Religion that dismisses science lacks credibility. Science that dismisses religion lacks context. This week the Dalai Lama hosted the 26th Mind and Life Conference in the hopes of improving the discourse between the religious and scientific communities.
This is, unfortunately, all too rare in the world these day, particularly in the west. Where buddhist monks have learned to educate themselves and engage with the scientific community, too many priests and pastors seem strangely dismissive of much that science has to say.
And western scientists seem to take some sort of repugnant pleasure in an institutionalized condescension toward all things religious.
I believe that often both sides fail to look for common ground and shortchange their respective causes in the process.
Tail of the Dragon is a very theistic enterprise. The book's premise is that there is a God, who created all. But that God is a God of science. We do not dismiss concepts such as the big bang or evolutionary cosmology. We attempt to show how it is possible that the material that the earth is composed of could, in fact, be billions of years old, and could also have been formed by the word of God in six literal days.
Here is a quote from chapter one:
Creation itself was a perpetual condition, a never-ending ripple emanating from the utterance. The Kings spoke existence, and from that point of entry a continual well of creative force sprang. But that ongoing creative force differed from the initial creative act. That beginning came directly from the source, and it was Hasdiel's job to detail that initiation. Today, instead of a new galaxy, with its innumerable worlds and species, new fellow arella would be created. Arella, as celestial beings and the direct servants of the Kings, were always prime creations, derived directly from the utterance.
The book's premise is that God initiated our species with an act of direct creation. From that direct creation, the species has continued recreating itself, adapting and adjusting as needed. God built in the genetic flexibility to allow us to adapt, because God is a God of science and uses scientific processes to accomplish his goals.
Much of what the church once taught is now thought of, even within the church, as superstitious nonsense (remember Galileo). And science understands far less than it tries to pretend (remember gravity). Until both sides forego their arrogance and realize that we are infinity tiny creatures trying to comprehend a vast universe, both will lose the opportunity to learn from the other.
I enjoyed your thought-provoking comments. We forget that we are finite beings and become obsessed with all of our wisdom and expertise. Our wisdom is indeed foolishness and we do not have the capability to answer all the questions of the cosmos. We puff out our chests and shake our fists to the heavens and become a sight to the universe ….mere ants taking on a Giant, omnipresent, all-powerful God. Who do we think we are! We tout our theories and expound our knowledge. We are so busy talking and arguing that we fail to listen to that still small voice reminding us that we are His finite mortal creations and we were not there when He created the worlds we so arrogantly try to explain. So we proof-text away anything we don't agree with and close our hearts and our minds to anyone who sees things differently.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we must understand the limits of our knowledge and guard against becoming dogmatic to the point of being unteachable. God is indeed the inventor of science and is not opposed to the things contained there. It is the wise man who understands his limitations and can search for truth in all the areas that an all-powerful God has provided. He has given evidence of His existence in science and in every part of nature and if we will just wander there we will find all the proof we are searching for.
I found the first book in your trilogy surprising. I was drawn into the story from the prologue and found myself quickly involved in the relationships between the arella in their pursuit to become angels. As I followed through their training, I was intrigued by the choices they made and the consequences of those choices. It made me examine my own motives and purposes and instigated a heart-search that I found indeed unexpected. I especially loved the ending and the great segue to Book Two as it was pure genius! I can't wait until Book Two in this Fallen Series is released. Thank you for this book. It has meant a great deal more then I can pen.