The ultimate example
It is often said that if every book in the world were burned and humanity had to start over, science textbooks would eventually be rewritten much the same way—because science is built on observation and measurement. But religious texts would differ each time, shaped by culture, context, and human experience. This is not a literal truth, but a metaphor: science is the practice of doing science, not a set of eternal truths. The same applies to faith—it should be seen as the practice of doing faith.
Faith is not about clinging to fixed doctrines, but about living in a way that cultivates meaning, connection, and ethical depth. Science can be rebuilt by rediscovering patterns in nature, but faith must be reimagined each generation, because it speaks to the evolving soul of humanity.
Love, compassion forgiveness, and commitment to justice are fundemental and essential values. Jesus and his teachings represent the perfect model for human behavior, the embodiment of what it truly means to be a good person. His teachings serve as a guide to life, much like the wisdom found in the Hávamál. Following this example does not require belief in Óðinn or a specific deity; it’s about emulating his character, leading to a deeper understanding of the spirit he represents. In this way, we move away from an imposed, objective morality and toward a human-centered, subjective one which is often ‘said’ to be lesser than or incomplete.
“The Bible is the single most important influence in the imaginative tradition of Western literature. The Bible redeems history with a visionary, poetic perspective, which complements science in the understanding of human nature.
It is encyclopedic in character, stretching from creation to the end of the world. It is violently partisan, abstract rather than objective or representational, with a multidimensional theme and variations rather than a linear exposition.
The Bible can be read as literally as any fundamentalist could desire, but the real literal meaning is an imaginative and poetic one, brought forth through myth and metaphor.
The Bible’s deep influence on Western literature makes it one of the first literary classics, but my own reading of the Bible is expansive, open to resonances of contextual meaning. The book is a double mirror, revealing a unified structure of narrative and recurrent imagery that ultimately reflects itself: the old is transformed and given new meaning; and the story ends back where it all began.
Given this, there is a rich interaction between biblical and secular knowledge. Indeed, there is an imaginative energy flowing from the Bible to creative minds for centuries.
A student of English literature who does not know the Bible does not understand a good deal of what is going on in what he reads: the most conscientious student would be continually misconstruing the implications, even the meaning.”
— Zaine Ridling, Ph.D.
Existential Freedom and Responsibility
Sartre famously said that we are “condemned to be free.” We are born without inherent purpose, and it is our responsibility to create meaning in our lives. Since there is no preordained path — only the one we forge ourselves. In the absence of objective meaning, we must construct our own subjective values and pursue them with intention.
Being unto death
Martin Heidegger’s idea of “Being-unto-Death” calls upon us to live deliberately—so that, when death comes, we can look back with dignity, knowing our life had meaning. One easy to grasp version of this is the idea of Memento Mori—“remember you must die”— which is not morbid. It is a reminder to live with awareness, knowing that mortality gives urgency and significance to our actions. Our death should be a fixed point, a journey towards some inescapable direction.
Yukio Mishima
For him the idea of the ‘being-unto-death’ was not a pompous, theatrical or philosophical point but an embodiment of his belief that death is the ultimate act of self-expression and identity simply because of the fact that you cannot change the past, at the point of death you should be a perfect man worthy of a hero’s death. He was obsessed with beauty, honor and physical and mental strength where his life only gained full meaning, where his soul would be brighter than the shadow of death. He had believed his whole life that Japan had lost its traditional spirit and honor, focusing on the values of the samurai such as honor and sacrifice.
On november 25, 1970, dressed in a white, he delivered a dramatic speech at a military base calling for a return to imperial (imperial japan) ideals following a ceremonial ‘death poem’. Then he knelt down using proper posture and performed the sacred and honorable act of ritualized suicide or ‘Seppuku’, wherein he plunged his tantō blade into his stomach and then slicing across, an act of self-disembowelment. Then his second Masakatsu Morita attempted with trembling hands to behead Mishima — but he failed multiple times. It was not over until Hiroyashu Koga stepped in and finished the beheading cleanly.
Antidote to the Absurd
To walk this path fully, we must shift faith away from seeking divine rescue toward embodying the moral blueprint Jesus laid out. This isn not about worshipping a God who saves, but about creating meaning in a universe that offers none by default.
Death, rather than a terrifying unknown, becomes the ultimate gauge of our existence, not a threat, but a mirror – the moment when you evaluate your life against the uncompromising standards of Jesus’ teachings: love, compassion, forgiveness, and justice.
The goal should not to be granted salvation or to earn divine favor, but to live a life so rich in goodness that it stands on its own—A life which upon reflection, you can honestly say you lived worthy of remembrance, a testament to the potential for human goodness even in the face of an absurd world devoid of inherent purpose.
Foundational beliefs must be upheld collectively rather than individually; forgiveness without uncomprimising justice.
If we look at the woman caught in adultery (e.g John 8:1-11) the crowd demands the woman be punished according to the law (justice). Jesus diffused the situation by saying, “let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone.” (Forgiveness). He addressed her personally, not as a symbol of guilt or a person only worthy of judgement: “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more” (love).
In this action the balance is perfected: Justice was not erased but reframed through mercy. He did not excuse wrongdoing but prioritized restoration over retribution.
Source: Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman “The Courage to Be” by Paul Tillich “Christian Atheism” by Thomas J.J. Altizer “The Death of God: An Investigation into the Meaning of Death in the Modern World” by Gabriel Vahanian “After Virtue” by Alasdair MacIntyre “The Great Divorce” by C.S. Lewis