Thunder in the Soul

By Michael Hooper

In Chapter 6 of Thunder in the Soul, author Abraham Joshua Heschel laments about the demise of the spirit in mankind. In our quest to conquer space, we have forfeited our spiritual connection to the divine. In our quest for order, we renovate our spaces, we buy stuff at Home Depot, we upgrade the kitchen, we have fixed up our home, but we have left our soul empty.

We have gained power over space, but we have lost an appreciation for quiet time with God. Heschel, the rabbi, says there is a realm of time where the goal is not to have, but to be, not to own, but to give, not to control, but to share, not to subdue, but to be in accord.

As civilization advances, the sense of wonder almost necessarily declines. Heschel says mankind will not perish for want of information, but only for want of appreciation. The beginning of our happiness lives in the understanding that life without wonder is not worth living. What we lack is not a will to believe, but a will to wonder. 

I wrote a book called the Wonderment Years. I think I was trying to capture that sense of wonder and awe at God’s creation, my love of Yellowstone Park, European travel and the serendipity of finding camaraderie and friendship in the world. My book was an attempt to thank God for my wife and my children while capturing my sense of awe for nature. Yet I am a modern man who is wired for desire to gain wealth, to prove that I am just as good or better than anyone on Wall Street, I have a competitive spirit, I want to win, but win what? More wealth, more pleasure, more things, a new kitchen in the cabin, a new E bike? 

Heschel writes that the modern man has supreme faith in statistics and abhors the idea of mystery. Modern man can explain away all mystery; he considers religious knowledge as the lowest form of knowledge. Modern man marvels at the databases of Google and Amazon, where he can look up any information or buy anything in the world. If you are a materialistic person, you may find yourself with an overstuffed house, garage, and storage unit. 

The modern man has ceased to trust his will to believe, or even his grief about the loss of a desire to believe. Indeed, we are in greater need of proof, for the authenticity of faith than of proof, for the existence of God. How have we lost our faith? Through our wealth and desire for order, we think we can buy and sell anything including our health. We spent our youth gaining our wealth, and now we are spending our wealth to regain our youth. Our wealth is seen as our protector, our fortress, our defense. Our power. Heschel says if the world is only power to us, and we are all absorbed in a gold rush, then the only God we may come upon, is the golden calf. 

What are the symptoms and behaviors of this person who no longer is in connection with God. He has lost his awareness of the grandeur and the sublime. He no longer has a sense of awe for God. 

Heschel writes, We teach the children how to measure, how to weigh, but we fail to teach them how to revere, how to sense wonder and awe. The sense for the sublime, the sign of greatness of the human soul. Yet the world has become an oyster plate, and the soul has become a vacuum. The empty soul as vacuum sucks in Images from Instagram, information from Google, scans all the latest technology gadgets on the Best Buy website, but the sucking noise from the vacuum is just a shrill emptiness, his soul is crying for meaning and purpose, there is thunder in his soul. 

Have you ever been in a conversation when your companion stops looking at you and picks up his phone and checks his social media status? This behavior is called Pfubbing or phone snubbing. It is the act of ignoring a companion to use a smart phone.

There is a third party between you and your companion, and the result is a lack of intimacy or real bonding.

Modern man is overly obsessed with the physical phenomena of the world. He is not concerned with the ultimate question of the Bible. What does God demand of us?

To answer that question we need a personal relationship with God. The answer, in part, will probably include developing a deeper love for oneself, and a deeper love and respect for those around us.

The fulfilled soul is generating peace in connection with God and nature. The fulfilled soul smiles from within and shares, generosity, and love. The fulfilled soul can sit in silence and be at peace, the figety soul is constantly creating or producing order in the shop, fixing a roof or structure, repairing the car, taking the car to the car wash. The fulfilled soul is at peace with his oneness with God, and is no longer restless. There is chaos in the world, there is suffering all around, yet the dude abides. His soul is full.