Cosmology Is A Blessing?
Luky's excited this week. Despite the seemingly unending bad news of the past several years, he says tonight promises a TV escape which, "is the ultimate 'Meaning Of Life' subject."
I live with him so I kind of know what he's talking about - it's the Science Channel's Tuesday evening (9/27/2005 - 9:00 p.m. EST) broadcast of the 25th anniversary edition of Carl Sagan's COSMOS (here's a link to the Science Channel's COSMOS website, but Luky says keep in mind that the Discovery.com website is thick with pop-ups and annoying navigation - http://science.discovery.com/convergence/cosmos/cosmos.html).
Luky has made this point to me a million times . . . that the methodology of science is the connection with God. He argues that science (by which he means the methodology - not necessarily every scientist) is about discovering what's true. Then he says that cosmology is the discovery of what's true about the beginning of all truth. So, I think it tends to be Luky's view that churches should be teaching cosmology.
I've argued with him about the idea that some things are simply too mysterious to be studied with the scientific method. Luky usually throws up his paws at that statement. He makes a more subtle distinction. He says that I'm expressing mysticism which is very different from recognizing mystery.
As I understand his point, mystery is to be studied and figured out while mysticism is the idea that some things will always be, and are meant to be, mysterious. I think he gets annoyed when I fail to really think through these ideas carefully and I treat all the unknown stuff the same.
"It's not the subject that is holy and meaningful - it's our approach to it," he tells me. "If we draw a line to separate us from the mysterious and treat that line as impenetrable then we are NOT simply recognizing mystery, we are, in fact, giving up to mysticism."
And for whatever reason, Luky says that God wouldn't want us to do that. Well, come to think of it, he always speaks the word "God" with more reverence than I do - but I can't tell if we're talking about the same thing.
Anyway, this whole line of discussion (argument) always ends the same way. Luky says that God and science (especially cosmology) have a lot in common. He keeps talking about truth - "truth" - where the heck does he get this stuff? Geez!?! Who ever said that God had to have any connection with what's true?
God only knows what he thinks about evolution!
I live with him so I kind of know what he's talking about - it's the Science Channel's Tuesday evening (9/27/2005 - 9:00 p.m. EST) broadcast of the 25th anniversary edition of Carl Sagan's COSMOS (here's a link to the Science Channel's COSMOS website, but Luky says keep in mind that the Discovery.com website is thick with pop-ups and annoying navigation - http://science.discovery.com/convergence/cosmos/cosmos.html).
Luky has made this point to me a million times . . . that the methodology of science is the connection with God. He argues that science (by which he means the methodology - not necessarily every scientist) is about discovering what's true. Then he says that cosmology is the discovery of what's true about the beginning of all truth. So, I think it tends to be Luky's view that churches should be teaching cosmology.
I've argued with him about the idea that some things are simply too mysterious to be studied with the scientific method. Luky usually throws up his paws at that statement. He makes a more subtle distinction. He says that I'm expressing mysticism which is very different from recognizing mystery.
As I understand his point, mystery is to be studied and figured out while mysticism is the idea that some things will always be, and are meant to be, mysterious. I think he gets annoyed when I fail to really think through these ideas carefully and I treat all the unknown stuff the same.
"It's not the subject that is holy and meaningful - it's our approach to it," he tells me. "If we draw a line to separate us from the mysterious and treat that line as impenetrable then we are NOT simply recognizing mystery, we are, in fact, giving up to mysticism."
And for whatever reason, Luky says that God wouldn't want us to do that. Well, come to think of it, he always speaks the word "God" with more reverence than I do - but I can't tell if we're talking about the same thing.
Anyway, this whole line of discussion (argument) always ends the same way. Luky says that God and science (especially cosmology) have a lot in common. He keeps talking about truth - "truth" - where the heck does he get this stuff? Geez!?! Who ever said that God had to have any connection with what's true?
God only knows what he thinks about evolution!
posted by RAM at 7:44 AM
1 Comments:
That's an interesting viewpoint you presented with mysticism and cosmology. I think there is a conflict of paradigms here so there's always an argument between the two of you.
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