Luky, Me & Carl Are On The Same Page!
Luky was reading a review of Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion online this morning. I was working on a crossword puzzle in the New York Times Magazine while he was mumbling to himself. I would occasionally hear a term like "Meaning," "Belief," "Religion," and other of the words I regularly hear him mulling over and blowing through his whiskers. I wasn't paying much attention.
It was a relatively calm morning, and his excitement at finding a few inspiring things on the web didn't really change it much, but he insisted that I share them just the same.
First, he says Dawkins's website (http://richarddawkins.net/) is full of entertaining and educational links. He pointed me to an article excerpt from the book which we were able to share - online and off, as it were - since it appeared in print in my Sunday morning NYT.
Luky and I agree that Dawkins appears to be an unabashed atheist, but we also agree that, if we understand the meaning of the word, "atheist," then we feel it is a pretty severe position to take regarding the existence of something for which we also admit we have no evidence. In other words, since we can neither prove - nor disprove - the existence of God, Luky and I don't want to deny that He exists. As Luky says, "Hey, what if He's there?"
Well, as Luky read the article out loud he came across a paragraph that Dawkins pulled from long-time Luky hero, Carl Sagan which Sagan wrote in his book, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space,
"How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, 'This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant'? Instead they say, 'No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.' A religion, old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the Universe as revealed by modern science might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths."
When Luky finished reading that paragraph he raised his head from the computer and I put down my pen. Luky and I were across the room, engaged in two completely different media . . . but we were definitely on the same page!
It was a relatively calm morning, and his excitement at finding a few inspiring things on the web didn't really change it much, but he insisted that I share them just the same.
First, he says Dawkins's website (http://richarddawkins.net/) is full of entertaining and educational links. He pointed me to an article excerpt from the book which we were able to share - online and off, as it were - since it appeared in print in my Sunday morning NYT.
Luky and I agree that Dawkins appears to be an unabashed atheist, but we also agree that, if we understand the meaning of the word, "atheist," then we feel it is a pretty severe position to take regarding the existence of something for which we also admit we have no evidence. In other words, since we can neither prove - nor disprove - the existence of God, Luky and I don't want to deny that He exists. As Luky says, "Hey, what if He's there?"
Well, as Luky read the article out loud he came across a paragraph that Dawkins pulled from long-time Luky hero, Carl Sagan which Sagan wrote in his book, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space,
"How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, 'This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant'? Instead they say, 'No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.' A religion, old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the Universe as revealed by modern science might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths."
When Luky finished reading that paragraph he raised his head from the computer and I put down my pen. Luky and I were across the room, engaged in two completely different media . . . but we were definitely on the same page!
posted by RAM at 3:07 PM
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