There are two really fun moments in the process of writing a book: 1) when you get the contract from a decent publisher; 2) when the box of books with your name on the cover shows up on your doorstep. The rest of the time is mostly just work.
Of course traveling to Europe for six weeks to research and write doesn’t seem too onerous. It’s good work if you can get it. But everyone I’ve ever talked to about writing a book (with the possible exception of NT Wright) says that it’s still work. So this teaser post in anticipation of my trip which begins in six days has as its aim to get you to feel sorry for me and all that work I’m embarking on!
That’s a joke. I don’t need (or even want) you to feel sorry for me. But as I try to convey some things about this trip, I do want you to have a realistic idea of what it is that I’m actually doing. So here’s the big picture of the project and my trip:
I’m planning to write about the spiritual journey of Homo sapiens. (I think that’s a pretty good title for a book, but publishers usually have their own ideas about such things.) In more normal language, I’m hoping to describe and explain some of the process by which we became the kind of creatures that we are — creatures who have big brains, and walk on two legs, and talk, and even love each other. Ultimately, I’m trying to show that evolution was a really good process to use if you want to bring morally mature animals into existence.
It’s not going to be a book about evidence for evolution. There are plenty of those for anyone with the eyes to see. And it’s not a book of apologetics arguing for the truth of Christianity. Instead, it’s more a book about the issues that arise when we take both of those for granted. What does it mean for how we think about God? What does it mean for how we think about ourselves? How do we reconcile the science and theology of what it means to be human?
So just as each of us has had a spiritual journey that contributed to the kind of people we are today, I think we can extend that metaphor to our species as a whole. How did evolution prepare Homo sapiens to become God’s image bearers? Were there ups and downs and challenges to respond to that helped us develop the kinds of capacities we have as a species?
Also, I’m traipsing around Europe on a journey of my own to see some sites where ancient humans left some traces behind. I hesitate to say just how that journey is going to intersect with the topic of the book (since I haven’t been on that journey yet). But as I look in old caves, and see old settlements, and stay in monasteries, and view art spanning tens of thousands of years, I’m hoping it does something to me too.
Stay tuned.
YES! That will be a great book, and I look forward to reading it.
I'm also looking forward to reading it Mr. Stump!