When Breathe Becomes Air

Now that I’m reading Noah Trevor’s biography, I’m reminded that I read Paul Kalanithi’s biography “When Breathe Becomes Air” last year and thoroughly enjoyed that as well. A prominent neurosurgeon, Kalanithi died at the age of 37 while writing his book, which, in 2017, became a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

I wanted to share his view on God as today is the start of Holy Week and I, too, have struggled—not so much in my belief in God, but the countering view of my scientific friends.

“That’s not to say that if you believe in meaning, you must also believe in God. It is to say, though, that if you believe that science provides no basis for God, then you are almost obligated to conclude that science provides no basis for meaning and, therefore, life itself doesn’t have any. In other words, existential claims have no weight; all knowledge is scientific knowledge.” 

Today marks 40 days of Lent and one last week to go. It’s been an enlightening journey for me. I hope you’ve enjoyed my daily posts.

You can see a list of my favorite books here.