Philosophy has a bad reputation in some circles as armchair abstraction. But every so often you meet a philosopher who is doing the hard, slow work of re‑examining the basic building blocks of how we think—and doing it in ways that touch education, faith, and everyday life. Dr. Joseph Atman is one of those rare voices. A PhD in the philosophy of religion, founder of the Middle Tree “educate everyone” nonprofit, and author of the emerging trilogy A Philosophical War, Joe joined me on Created in the Image of God for a conversation that ranged from Genesis to quantum consciousness, from K‑12 tutoring to higher education, and from the nature of time to why our most cherished words (“good,” “evil,” “truth”) may not mean what we think they mean. Here are five takeaways from that exchange.
1. Philosophy Really Does Mean Questioning Everything
Joe started from what he says every good Philosophy 101 professor should say on day one: philosophy is about questioning everything—and he means everything.
That includes the concepts most of us treat as fixed:
- “Good” and “evil”
- “Sin,” “justice,” “truth”
- Even “reality” itself
We inherit these words with ready‑made definitions, then build whole systems—religious, political, personal—on top of them. But Joe’s point is simple and unsettling:
If we don’t stop to ask what we really mean by these words—and whether those meanings actually fit reality—we may be living inside a conceptual house of cards.
This dovetails with a verse I’ve brought up often: Hebrews 5:14 describes maturity as belonging to those who, “by reason of use,” have exercised their senses to discern both good and evil.
In other words, it is not enough to repeat inherited definitions. We have to test them in life, constantly, and be willing to revise.
2. Time Is a Tool for Growth, Not Just a Tyrant
We drifted into a rich exchange about time—not as an enemy to “beat” or a resource to “hack,” but as a tool God has given us to grow.
Joe framed time as the unfolding of being and consciousness:
- When you’re awake, you experience time one way.
- When you sleep and dream, you’re still conscious—but time feels very different.
- That suggests time is experienced according to how our consciousness is tuned.
From a theological angle, I connected this to Genesis:
- “Let there be light…”
- The separation of day from night.
- The sun and moon “ruling” day and night.
Taken together, that’s the creation of spacetime: a stage on which seeds can be planted, seasons can cycle, and real growth can happen.
In frozen Wisconsin, I can’t plant in January. But come spring, the soil softens, the seed sprouts, the plant flowers, and eventually bears fruit. None of that can happen without time.
Applied spiritually: we are meant to grow into moral and spiritual maturity. That takes time—failures, experiments, course corrections. Time is not just something we pass through; it’s the medium in which God teaches us.
3. Words Both Reveal and Distort Reality
One of Joe’s most important reminders was deceptively simple: define your terms.
In any serious conversation—about God, politics, ethics, or anything else—if we don’t slow down and ask, “What do you mean by that word?” we’re likely to talk past each other.
A few key points he made:
- When we speak, we are often discovering what we think in real time. We pull a vague intuition from the “ethereal” and try to solidify it in language.
- The same word (“good,” “freedom,” “justice”) can mean very different things to different people, given our distinct histories and experiences.
- Ideas themselves are not reality; they are tools for communicating and aligning (or misaligning) consciousness.
This is not an abstract concern. Many of our deepest conflicts are, at bottom, conflicts of unstated definitions. We fight over words we assume we share, but don’t.
Biblically, the power of naming is built into the creation story:
- God speaks reality into being.
- Adam’s first task is to name the animals—early conceptual work that, in a way, has continued ever since.
Cave paintings, taxonomies, scientific categories, doctrinal formulas—they all trace back to this human vocation: to name truly.
The danger is when inherited names harden into unquestioned idols. Part of the work ahead, especially in the philosophy, religion, ethics, and society tracks we’re developing with Plank Sip, is precisely this: careful, humble naming.
4. “Educate Everyone”: Reimagining Education as a Right
Beyond theory, Joe’s work with Middle Tree is one of the clearest expressions of our New Year’s Revolution in the realm of education.
Middle Tree is:
- A 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to educate everyone.
- A place where students (mostly K–12, plus some adults) can come as often as they like, stay as long as they need, and not be turned away for lack of money.
- An organization offering tutoring, test prep, college counseling, and now allied health / medical assistant training at drastically reduced cost.
Underneath that structure is a conviction:
Education should be a basic right, not a luxury commodity.
This aligns closely with a Bahá’í insight I’ve often quoted: that evil is fundamentally linked to ignorance, and the primary remedy is education—not just technical training, but moral and spiritual formation.
Middle Tree tackles the K–12 and vocational side of that equation. As we develop the Plank Sip higher‑ed tracks, the same ethic applies: serious thinking about philosophy, religion, ethics, and society should not be reserved for elites. It should be accessible to anyone willing to do the work.
5. Being Human, Being: A Lifetime of Talking It Out
Finally, Joe shared something unusual and, I think, important: he has been recording himself thinking out loud since he was a young teenager.
For decades, he’s used an audio recorder as a kind of philosophical journal:
- Working through ideas he doesn’t fully understand yet.
- Grappling with day‑to‑day existential questions.
- Pulling half‑formed intuitions into speech and seeing what they become.
Until recently, these recordings weren’t meant for public consumption. They were simply a way of being honest with himself.
Now, under the banner of Being Human Being, some of that material will become a new podcast and video series—paired with more polished essays and short clips. We talked about maybe playing a snippet of “12‑year‑old Joe” on a future episode, as a rare window into consciousness developing over time.
Why mention this? Because it models something we all need:
- Permission to say, “I’m not sure yet; let me try to put it into words.”
- Safe spaces—on mic, in journals, or in small circles—where we can explore without having to “be right” from the outset.
In an age of instant takes and performative certainty, Being Human Being is an invitation to a slower, humbler way of thinking: talking it out, refining, revising, and learning in community.
Looking Ahead: Jonathan England in Costa Rica
Next Sunday’s episode of Created in the Image of God takes this theme of calling and growth in a very concrete direction.
I’ll be talking with Jonathan England, who left everything to go to Costa Rica, stayed when the world shut down for COVID, and has since helped build an intentional community there. His story involves a prophet in a storage shed, a yellow truck, and a moment when he and his wife both heard, “You have one hour to pack your bags and fly to Costa Rica.”
We’ll explore how he discerned that calling, what’s unfolded since, and what it might mean for the rest of us trying to hear and follow God in our own lives.
You won’t want to miss it.
