I’m thinking about the series ‘wonders of the solar system’ running on bbc2 Sunday evenings 9pm just now. The awesome realities it opens our eyes to. Number 2 on iplayer most watched when I looked the other day.
The rocking motion of the earth on its axis as it hurtles round the sun, producing the seasons’ sensual and visual spectrum of delight - the charm of spring flowers, the beauty of autumn colours. Directly linked. Or the ‘beautiful coincidence’ of the moon’s size and the sun’s distance from the earth, allowing the ‘perfect fit‘ that reveals the sun’s ghostly corona and the spectacular light show of a solar eclipse.
Massive physical laws at one end of the scale, producing the most delicate effects that enrich our lives. A moment’s reflection makes it hard not to be awed by the connection, and have a sense of ‘gift‘.
Because scientifically we understand nature better, does it have to rob that sense of awe the ancients had of a power and intelligence behind it? Like nature, isn’t the spiritual world a treasure house to be explored and unlocked to yield its delights? In the secular western mindset ‘religion’ including christianity has come to be seen as static, archaic and irrelevant. How may its potential as a world of wonder again be glimpsed, to kindle once more the kind of childlike amazement currently excited by ‘wonders of the solar system’ and its ilk?
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5 comments:
I think you find that scientists get more filled with wonder and awe the more they understand something. True awe comes from realising no god is required. Our genome for example is full of errors that have allowed new function to evolve - truely amazing.
Any chance you can stop looking at things in isolation? The universe is particularly hostile - even the sun gives us cancer. What do you think of asteroids - examples of god's love perhaps?
i don't think i do look at things in isolation as you suggest billy, i'm actually v interested in thinking about God in relation to a nature that is indeed often violent. a start is to remember that we don't believe in a soft sentimental God or one not involved in process...
oh and it's truly, no e :)
I would disagree, you concentrate on the image of a nice god. Why do you never focuss of the fact that god must like blood and disease? You never speak of why god would invent a small pox virus or maggots that eat our living flesh.
Why doesn't he stop earthquakes - what's his role there - he wants suffering? But, how could you even know what he wants anyway? If I get a bunch of christians and ask that question, I'll get a bunch of different answers - what makes anyone think they know - what evidence can they use to support their claim?
You say that god is involved in process(es?), but you have no evidence for that.
How is the god you talk about any different to one that is not there and how would you know?
Billy, hello.
Recently, I lost my sense of smell for about a year. Sometimes everyone in the room at home would comment on a particular smell (sometimes nice, sometimes not). It was maddening because I could have insisted it wasn't there at all...except they all raved on about it.
My point is this:
If you really want to know if God is there, ask Him to help you see He is. It won't mean you ever understand all that He's up to, like. But let's face it, if He is not there, you have nothing to lose do you?
Just a thought. Love, Mx
Hello Marianne,
Why do you assume that I didn't ask if he was there?
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