Madness, Mystery and the Survival of God

by Clarke Isabel

Why does God survive, flourish even, in our secular age? This book recognizes that religion and science, two different ways of making sense of the world, are indeed irreconcilable. It does not seek to fit either one into the world view of the other. Instead it argues that we need to embrace this incompatibility, and recognize that this mystery stems from essential facts about the psychological make up of the human being. The book draws on two sources of data to advance its argument; the findings of cognitive science about the limitations and characteristics of the way in which our brains are wired up, and experience; experience documented by revered mystics of the past, and experience of people of our time who have ventured into the borderland between mysticism and madness. We need a more sophisticated understanding of spirituality to recognize how our yearning for the sacred can be abused and exploited, whether by dangerous fundamentalism or cynical capitalist advertising.

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 10, 2008

Reviews

[Bryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book, with some compelling ideas about the relationship between madness and spiritual expereince, and some theories about what, as a consequence, it means to be human. Mixes science/psychology wih philosophy and spirituality, and is very good indeed.