Things That Can’t Be Explained
It is refreshing to hear an atheist and physicist admit that there are some things that he can’t explain. Alan Lightman, in an essay entitled “Does God Exist?”, has this to say. I believe there are things we take on faith, without physical proof and even sometimes without any methodology for proof. We cannot clearly…
Continue readingFollow-up to “All Truth is God’s Truth”
John Henry Newman, who was instrumental in the founding of the Catholic University of Ireland, also spoke of the seamless nature of all truth. I lay it down that all knowledge forms one whole, because its subject-matter is one; for the universe in its length and breadth is so intimately knit together, that we cannot…
Continue readingAll Truth is God’s Truth
There is an often quoted statement that says, “all truth is God’s truth.” Arthur Holmes wrote a book with this title in which he explained that there is no divide between sacred and secular knowledge. The quote is a paraphrase from one of Augustine of Hippo’s writings. He said, A person who is a good and…
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Tidal Pool
I am sitting on a rock on the edge of the Pacific Ocean on Galiano Island staring into a tidal pool carved into sandstone. It is completely detached from the rest of the ocean as it is each day when the tide goes out. I am having an E.O. Wilson moment. The pool is approximately…
Continue readingCicadas
Talking with a couple of friends last night I was reminded of a section of Annie Dillard’s amazing book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. The book was written while she lived beside Tinker Creek in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and in it she records her thoughts on the flora and fauna she observes. She…
Continue readingExotheology
Although I have thought about the subject for years, I learned a new term today: “exotheology.” It is defined as the examination of theological issues related to extraterrestrial intelligence. Now lest you think I have completely lost my mind, let me point out that many gifted and creative writers have written on this topic. C.S.…
Continue readingA Rose By Any Other Name
Shakespeare’s often quoted line suggests “that which we call a rose; by any other name would smell as sweet.” The bigger question is how does it smell as sweet? Olfaction, the sense of smell, is still not well understood. There are multiple theories regarding how we actually are able to detect smells. One leading theory…
Continue readingThe Lives of a Cell
Yesterday I was given a book to read for a retreat that I will take in next month. The book is The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher by Lewis Thomas. It arrived by courier in the afternoon and I have already devoured the first six chapters. How did I not discover…
Continue readingSelf Reflective Faith
A few days ago I quoted Bradley Artson Shavit from a debate with Christopher Hitchens. In that same debate Rabbi Shavit noted that religion, like science, must be self-reflective. I would add that followers of a religion must constantly assess whether their understanding of God and faith fit with their experience of life. If we…
Continue readingReality
According to one of the greatest mathematicians of our time, “there is no picture- or theory-independent concept of reality.”* What Stephen Hawking means by this is that we are all limited in our perception of reality. He compares all of us to a goldfish living in a bowl with curved sides. Gazing out, the fish…
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