Tim and Robot A Spiritual Agnostic’s Guidance To A Newly Formed Consciousness
It has been a while since I last posted on my blog, and I apologize for not being more consistent. Over the past year and a half, I embarked on a journey to write the book, Tim And Robot, A Spiritual Agnostic’s Guidance To A Newly Formed Consciousness. And the last few months leading up to the release of Tim And Robot have been a daily grind as I worked on revisions, layout, and learning the business of publishing. I’m finally at the home stretch as I prepare to release the book this October 1st, 2025.
I set out to write Tim And Robot over three years ago, shortly after the Supreme Court decided to overturn Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson on June 24, 2022. The ruling handed down by the conservative majority in the Supreme Court, many of whom were newly appointed, appeared to be for the very purpose of dismantling this right that had been afforded American citizens for nearly 40 years. This ruling was so shocking and disappointing to me that, at that very moment, it compelled me to try to do something irrespective of whether I had any impact or not.
Why did I find this ruling so shocking that it compelled me to action? For one, the historical significance of the decision lies in the fact that it was only the second time in our country’s history that the Supreme Court ruled to take away a right, rather than grant it. Throughout our history, the Supreme Court has been on a trajectory of expanding rights, rather than contracting them. However, what was more dismaying and troubling to me was the reasoning behind the ruling.
While these conservative judges may claim that they are true constitutionalists and were acting “in good faith” to respect the letter of the Constitution, many of them are Christian fundamentalists. Their Christian ideals and beliefs informed their judicial decisions. And here is what troubled me the most. What is a judge, the highest judges in our land, supposed to be if not impartial, rational, and objective? If their religious beliefs are skewing their decisions, then how can we trust them to really look at this issue or any other issue with clear objectivity?
This is the issue I have with our fundamental conservative justices. Because they believe at their core in the literal teachings of their religion, so in this case, that taking a life goes against God’s rules for us, they have extrapolated that abortion at any stage is taking a life, with no nuance or room to define what constitutes a human life critically. And in the Dobbs v. Jackson case, they hid behind the excuse that the Constitution never explicitly mentions abortion rights for women as a fundamental right.
Of course, it did not expressly mention abortion rights. Abortion didn’t exist as a technological possibility until the 20th century. It was incumbent on these judges to interpret the Constitution’s text and expand freedoms rather than retract them.
But our conservative judges, unable to objectively consider the moral complexity of abortion rights, have deferred to their religious beliefs. And according to their religious doctrine, life begins at conception. Sure. A cell or a group of cells is undoubtedly alive. But is it a person? It has the potential to one day become a person, but a group of cells doesn’t constitute a human being. When does this potential human even begin to be a sentient or a conscious being? And whose rights are more important? The fully formed and conscious woman who must carry this potential human, or this group of cells that has yet to be aware or sentient.
None of those critical considerations were addressed in this case because the issue was examined in a very rudimentary manner. Our God says killing is a sin, so no abortion. To have impartial, objective judges means that they should be able to think through complex issues in a nuanced and sophisticated manner, considering all variables, possibilities, and consequences.
As a result of this ruling and my loss of faith in the ability of our Supreme Court Justices to act impartially, I had to ask myself what my duty is as a citizen. Is voting alone enough? Can I continue to focus on my interests alone and ignore what I feel is a tragic departure from the progress we’ve painstakingly made in our country’s history? The answer I kept coming back to is that I could not in good conscience ignore our country’s current trajectory. As a concerned citizen, I must at the very least try to contribute to the conversation and perhaps help steer us back toward a trajectory of progress, toward greater fairness, equity, and freedom for all our citizens.
That is how this blog and Tim And Robot came into existence. When I first started writing the book, I wanted to champion agnosticism and why I believed it was the most logical approach compared to traditional religions or even atheism, which I also think is problematic due to its claimed certainty.
Initially, I wrote in expository prose, but I soon found that style of writing too constraining, stuffy, and even dull. And then one day, the idea of Tim And Robot came to me. What better way to show agnosticism in action than to have a sentient robot that has newly come into existence, to be an outside observer, questioning all of our present-day assumptions? And so, Tim And Robot is a playful journey, featuring Socratic dialogue-style conversations between a newly conscious robot and its creator, a scientist named Tim, who tries his best to explain the world and humanity to it.
And so, my humble hope is that Tim and Robot can serve as a launch point for people’s own journey of critical thinking and self-discovery. By demonstrating agnosticism in action, I hope that audiences will find Tim and Robot an entertaining read while being challenged to reconsider their own assumptions about themselves, humanity, God, religion, morality, knowledge, and social responsibility. I hope that the discussions will spark a desire and action in each person to further their own personal development and pursuit of knowledge, so that we can all eventually achieve greater understanding and make more informed, logical choices in our daily lives, and ultimately even in government.