses taught by our very knowledgeable rabbis. Through the teachings and rituals I have learned to be a better person. For me it's not what God expects of me but how can I be a better citizen of the world.
This podcast is one that I have been waiting for, because the resolution of apparent conflicts between religious faith and science is so important to me. I listened to the podcast yesterday afternoon and immediately ordered Dave's book. For years, I have felt that I was dabbling in religion, for want of a better word...picking out which disciplines I would observe and which I would not, and still feeling that I was on the outside looking in. In the podcast I heard that "religion asks something of you." Bingo, and duh, I knew that all along but wasn't accepting it. After years of going to church off and on, I have returned to attending services in person instead of online, and yesterday for the first time in my long life I attended an Ash Wednesday service and received ashes on my forehead. It brought me to tears. I have a very long way to go, but eventually I will get there. Thanks again, Soul Boom. This is why I bought the book and the workbook and subscribe to the dispatch and the podcasts, and this is the kind of conversation that I have been looking for. Thanks, too, Rainn, for continuing to ask your guests to define the word Soul.