A Heretic's Guide to Eternity

I have a friend who likes to "stir the pot". If there is a controversial side to an issue, he'll take it. If there are questions to be asked or alternate points of view to consider, he'll ask them and find them. He's something of an instigator, though to those he's questioning or instigating he's seen as more of a troublemaker. I'm not sure why he can't "just let things be". I don't know why he keeps upsetting the apple cart, maybe it is his personality, his disposition, or his spiritual gift. Spencer Burke and Barry Taylor do much the same in A Heretic's Guide to Eternity. The work is keen on instigation and thus, for those in Religious power-centers, full of troublemaking heresies. Burke and Taylor, though it seems that Burke's voice is dominant - either by the convention of writing or in actual fact, begin by setting the cultural and philosophical stage. The Enlightenment brought about the age of science and reason. It also ushered in the rise of secularism whereby religion, spirituality, and mystery were vanquished to the realm of private or non-existent. "Secularism's partner, technology, pitched the assurance of a better future and the guarantee of unending progress" (xix). However, it is clear that this dream has ended. In recent years there has been a marked rise of interest in things spiritual or mysterious. "God is coming back into the picture in new and different ways" (xxiii). It appears that the institutions that held sway in the modern era are either in decline or irrelevant to our current cultural situation. "As with government, many people no longer count on religion to deliver on its promises and provide meaning and motivation" (xxii). Note: to this reviewer it is worth noting that Burke's and Taylor's cultural analysis is not dissimilar from a myriad of books, websites, and sermons. In a word, they've said nothing new. It would seem that they have two paths they could take. On the one hand, they could suggest "X" (insert your favorite number here) ways of reinvigorating religion. On the other, they could envision a path beyond religion all together. They chose the second and spend the remainder of the book explaining why. "Spirituality in the twenty-first century is not etched in stone but fashioned out of the fabrics of our lives in new and ever-changing permutations. This is the focus and hope of this book" (xxiv). In many ways, the book is an amalgam of thoughts arranged more or less in a readable order. Stylistically it is not unlike the remixed spirituality that the authors are advocating. In many ways reading A Heretic's Guide is like reading a collection of blog posts around a general theme of remixed spirituality visa-a-vi tired old-time religion. In fact, it seems that Burke and Taylor have never met a provocative spiritual idea that they didn't like. The reading experience was similar to reading a RSS (Really Simple Syndication) aggregator of blog posts and news feeds. As to an assessment