What I'm Reading

For a class on Martin Luther with Steve Paulson, I'm reading Denial of Death, by Ernest Becker, circa 1970's. It's pretty heavy. It talks about how we all deny our humanity from a very early age. Our whole existence as humans is based on smoke and mirrors and a hodge podge of psychological pre-suppositions. This is true. We try to find our identities in school, in our friends, in our jobs, in whatever clothes we wear, but it all adds up to a big nothing. This book reveals how we constantly try to keep this balance of knowing that we are going to die offset with some grandiose idea that we actually matter in this world. We matter because God created us in God's image, not because of our earthly accomplishments. This book reminds that we are valued just because we are, not because of anything we do. It reminds us that we are human beings, not human doings.