People who believe in the Biblical end times must be putting their affairs in order and getting ready for the rapture. First the cyclone in Myanmar with over 30,000 dead and counting. Then over the weekend, tornados in the Midwest killed 21. Monday we heard about the big earthquake centered in Chengdu China. The initial death toll is 12,000 and rising.
Insurance policies used to refer to these kinds of events as acts of God which is an insult to any concept of the Divine that I would choose to have. The acts of God are the people digging through the rubble, providing food and shelter and donating to support relief efforts. Even so, human ego adds to the misery as the totalitarian government in Myanmar tells the world that it values isolation and control even if it costs the lives of its citizens.
If there is a judgment day, it is now as we watch the most effective relief efforts being made by Buddhist monks, the same monks who brought non-violent protest in support of democratic reforms and social justice. I wonder what the neo-atheists like Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris have to say about this interplay between the spiritual and secular worlds.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
To Some, It’s Still Evilution
One of the highlights of our recent trip to Chicago (after celebrating my father’s 90th birthday) was a trip to the Field Museum of Natural History down on the lakefront. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been there but it was probably more than 30 years ago when I was still living in the Chicago area with my parents.
The Field Museum is renowned for its extensive fossil collections, especially the Dinosaurs, including Sue, the worlds largest, most famous and most complete T. rex. But instead of displaying the collection like a bunch of exhibits behind glass as I recalled from my childhood, they are now part of an interactive journey through time called The Evolving Planet.
You enter the exhibit beginning with planet earth 4.5 billion years ago and then walk through the various eras, epochs and periods all the way up to the present day. Each step is illustrated with fossils, dioramas, and short movies summarizing the information and highlighting dozens of scientists whose life work is on display. There are six major extinctions and several cycles of ice ages. We spent over five hours taking it all in.
A portion of the exhibit was devoted to the work of Charles Darwin whose name is synonymous with evolution. And ever since Darwin wrote Origin of Species, evolution has been under attack by Biblical fundamentalists. They tried to prevent evolution from being taught in our schools and failed. They switched tactics and offered their own “theory” of creationism and its latest incarnation, intelligent design insisting that these teachings are of equal stature with the “theory” of evolution and should be taught in our schools.
As I learned at the Field Museum, evolution isn’t just one theory among others; it is one of the most strongly substantiated theories in modern science. It’s the only scientifically accepted theory that both explains the amazing diversity of life on Earth today—and provides a concrete explanation for why this diversity has changed throughout history. I have never viewed evolution as a threat or contradiction to the idea that there is intelligence in the form of principle within it.
Later on in his life, Charles Darwin is quoted as saying; "When I wrote The Origin of Species, my faith in God was as strong as that of a bishop." According to Darwin Biographer James Moore, Darwin wants to convince you in this book that God has established laws of nature on Earth, as in the heavens, and these laws produce the forms of life that we observe. And the principal cause of this for Darwin is what he calls natural selection.
Evolution is perfectly compatible with principle, intelligence and cause. No one suggests that it is a random and meaningless process. That would be a philosophical argument not a scientific conclusion. Even neo-atheist Richard Dawkins, truly an expert in the field of evolution, doesn’t call it a random process. He objects to the idea of a mythical supernatural god with human attributes who manipulates the phenomenal world.
The evolution/creationist debate is far from over. Creationists continue to attempt to undermine the work of science because it contradicts their literal reading of Genesis. I say let God out of the box and see the magnificence and scope of creation through open and wondering eyes. That was my experience at the Field Museum and I can't wait to go back! Check out these resources for more information.
For a virtual tour of the Field Museum exhibit: http://www.fieldmuseum.org/evolvingplanet/
For more on Darwin see “Evolution and Wonder; Understanding Charles Darwin” http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/darwin/index.shtml
The Field Museum is renowned for its extensive fossil collections, especially the Dinosaurs, including Sue, the worlds largest, most famous and most complete T. rex. But instead of displaying the collection like a bunch of exhibits behind glass as I recalled from my childhood, they are now part of an interactive journey through time called The Evolving Planet.
You enter the exhibit beginning with planet earth 4.5 billion years ago and then walk through the various eras, epochs and periods all the way up to the present day. Each step is illustrated with fossils, dioramas, and short movies summarizing the information and highlighting dozens of scientists whose life work is on display. There are six major extinctions and several cycles of ice ages. We spent over five hours taking it all in.
A portion of the exhibit was devoted to the work of Charles Darwin whose name is synonymous with evolution. And ever since Darwin wrote Origin of Species, evolution has been under attack by Biblical fundamentalists. They tried to prevent evolution from being taught in our schools and failed. They switched tactics and offered their own “theory” of creationism and its latest incarnation, intelligent design insisting that these teachings are of equal stature with the “theory” of evolution and should be taught in our schools.
As I learned at the Field Museum, evolution isn’t just one theory among others; it is one of the most strongly substantiated theories in modern science. It’s the only scientifically accepted theory that both explains the amazing diversity of life on Earth today—and provides a concrete explanation for why this diversity has changed throughout history. I have never viewed evolution as a threat or contradiction to the idea that there is intelligence in the form of principle within it.
Later on in his life, Charles Darwin is quoted as saying; "When I wrote The Origin of Species, my faith in God was as strong as that of a bishop." According to Darwin Biographer James Moore, Darwin wants to convince you in this book that God has established laws of nature on Earth, as in the heavens, and these laws produce the forms of life that we observe. And the principal cause of this for Darwin is what he calls natural selection.
Evolution is perfectly compatible with principle, intelligence and cause. No one suggests that it is a random and meaningless process. That would be a philosophical argument not a scientific conclusion. Even neo-atheist Richard Dawkins, truly an expert in the field of evolution, doesn’t call it a random process. He objects to the idea of a mythical supernatural god with human attributes who manipulates the phenomenal world.
The evolution/creationist debate is far from over. Creationists continue to attempt to undermine the work of science because it contradicts their literal reading of Genesis. I say let God out of the box and see the magnificence and scope of creation through open and wondering eyes. That was my experience at the Field Museum and I can't wait to go back! Check out these resources for more information.
For a virtual tour of the Field Museum exhibit: http://www.fieldmuseum.org/evolvingplanet/
For more on Darwin see “Evolution and Wonder; Understanding Charles Darwin” http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/darwin/index.shtml
Monday, March 17, 2008
Welcome to Reason and Spirit
The time has come to join the blogosphere. There just doesn’t seem to be enough time on Sunday or enough space in the newsletter to talk about all of the things of interest in the world. Here, I can write to my hearts content on a wide variety of subjects. Book reviews, current events, movies, TV, ethics, theology, integral theory, the Bible, comparative religion… the possibilities are endless. And the best part about it is that it is interactive. Questions and comments are a part of the process and that is how ideas grow.
The most difficult thing about getting started was coming up with a name. Something short, easy to remember and not over used that captures the essence of what we are talking about. Reason and Spirit speaks to a pre-occupation that I have had for most of my adult life; how to make sense of existence and our place in the cosmos.
So far, the only two things that have provided any illumination have been the faculty of reason and intuitive insights I attribute to that which we call Spirit. Hence, Reason and Spirit. For those of you who think that perhaps Spirit should come first (like my wife Karen) it is a simple matter of alphabetical order not value ranking.
Unity co-founders Charles and Myrtle Fillmore were living examples of the dynamic interplay of reason and spirit. They combined critical thinking and mystical wisdom in a creative way that has allowed us to reframe our Christian heritage and embrace the truth teachings of other traditions. It’s an idea that has started to catch on.
In January we talked about the changes that have been taking place within Evangelical Christianity. Increased dialogue with other faiths, emphasis on social justice, responsibility for the ecosystem and renewing our commitment to eradicating hunger, poverty and ignorance are the focus of this movement that has been called the emerging church. Two great examples can be found here, www.deepshift.org and here, www.sojourners.com . The conversation has started, who wants to be a part of it?
The most difficult thing about getting started was coming up with a name. Something short, easy to remember and not over used that captures the essence of what we are talking about. Reason and Spirit speaks to a pre-occupation that I have had for most of my adult life; how to make sense of existence and our place in the cosmos.
So far, the only two things that have provided any illumination have been the faculty of reason and intuitive insights I attribute to that which we call Spirit. Hence, Reason and Spirit. For those of you who think that perhaps Spirit should come first (like my wife Karen) it is a simple matter of alphabetical order not value ranking.
Unity co-founders Charles and Myrtle Fillmore were living examples of the dynamic interplay of reason and spirit. They combined critical thinking and mystical wisdom in a creative way that has allowed us to reframe our Christian heritage and embrace the truth teachings of other traditions. It’s an idea that has started to catch on.
In January we talked about the changes that have been taking place within Evangelical Christianity. Increased dialogue with other faiths, emphasis on social justice, responsibility for the ecosystem and renewing our commitment to eradicating hunger, poverty and ignorance are the focus of this movement that has been called the emerging church. Two great examples can be found here, www.deepshift.org and here, www.sojourners.com . The conversation has started, who wants to be a part of it?
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