This book demonstrates that an empirical approach to the question of personal immortality is consistent with psychedelic experience and Christianity.
This book demonstrates that an empirical approach to the question of personal immortality is consistent with psychedelic experience and Christianity.
Christianity (general), Religious
If you are ever haunted by the thought of being sucked away into nothingness, you should read this book. It would be understandable for you to think that everything that can be said about the probability of an afterlife has already been said, but that doesn't matter. What matters is whether you remember the reasons why personal, subjective immortality makes sense and eternal death doesn't. Here you will find an extended inductive argument to that conclusion, based on the time-honored analogies between life and dream, death and sleep. The author takes an argument of David Hume's and turns it on its head. That argument forms the core of a view the author describes as Taoistic, psychedelic Christianity. Taoistic in that God's power is conceived as purely artistic and inspirational, and psychedelic in that the author acknowledges that taking LSD had a profound and benign influence on his life. On this view, the first-person perspective is given in experience. What kind of person you are is an ever-unfolding story that you strive to perfect.
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Dreams and Recollections Jack Call Christian Alternative (John Hunt) 2014, 123 pp., £9.99, p/b. The subtitle indicates that the book is concerned with our immortal selves, but the argument is purely inductive and philosophical rather than relating to any evidence for or against the proposition. It is based on the Freudian idea that we cannot imagine ourselves dead and also on analogies between life and dream, death and sleep. He suggests that dying may be like waking up from a dream but also life is falling asleep into a dream - there is in fact some evidence that this may be true. On the basis of his inductive argument, the author considers it probable that we have existed before the present life and will continue to exist afterwards. The book is certainly intellectually engaging, ranging over a wide area but its interest will be primarily for those looking to consider the philosophy and logic of immortality. ~ Network Review , Spring 2015 N0 117
As informed and informative as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking, "Dreams and Resurrection: On Immortal Selves, Psychedelics, and Christianity" is especially recommended to the attention of non-specialist general readers with an interest in the nature of death, the concept of an afterlife, the human psyche, and metaphysics. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, it should be noted that "Dreams and Resurrection: On Immortal Selves, Psychedelics, and Christianity" is also available in a Kindle edition ($6.39) ~ James A. Cox, Midwest Book Review
...wonderfully, exhilaratingly, and convincingly interesting... I’m so glad I spent time with this book. Not only was it intellectually engaging, it shifted some of my own thinking regarding life after death, and more to the point, about what it means to be a human being. And so I say to my friends and colleagues: “Buckle up. Enjoy the ride. Prepare to see yourself (and everyone around you) in a new way!" ~ Rev. Dr. R. Scott Colglazier, Senior Minister First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, author of A Dictionary of Faith.
A fascinating personal argument for the reality of eternal life and its relationship with Christianity, using the rigorous approach of the western philosophical tradition, spiced with the author's psychedelic experiences as a young man. Highly recommended. ~ Simon Small, Priest, author of From the Bottom of the Pond, and Star Pilgrim, Glastonbury, UK.
Because most of us do not think too seriously about such things as eternal life, nor do we think in a dispassionate way, I cannot imagine that anyone would not profit from reading this well reasoned, but also 'faith-filled" study about our life beyond this life. Read and be energized! ~ Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M., Center for Action and Contemplation Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Dreams and Resurrection joins a celebrated history of important philosophical works dedicated to exploring the concepts of death and immortality. In the tradition of great public intellectuals such as Alan Watts and Jiddu Krishnamurti, Jack Call makes a very difficult topic accessible to the non-academic reader without sacrificing the standards of academic, intellectual rigor. ~ Kurt Smith, Philosophy Professor, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.
