In other words, a moment of revolt inherent in the will-to-understand
beyond practical ends cannot be prolonged indefinitely:
to be the whole of the universe man/woman must let go of his/her principles:
accepting nothing that he/she is other than the tendency to go beyond what he/she is.
This being that I am is the revolt of being,
undefined desire.

God was only a stage for this being,
and is now, grown through a measureless experience,
comically perched on a stake.

–excerpt On Nietzsche, Response to Jean-Paul Sartre, by Georges Bataille, Trans. by Stuart Kendall, p. 180

It is a quiet Sunday morning.  Many are still sleeping or beginning to arouse.  So many years ago at this time on a Sunday morning I would be preparing myself to join others for worship at church.  That was the norm, Sunday after Sunday.  It still is the norm in may regions of the country.  Homo Sapiens are social, are disposed to joining others “to believe.”

I’ve have not joiner for many years in the practice of Sunday morning worship.  Yet when I drive north on Randall Road from Batavia toward Elgin, passing a number of houses of worship on both sides of the highway, some “mega-churches,” institutions with budgets rivaling that of a small town, — I certainly understand.  To be alone is unnatural, intolerable in fact.   We seek the comfort of others.  The individual seeks help with answers to questions, that we fear to say out loud.  Who am I?  Where and how do I learn to value myself?  Does life, (another word for reality) mean anything?  In the long run, does anything matter?

We dedicate time and effort to be present at worship services due to a variety of motivations.  I think the basic questions, moments of revolt, are at root the driving force for each of us.

Is it possible that one will be given “served up” some help, in the pastor’s homily, or in the case of a “mega-church” the production values of the music and light show?  I do not know.

In the quotation from Bataille, it is asserted that to entertain such questions, to have such a will-to-understand is what makes us human beings.  Questions without defined answers are no symptom of a spiritual flaw (sin), but a hallmark of the type of mammal which you and I happen to be.  You are not defective, but a mammal using language for puzzlement and reflection about the self and about life…

Let’s relax.  Contemplate the possibility that “our principles,” the rule-framework for our emotions, for our opinions, for our behavior did not come from a sacred source…  All are improvised from our experience.  What has my singular life-journey taught me?  How can I risk the next step, to go beyond…

Let us be human!  And laugh at ourselves.