Homo Sapiens and the Power of Story.
Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?
These are questions that Philosophy, Theology, and Science all seek to answer.
The book Sapiens, by Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari, is a detailed attempt at providing answers to these ultimate questions via the discipline of Anthropology.
Harari’s popular book claims that 6 million years ago a female ape gave birth to two daughters. Chimpanzees are the offspring of one daughter, humans are the offspring of the other. Harari goes on to identify a variety of human species (homo neanderthalensis, homo erectus, homo soloensis, etc.) that lived at the same time as homo sapiens, yet became extinct.
The main idea of Harari’s book is that there have been three great revolutions of humanity:
The Cognitive Revolution is supposed to have occurred 70,000 years ago. This is the revolution that placed homo sapiens above the animals. The ability to develop language and communicate abstract concepts is the hallmark of this revolution. During this time, homo sapiens climbed the food chain ladder to become the predominant species on the planet. There was also a massive migration of people that saw humans reach Australia, Oceana, and the Americas.
Harari claims that The Agricultural Revolution is dated at 12,000 years ago. During this time crops and animals were domesticated. Our diets formed around what crops could be easily farmed (rice, wheat, olives, lentils, etc.) as well as livestock (cattle, sheep, goats, etc.). During this time, humans built cities in areas that contained access to these resources.
The Scientific Revolution is placed by Harari at 500 years in our past. Harari claims that we are still in this era. During this era, breakthroughs in science are motivated by either religion or ideology. The conquests of the Americas and parts of Asia by Europeans are a result of this revolution. So is the development of weapons. The climax of the Scientific Revolution happened in Alamogordo, New Mexico on July 16, 1945, when the first atomic bomb was tested. For the first time in history, homo sapiens achieved the power to wipe out their own species. In simple terms, this allows homo sapiens to become their own gods.
While Harari discusses in detail the unique role of religion in the development of humankind, he is clearly not Christian. Harari does not believe that humans have souls. Harari views humans as advanced, organic, computers. They are led by their programming. This is counter to many of the major religions of the world…except Buddhism. Harari is clearly enamored with Buddhist thought.
In Sapiens, Harari states:
“People are liberated from suffering not when they experience this or that fleeting pleasure, but rather when they understand the impermanent nature of all their feelings, and stop craving them. This is the aim of Buddhist meditation practices. In meditation, you are supposed to closely observe your mind and body, witness the ceaseless arising and passing of all your feelings, and realise how pointless it is to pursue them. When the pursuit stops, the mind becomes very relaxed, clear and satisfied. All kinds of feelings go on arising and passing – joy, anger, boredom, lust – but once you stop craving particular feelings, you can just accept them for what they are. You live in the present moment instead of fantasising about what might have been.
The resulting serenity is so profound that those who spend their lives in the frenzied pursuit of pleasant feelings can hardly imagine it.” (Harari, 99)
This above quote could have just as easily been written by the Dali Lama.
There is much in Sapiens for Christians to disagree with, including the denial of the existence of a Creator God. Yet, Harari has one interesting concept for Christian leaders to ponder… the power of story.
Harari spends a lot of energy talking about “myth” and “fiction” as something that makes humans different from the rest of the animal kingdom. A rat can learn how to avoid a simple mousetrap in order to get to the cheese, but it will not offer up a bit of cheese to the great rat god in the sky. Animals can learn, and they can communicate, but they do not tell stories. According to Harari, humanity’s most powerful ability is to tell stories that unite us together, drive progress, and keep us focused. Concepts like laws, money, heritage, politics, nationalism, etc. are extremely powerful forces in the world. Yet, these are simply ideas that have to be agreed upon to be of any value.
For Christians, our faith is based on a very powerful story. This is the story of a creator God who loved His creation so much that He sent His only Son to the earth in order to redeem creation… to save humankind from eternal destruction. This is the story that Christians believe to be true. This is a story for which many have died. In fact, many continue to die in our world rather than recant this story. Because of this story, followers of Jesus can greet believers in Iran, Laos, or Somalia as a part of their faith family. Christians are willing to make sacrifices for other Christians, though they might be strangers.
The difference between myself and Harari is that I believe this story to be true…it is not a myth. I believe that my faith is real, not because of my evolved brain, but because Jesus is real.
As Christian leaders, we need to acknowledge the power of the story of God. We should not apologize when we tell this story. We should not expect people to reject it. God created men and women to be drawn to this story. The past, present, and future are filled with humans who have done great things because of the story of God. As guardians of this story, we must recognize its power to change lives, and change history.
Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (London: Penguin Random House, 2011)
About the Author
Stu Cocanougher
3 responses to “Homo Sapiens and the Power of Story.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
“I love to tell the story of unseen things above” Katherine Hankey wrote for the beautiful hymn.
No, we can’t prove that God exists but we do believe that He is real. Harari had very little evidence for anything he said. So we both have faith.
As you say many have died for this faith. And how wonderful that we can have such fellowship even as we had in South Africa with believers all over the world!!
Yes, Stu, Harari seems to be very preoccupied with myths and imagined realities. It makes me wonder if he believed in anything. There is such power in truth and to build your life on myths lacks the passion and purpose that building your life on truth provides. It is the fundamental building block of Christianity: JC is the way, the TRUTH, and the life… Harari’s description of life, relationships and cultures built on myths and imagined realities feels so hollow and lacking. A bit like building your life on sand versus on the the Rock.
Hi Stu,
Harari does it religion hard. Anything we haven’t seen with our own eyes is suspicious. That’s why faith is important, I believe in a God. Now with that in mind, Through my life, I have seen his presence. That takes it from myth to truth.