Thinking Twice: Come Again?
When a month or two go by without a new blog from me, it does not mean that I am hibernating. I keep a running list of “brewing thoughts” for more development later. I decided to pick a couple from my grab bag and microwave them for your quick consumption.
First I will give a paragraph sketching my bio, which will give a hint as to why the two brewing thoughts tie together.
I was raised in a Christian home. I attended Sunday School, went on to a Christian college, wrote my master’s degree thesis in history on the founding and early years of a fundamentalist Bible School, then I proceeded on to a graduate theological degree. That is only half of my story. At one point Gary Zukov’s best-selling book on quantum science caught my eye, and I was swept into a fascinating adventure of reading about front-edge discoveries in the “new” physics. Some of my blog “commentators” have noticed my overlapping interests in history, science and religion. I can’t seem to think about one without joining the others to it.
1. Quantum mechanics
Advanced scientific explorations are showing us that the quantum level is a realm of movement, without fixity or grossness. But we all knew this anyway. The pre-Common Era thinkers in Greece long ago theorized that the basic elements of our planet include fire, air, and water. They even thought of atoms as the building blocks of matter. They just did not have the technical expertise to spell all this out in more detail. The Bible, with its stories about a supernatural realm paralleling and intermixing with the physical world, does not falsify quantum science, nor vice versa. Indeed, the best human understanding of both is that the Bible and quantum physics dip from the same bowl. If quantum science has anything to reveal about the God-created universe, its revelations are a clue to the nature of God. Ergo, God is “without fixity or grossness,”-- a breathtaking notion upon which science and scripture agree. Together they help lead us to the light at the end of the tunnel.
2. Dogma (the inevitable child of “doctrine”)
Dogma is not supple; it is hard and unchanging. It does not make adjustments. It does not learn or deepen. It pigeon holes; does not tell the whole story. It is an outline, talking points. It doesn’t have the grand “picture.” It is like “lego” parts snapped together following a pre-sketched design, in contrast to a landscape painting by an inspired artist.
These two “thoughts” are clues to the mystery of Doug’s peregrinations.
First I will give a paragraph sketching my bio, which will give a hint as to why the two brewing thoughts tie together.
I was raised in a Christian home. I attended Sunday School, went on to a Christian college, wrote my master’s degree thesis in history on the founding and early years of a fundamentalist Bible School, then I proceeded on to a graduate theological degree. That is only half of my story. At one point Gary Zukov’s best-selling book on quantum science caught my eye, and I was swept into a fascinating adventure of reading about front-edge discoveries in the “new” physics. Some of my blog “commentators” have noticed my overlapping interests in history, science and religion. I can’t seem to think about one without joining the others to it.
1. Quantum mechanics
Advanced scientific explorations are showing us that the quantum level is a realm of movement, without fixity or grossness. But we all knew this anyway. The pre-Common Era thinkers in Greece long ago theorized that the basic elements of our planet include fire, air, and water. They even thought of atoms as the building blocks of matter. They just did not have the technical expertise to spell all this out in more detail. The Bible, with its stories about a supernatural realm paralleling and intermixing with the physical world, does not falsify quantum science, nor vice versa. Indeed, the best human understanding of both is that the Bible and quantum physics dip from the same bowl. If quantum science has anything to reveal about the God-created universe, its revelations are a clue to the nature of God. Ergo, God is “without fixity or grossness,”-- a breathtaking notion upon which science and scripture agree. Together they help lead us to the light at the end of the tunnel.
2. Dogma (the inevitable child of “doctrine”)
Dogma is not supple; it is hard and unchanging. It does not make adjustments. It does not learn or deepen. It pigeon holes; does not tell the whole story. It is an outline, talking points. It doesn’t have the grand “picture.” It is like “lego” parts snapped together following a pre-sketched design, in contrast to a landscape painting by an inspired artist.
These two “thoughts” are clues to the mystery of Doug’s peregrinations.
posted by Doug at
2:05 AM
2 Comments:
Reading this felt like stage setting where poles were placed to define a range of tension. Yin and yang came to mind as did the tension between id, ego and super-ego. This is the stuff of endless soul searching.
By
Travis, At
March 6, 2014 at 7:35 AM
Reminds me of the 1960's poster about my car just ran over your dogma. The problem is those living behind dogma walls never see their walls as dogma. Maybe quantum physics has the tools to make doors in those walls.
By
Happy Hoeing, Jon, At
March 7, 2014 at 4:21 AM
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