The Death of Religion and the Rebirth of Spirit

March 1, 2007
Workshop and retreat leader Pearce ("The Biology of Transcendence") has written many books and articles on spiritual growth and is widely known as a forceful speaker who encourages debate and controversy. Here, he is particularly concerned with science and religion (as both dominant and conflicting aspects of culture), as well as with culture itself (as the generator and enforcer of arbitrary rules of thought and behavior). Pearce believes that culture, with its "us vs. them" pattern of thinking, is at the root of bigotry, violence, and war. But this view is much too narrow. He further tends to overgeneralize and use jargon specific to the theory of personal development. As a result, he obscures valid insights, and his argumentation can be hard to follow. Enough is enough when in Chapter 15, "Eureka! Moments and Cracks," he repeats the ahistorical and unfounded charge that the Apostle Paul somehow hijacked Christianity (Jesus's "religion of the heart") and replaced it with his own "religion of law." Recommended only for interested readers and academic libraries with strong collections in religious debate and apologetics.James F. DeRoche, Alexandria, VA

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 5, 2007
Building on Darwin, Pearce pleads that humanity rise above its lower, instinctual "brain" to allow "our newest brain"—the "fourth brain"—to flourish. This will bring about a higher stage in evolution that prizes love and altruism. According to Pearce (The Biology of Transcendence
), the biggest roadblocks to this new order are religion and science, which together promote violence and arrogance. These "two mongrels" of culture have long forced civilized people into a false either/or choice, one that Pearce characterizes as a choice "between being hanged or shot." For Pearce, the two disciplines have produced "a single monoculture sweeping the globe and bringing a mounting tide of irrational and ever more intense violence," and leaving us—and especially our children—"spiritually starved." To overcome the terrible evils of science and religion and fulfill the promises of the fourth brain, we must cultivate what Pearce calls "the dynamic of the heart-brain-mind relationship," literally listening to our heart as a kind of brain itself that prioritizes love and intimate relationship above all else. Heavy on the science, Pearce's overall argument is slow going but worthwhile because of his fluid prose and intriguing understanding of human evolution.