Math . . . music .. . starry nights . . . These are secular ways of achieving transcendence, of feeling lifted into a grand perspective. It's a sense of being awed by existence that almost obliterates the self. Religious people think of it as an essentially religious experience but it's not. It's an essentially human experience.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the universal human experiences that evoke a sense of awe and transcendence beyond the self, often associated with spirituality.
Rebecca Goldstein suggests that experiences such as engaging with math, music, and the beauty of nature can inspire feelings of transcendence and a grand perspective on life that are deeply human. While religious individuals may attribute such feelings to a divine encounter, Goldstein argues that these moments of awe and connection to existence do not require a religious framework; they are inherent to the human experience.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of art in education, one might reference this quote to highlight how creativity can lead to profound experiences.
Our humanist community should be thinking more about demonstrating the fundamental truth that goodness requires neither God nor the belief in God by organizing together as a community to do good. Less money spent on billboards that just make us feel good about ourselves and more on soup kitchens and organized visits to the sick and dying.
Lord free me of myself, so I can please you!
It is quite an illusion to imagine that one adjusts to reality essentially without the use of language and that language is merely an incidental means of solving specific problems of communication or reflection.
Tragedy is an imitation not only of a complete action, but of events inspiring fear and pity. Such an effect is best produced when the events come on us by surprise; and the effect is heightened when, at the same time, they follow as cause and effect. The tragic wonder will then be great than if they happened of themselves or by accident; for even coincidences are most striking when they have an air of design.
The business of America is not business. Neither is it war. The business of america is justice and securing the blessings of liberty.
If forgers and malefactors are put to death by the secular power, there is much more reason for excommunicating and even putting to death one convicted of heresy.
Euthanasia is a grave violation of the law of God, since it is the deliberate and morally unacceptable killing of a human person.
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