Thursday, October 23, 2008

Thinkers in the New Secularism: Chet Raymo

10/23/2008--I just received copies of two books by Chet Raymo, Professor Emeritus at Stonehill College: Honey From Stone: A Naturalist’s Search for God (1987) and When God is Gone Everything is Holy (2008). As you can see from the latter title, there is a certain affinity between Professor Raymo and Hallowed Secularism.

I learn two things right away from Raymo’s work. First, there is a great deal of new secularism that is closely connected to science and yet still has echoes, or more, of traditional religion. Raymo is in the religious mystic tradition, yet completely informed by modernity. This is one more surprising aspect of the future of secularism. That future is going to be quite from secularism’s past.

Second, Hallowed Secularism—my work—is much more biblical than I realized. Despite my own experiences, I am not a mystic. Indeed, I am close to the Old Testament. My books are searches for justice in history. Neither of those categories seems crucial to Raymo.

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