An existential journey is the progression between different modes of thought and belief. One will wrestle with big ideas such as the meaning of life, the human experience, and the existence of God. This plane of thought is accessible during heightened states of reflection regarding one's being; In truly authentic moments of self and environmental awareness. It is a crucial experience that people should engage with regularly, however, it is one that is traversed by very few.
Despite the most important questions in life being ‘what is’ and ‘what isn’t’, most don’t bother themselves with finding an answer to them. For those that have come to what seems to be a solid conclusion on truth and meaning, almost all of them have yet to adequately and honestly challenge their methodology. Just ask yourself how you arrived at your current conclusion regarding God, meaning, and existence? Did you really ruminate over all of the logical possibilities? Most people won’t be able to truthfully say yes to this question.
For those that do embark on this journey, they have subscribed to a lifelong process of truth-seeking. One that is pursued in bursts of ontological awareness. It's a journey of countless meandering paths where only a few have a chance to lure you deeper into new modes of understanding. It's a journey that invokes one's existential dread of existence, and puts it center stage where you can do nothing but acknowledge it. It’s one where our fears of ‘being’ can no longer be sheltered by our natural defense mechanisms of repression. It's a journey which exposes our humanity.
This will be a part of a series of posts giving you a detailed map of this journey. Regardless of what path you choose in your life, and wherever you currently reside, you’ll now at least have a glimpse of what is out there and how most people navigate through it.
The Universal Beginnings of the Areligious
Before one starts their existential journeys, they will first be within the limbo of the areligious. This simply means that one isn’t influenced by or is practicing religion. Let's take a moment to think about this for a second.
Within religions like Islam, there is this idea that everyone is born as a Muslim. They believe that faith is inherently ontological. This same principle applies to those who have subscribed to other belief systems as well. The truth was simply hidden from them by their parents or by other environmental factors. This is why Islam doesn’t recognize the idea of an individual being converting to a Muslim. One can only be reverted back to becoming a Muslim.
For the most part, this isn’t a universal stance across different modes of thought. When someone is born, most would agree that one would be areligious. A baby doesn’t have any stances or opinions regarding the meaning of life, or the underlying meaning of the environment it was just spawned into. Depending on where you currently reside within your own existential journey, you could say that babies have yet to be saved or corrupted by religion. Only after environmental stressors are applied to a child’s highly impressionable mind will they be lunged into a particular mode of belief.
Throughout the rest of this series, I’ll be detailing the routes one may traverse through on their existential journeys. This will be done from the perspective of someone initially being areligious, and then eventually subscribing to theism. This is by no means the universal starting point of all humans, but it is definitely the progression that most people have gone through throughout human history.
Spawning Into the Existential Journey
So, you have decided to become a theist. Actually, 'decided’ might be a strong word, but nevertheless, you have subscribed to some belief system advocating for the existence of some higher power. This is just the starting point, but don’t fret. This is a common place where most end their existential journeys. Globally speaking, 63% of all people identify as being religious. Additionally, there are thousands of different belief systems and sects within the theistic paradigm that you can choose from. If being a part of a larger community was your end goal, or having an abundance of choice between different flavors of ritual was something you were searching for, then look no further.
The Main Classifications of Theism
Theism is the belief in the existence of a god or multiple gods. When trying to describe these types of gods, it is usually done in the classical sense where they are depicted in the form of a supreme deity. There are many forms of theism but all share the belief that God is the intelligent designer of the universe. They also share the belief that gods interact with the universe directly in various ways, and play an integral role within humanity's fates. The various types of theistic religions are listed below.
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Monotheism: The belief in a singular God or divine essence. Traits typically attributed to a monotheistic God are that of being omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. Most monotheist religions are relatively new; The most popular being the abrahamic religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
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Henotheism: This is the belief in a singular, all powerful God, while also acknowledging the existence of lower gods, divine entities, and deities. It's considered a pluralistic belief system. Henotheists can choose a particular God to worship within a specific pantheon of Gods while simultaneously not denying the existence of others. Examples of henotheistic religions would include Hinduism, and Zoroastrianism.
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Polytheism: This is the belief in more than one god. Most of the religions which have been created throughout history are polytheistic, ranging from Taoism to Greek mythology.
A Short Journey
Most are content with pitching their tents and ending their existential journeys here. No deeper philosophical exploration is needed as any questions one might have has already been clearly laid out within their respective religious texts. Any glimpses of intrigue surrounding God, meaning, and being can simply be addressed by enthralling oneself deeper within theological study.
Putting the built-in deterrents of existential exploration aside, there are also social and biological reasons for theists' aversion to go deeper. An individual is a product of one's environment and genetics. In the case of our environments, most would have likely been raised within a religious environment through their parents, as most people on earth are religious. This is further reinforced throughout our upbringing by direct ritualistic practice and by others within our local vicinity (family, friends, communities, culture, etc.).
As for genetics, some have claimed that religion is ontologically linked to the psyche of humanity, similarly to war. In children, it has been shown that they have a preference for supernaturalism. They show a preference for transmitting and remembering stories that defy scientific rationality. In addition, religion has been with humanity since antiquity, while spiritual expression was observed even prior to this. This is why I prefaced this section by acknowledging the fact that most people didn’t ‘decide’ to be theist. Rather they were indirectly compelled towards becoming one.
With all of this in mind, it is easy to see why the existential journey is so rarely traversed. We didn't even touch on the social stigmas attached to those who attempt to venture past this point. Despite all of this, there is still a chance that one will eventually walk down a deeper path. One that involves a deeper understanding of theology, or one which entertains new forms of understanding.
The Fork in the Road:
Theological Remodeling vs. The Existential Journey
A theist who finds themselves walking through the realm of meaning and existence might stumble upon a fork in the road. This place isn’t hard to find. On the contrary, It's actually forced in the face of the theist everyday within our current epoch. We currently reside in a technologically and scientifically advanced world, where theism's stranglehold on meaning has waned. In an era post Darwin, and after the words “God is dead” was uttered by Zarathustra. In this world, there is no escape from this crossroad.
The option that most people take when confronted by this crossroad is that of retreat. Theists in this camp simply don’t engage with what is being asked of them. This camp also houses those of the irreligious; People who casually claim to be religious, but rarely pay the true price of discipleship. For some though, making the choice not to pursue either of these options is completely justified. These people believe that the teachings within their religion are not only divine, but timeless as well. That this crossroad is nothing but an illusion within the theists’ mind, or is a manifestation of a divine test to challenge one's faith.
For theists that do decide to engage, there will be two paths presented to them. One of the two paths will be that of remodelling theology. It's an attempt to fit theology within a mold compatible within our current scientific paradigm. This is necessary for some as they need to be able to fill in the gaps which were revealed by scientific law and discovery. Once ventured down this path for long enough, the theist might be able to reverse the script. That they might be able to utilize scientific and mathematical instruments, the tools in which had supposedly slain God centuries ago, to prove God’s existence.
The other path will lead the theist deeper into the existential journey. At this stage, it will be the path towards acknowledging the fact that some things are inherently unknowable.
Visualizing the Crossroads and the Points Beyond
The two main routes in which a theist would likely go down when confronted by the crossroads is illustrated below in diagram #1. Note that this is simply what seems to be the logical progression of a theist. This isn't a claim that everyone's specific existential journeys follow this exact linear workflow. For example, a theist can simply cut through the woods and arrive at the path of deism, avoiding the pantheistic modes of belief entirely.
Within the standard theological religions, God is viewed as something entirely separate from the world. God is classified as an architect who creates the world we currently reside in. This is different from what is believed by panentheists and pantheists. Please refer to diagram #2 for a visual representation of each mode of belief.
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Panentheism - This is a theological concept which addresses God’s relationship with the world. This belief makes the claim that the world, or the universe, is ‘within God’. The term ‘God’ is essentially synonymous with the universe. This also makes it so that humanity, and all observable things in the universe, are simple facets of God’s immanence. At the same time, panentheism makes the claim that God simultaneously transcends the universe as well. This could mean that God is, or is composed of, a multiverse or other things humanity simply cannot logically comprehend.
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Pantheism - This is another theological concept which makes the claim that God and the universe are one in the same. This would mean that all laws, forces, and manifestations of the universe are also the attributes of God. This belief denies the claim that God is an individual or is a separate entity from our cosmic environment. Also, unlike panentheism, pantheism isn’t making any claims of God being anything which isn’t theoretically observable or definable with our current sensory organs and technology.
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Deism - This theological concept is slightly different compared to the previous two. Deists believe that there is a creator God who is responsible for the creation of the universe, similar to standard theists. Their stance for why they believe this though lies simply on the notion that all things have a beginning and were created from something. Desim rejects the idea that God has a personality, is anthropomorphic in form, or interacts within humanity in any way, shape, or form. There have also been several ontological and mathematical proofs written within this movement that claim to prove God’s existence. This is a bit of a loaded topic so I might address this in a future post.
On the opposite end of this theological spectrum resides the belief system of agnostic-theism. This particular post will only be covering theological belief systems, so for now, take note that agnostic theism is the parent of subsequent modes of beliefs within the existential journey. Examples which will be covered in future posts would include atheism, absurdism, and eventually nihilism.
- Agnostic-theism - Unlike the three theological concepts mentioned above, which all attempt to solidify God’s form and/or role in the creation of the universe, agnostic-theism does no such thing. An agnostic-theist believes that God exists, but has conceded the point that there is no way to prove this to be true. They also agree that this information is inherently unknowable at this point in time. When it comes to God’s existence, it has been reduced to mere opinion due to acknowledging the fact of uncertainty.
God and the Universe:
The Path of Theological Remodelling
So, you have decided to venture past simple theism into the uncharted waters of theistic alternatives. Congratulations, you are now a part of a small population of people who have attempted to pursue truth in a logical manner. To question one's preconceived beliefs on truth and God. Don’t get too hyped up about this though. Your journey has just started, and you are still very much within the familiar realm of theism.
The reason why you choose this path could be for a variety of reasons. One could be that of simple intrigue and curiosity. Another could be to test one's faith within their current sect of theism. The most likely reason for doing so though would be to rationalize the contradictions between scientific and religious truths. It is guaranteed that those who walk down this path will have to confront these contradictions as they continue to progress further. Though plentiful, the two major obstacles that will likely come up on this path are detailed below.
The Anthropomorphic God
The first thing that must be addressed once on this path is understanding the form of an omnipotent, and omniscient God. When one thinks of a God, a particular image is conjured within one's head. The image of Yahweh, the God from Abrahamic religions, is what I think of first. Typically he is personified as an intimidating, yet bevelonent, white male deity. The airy rodes, the striking grey beard, and an expression of absolute authority are descriptions I would attribute to him. Look no further than to the painting “The Creation of Adam”, which was featured earlier in this post.
This is important to think about because this action is a form of anthropomorphism. Humans have a natural and innate tendency to personify non-human entities. This is why you occasionally see faces on things like cars, clouds, and sometimes on burnt toast. This fact calls into question the validity of the forms of these Gods, as described within their respective texts, and by extension the legitimacy of the belief system itself. A claim can be made that anthropomorphic Gods are human inventions made to ground the idea of a God in understandable terms. This however makes one wonder what other creative liberties were taken by the original authors of these religious texts.
The Anthropomorphic Dilemma
The dilemma revealed by anthropomorphism is partially what inspired the pantheistic and panentheistic modes of belief. These two theological beliefs reject the idea of an anthropomorphic God, and replace God with the universe.
Within panentheism, God isn't some sort of divine entity. This rejects the common forms of gods such as sages, warriors, humanistic chimeras, manifestations of nature, and dragons. God is literally everything, and more. This seems to be the natural progression of one attempting to rationalize the idea of God within a scientific and philosophical worldview.
Pantheism also rejects the same theistic claims on the forms of gods, just as panentheism does. Despite this though, both differ from one another based on their updated interruptions of God. Pantheism relinquishes any claim that God is anything more than what we can conceive of or understand. God is simply the universe. Humanity and Earth weren’t deliberately created by some creator God, but by an unimaginable series of events triggered by the universe itself. This is why pantheists also believe that humanity is a part of God, or that God is within us. This seems to be a belief which is more grounded in logic compared to panentheism. One cannot prove what is inherently unknowable. This refers to the claim that God is more than just the universe. This is why it seems like panentheists will inevitably progress to pantheism over time.
Believe it or not, the best way to make this more clear would be to look towards Marvel’s interpretation of the multiverse. Within Marvel, there are several writers who create their own stories with existing characters. This is why there are thousands of different Spider-Man, and X-Men stories which aren’t connected to each other at all. These individual series of stories are considered to reside within its own ‘Marvel Universe’. Speaking for a pantheist, they would equate God with the character of Eternity, who is the manifestation of a 'Marvel universe' in physical form. There would be an Eternity within the Marvel cinematic universe, while also being a completely different Eternity in a particular run of the fantastic four for example. For a panentheist though, God would be equated to the brain of Stan Lee, which is the creator of Marvel comics, the Marvel multiverse, the character of Eternity, and of things unrelated to Marvel.
The Elephant in the Room
It should be of no surprise that the biggest obstacle one would face on this path would be that of science. At its core, science is applied philosophy. This makes it essentially antithetical to theological belief. Science also establishes truths into theory, and eventually into law, through strict yet established methods of experimentation. Religion on the other hand deviates from this and establishes truths via divine revelation; Something which can’t be adequately reproduced in a controlled environment.
Over the past century, modern societies have become increasingly more secular. This is a direct threat to theology as it is no longer the default method of finding truths. This shift in truth seeking has manifested in several notable ways as science has continued to advance over time.
One observable change from this shift would be how science has refuted the theistic assertions of creation. These belief systems claim that a creator god is the one responsible for all of creation, including life on Earth and the environment we all currently reside in. This is usually explained in depth within a religion's story of revelations. This antiquated idea of creation was completely obliterated though by the likes of Charles Darwin, who is responsible for the theory of evolution and natural selection. He proclaimed that life wasn’t simply spawned into existence, but has slowly evolved over time. That humanity for instance had evolved from rodents over millions of years of environmentally based mutations. Throughout the course of over a century now, this theory has been repeatedly tested and verified in accordance with the scientific method, and is the basis behind several branches of scientific study today.
A popular theological counter-argument to this would be that of “Creatio ex nihilo”, or creating something from nothing. The singularity of life and biogenesis. In this context, this would refer to how life on Earth was created from non-living material. Science currently doesn't have a solid answer to this question. Recreating life as it was in the beginning hasn’t been reproducible. There are many hypotheses for how it could have happened, but they are still just hypotheses. Despite this, it's important to note that science isn’t making the claim that it knows the answers to all of these questions. Science is just a tool for testing hypotheses and theories. Theology is the one who is making the assertion that it knows the absolute truth behind creation. The burden of proof for God's existence falls on theology's shoulders, not the other way around. For the individual on this path, they have to accept either the scientific answer of creation, being that we don't know for certain yet, or the theological answer of creation being that it was because of God. This also won't be the last time the individual on this path would have to make this choice. This same dilemma will come up for countless other refuted theistic assertions within the fields of cosmology, anthropology, archeology, and so on.
Another blow to the theological worldview can be observed within our understanding of other natural phenomena. People used to believe that lightning, droughts, and plagues were all manifestations of God’s wrath. Now through science, we know that all of these are natural occurrences and can be accurately measured and predicted with the proper tools and technology.
After being confronted by all of these theological refutments, a theist will likely turn towards deism. This is an attempt to prove the validity of their beliefs through a scientific lens. They will reject the anthropomorphic descriptions of God, and will be very hesitant to have a solid answer on creation. This is because these are weak arguments for the validity of God's existence. However, their belief in God will be supported exclusively on the pillars of ideas that science doesn't have solid answers to. Examples of this would include the idea that everything was created by something. Logically, this would include the universe which only a God would have the power and agency to do. Another example would be a deist latching onto the paradoxical nature of science's biogenesis hypothesis which was expanded upon previously.
There are many other things to talk about in this section, but I won’t be going over all of the intricacies of every refuted theological proclamation here. The theist who ventures down this path will have to though. They’ll have to analyze what science has proven to be true, and what theological claim is being refuted. This process will be the deciding factor in which mode of belief the theist will eventually subscribe to in the end.
Theology's Furthest Extremity:
Venturing Down the Existential Journey
So, it seems that you have rejected standard theism and the path of spiritual remodelling. You have your reasons for doing so, but we won’t be exploring them here. You now must look ahead at the unforgiving journey you have cornered yourself into. Currently, you only have one real choice at this point which would be to continue down the existential journey. Still residing within the realm of theology, your first destination is that of agnostic-theism.
As defined earlier, agnostic theism holds onto the idea that God exists. However, this belief system concedes to the point that it isn’t possible to prove its existence, or if there would be a logical method to do so. You should be able to see from the start the glaring problems with this line of thinking. On the surface, an agnostic-theist seems to be delusional for holding on to the idea of God in this manner. However, this mode of belief isn’t completely void of thought.
People rarely consider what it truly means to abandon God and religion. The idea of God grounds aspects such as life, death, the afterlife, behavior, consequence, and the entirety of a theists’ worldview into a neat and orderly package. All of the rules of life are literally spelt out for you. Abandoning all of this creates chaos, which is the prime energy source for existential awakening and dread. For instance, people rarely traverse the existential journey in an authentic way when things are going good. When things in life go south though, then you’ll see people turning towards God, meaning, and truth for answers. Letting go of God is something that most agnostic-theists simply are unable to do as it could truly shatter one's entire worldview and plunge them into deep existential dread. Our natural coping mechanisms would trigger at this point to distract the agnostic theist from residing in this mental state for too long. However, this singular line of defense won’t be enough to protect the agnostic-theist over the course of a lifetime.
With this mode of belief in particular, it's very likely that one will eventually recede deeper within the existential journey. The premise is fickle, so it's highly likely that the agnostic-theist will fall deeper into simple agnosticism over time. In future posts, I’ll be detailing this progression, as well as the deeper modes of belief past this point. Please look out for these future posts to continue on in this journey with me.