Spring Break
Gravity: The middle ground between science and religion
Brett Haymaker
Issue date: 3/9/07 Section: Ed-Op
Poets and philosophers have been contemplating God for as long as we have existed according to the deepest depths of my knowledge and memory. However, they are all reliant upon a false assumption, one that has refused to be challenged for far too long: the assumption that God cares. That God cares about us and our existence. That God somehow has something to do with our lives and an afterlife. Without an afterlife, without a life that will potentially last forever, our lives are void of a large portion of meaning or purpose except to find food, procreate the species, and to form bonds and relationships with those around us. For too long have we, as humans, dabbled in notions of right and wrong, truth and justice, ideals, morality and the afterlife. For too long have they prevented us, purely through glitches in language, from knowing what God is. Just imagine how the world would change if people stopped thinking they were right, that their way of life is superior to another because "their God is the real God" and they will be "saved!" Except God isn't a "being." God is the wind of the Universe!
But, people do not want this. People do not want this belief, to admit that God does not and cannot care about their lives. That God as a force could be true. Because like I said before, we are, as a people, big fans of meaning and purpose and the current God, as a being, a creator, a dictator of right and wrong, a source of empowerment over others, gives us a reason to hold this belief close and kill before we let it go. To criticize, to judge, to feel good about one's life, for that is what it is really about. To feel good about ones life and know that after death, life will continue on forever
In fairness however, the argument that I think is an interesting one is that sometimes the fiction is better than the truth. And in a sense, since we are trapped inside our human perceptions, experiencing the world through human senses and a human body, we will always be influenced by the fiction of existing in a human form. The story being told over and over again.
But alas, I take solace in knowing that this world is so overwhelmingly complex, that in order to appreciate my life; I need to maintain a sense of reverence and grounded perspective of that complexity. And in doing so, I have a reverence, respect and admiration for God.
And it is this that draws us together. It is the gravity of this massive uncertainty that unites us all in this thing they call humanity.
Brett Haymaker is a pre-junior majoring in English and philosophy and is the public editor. He can be reached at publiceditor@thetriangle.org.
But, people do not want this. People do not want this belief, to admit that God does not and cannot care about their lives. That God as a force could be true. Because like I said before, we are, as a people, big fans of meaning and purpose and the current God, as a being, a creator, a dictator of right and wrong, a source of empowerment over others, gives us a reason to hold this belief close and kill before we let it go. To criticize, to judge, to feel good about one's life, for that is what it is really about. To feel good about ones life and know that after death, life will continue on forever
In fairness however, the argument that I think is an interesting one is that sometimes the fiction is better than the truth. And in a sense, since we are trapped inside our human perceptions, experiencing the world through human senses and a human body, we will always be influenced by the fiction of existing in a human form. The story being told over and over again.
But alas, I take solace in knowing that this world is so overwhelmingly complex, that in order to appreciate my life; I need to maintain a sense of reverence and grounded perspective of that complexity. And in doing so, I have a reverence, respect and admiration for God.
And it is this that draws us together. It is the gravity of this massive uncertainty that unites us all in this thing they call humanity.
Brett Haymaker is a pre-junior majoring in English and philosophy and is the public editor. He can be reached at publiceditor@thetriangle.org.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 6
Joseph Ulicki
posted 3/11/07 @ 7:30 AM EST
Brett,
In your article you wrote:
"Poets and philosophers ..., they are all reliant upon a false assumption, one that has refused to be challenged for far too long: the assumption that God cares. (Continued…)
JoeU
Joseph Ulicki
posted 3/11/07 @ 7:37 AM EST
Brett,
In your article you wrote:
"Poets and philosophers ..., they are all reliant upon a false assumption, one that has refused to be challenged for far too long: the assumption that God cares. (Continued…)
Gary L. Herstein
posted 3/13/07 @ 4:30 PM EST
Brett,
You might be interested in researching the ideas behind "Process Theology." John Cobb has a pretty good "introduction" available (searching on those terms at, say, Amazon or B&N should pull it up. (Continued…)
Ben Simmons
posted 3/25/07 @ 11:47 PM EST
Scientists try to explain things in a way that allows them to make accurate predictions. "God is everywhere" explains exactly nothing. That is why god and science are incompatible. (Continued…)
Sic
posted 3/26/09 @ 2:54 AM EST
Atheist here - to get that out of the way.
Interesting read. So you're really a Deist with slight Buddhist tendencies and you propose this type of god to be a bridge between religion and science? The middle ground?
While not a unique concept, it's a good place to begin weaning humanity off the god dependency, but it's hardly a middle ground or bridge. (Continued…)
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