24 RELlG-10JS RESPONSES

In lht wjrk ni physicists such as David flohm physlcs approachcs metaphysIacutelts-phHnsophy bascd 00 tlteories nI sl1btle reaities iexclhat tramcend the physical world Bohm described thc dimlnsions we see ilnd rhink of as real as tite opluumlate urder Behind it iexcliexcles the fmplicflfe arder in whkh scparatenesi resolvc~ into unbtoien wholeness Byond may lie other subtle dimensions all nwrging into an inlinite gruacutel1nd rhal unfolds iexcltsclt as iight Thi sckutific theorf i5 very imilat fO dcsuipriol1$ by mystks from aIl culnes abnut their imuitive (xpel enltC of the cosmos They speak 01 realities btyond normal human pereeptions uf spJee and time 1he Hindu terrn RUhntiL ~ for instance means ~vasiexcl- -a vastshyncss pCf(eived by sages as infh1ile dinwnsiuumlm af a SUprlme Cuacutensdousness tha staned without Zlny nmtcrial and tben Iacutelsdf Vceanw the Crealion in the rCJliza~ riacutean of Gmu Nanlk first of iexclhe Siexclkh Gurus God is Ako MUTlJt~ Reality that

transcend~ Uumlme Sdellce h moving beyond its tarie l11echankal modcls wward more dynamshy

le biooglcal models Por instan re James Lovelock has proposed ilie Gaia Theory ni lile- NlTfh as a cnmpex sdfmiddotreguladng organism o sons OUI he does not see it as the work ni any Grand PIl1ner He explaillS~

Gaia themv sus the carfh as a compftN system made ur ofal the living thfn9Sshy al ~riexclhem from bmtma a11 (he H-YlJI uP() whales from liny agllC living ilt (he

IXNl1 ali [he way lp to filan rcdwaod trus and al Jf (he ereat Iwsystems el the

ITests iexclnd so Gil 111 of that are pan t tol (l(le bul ti9hf~y integraed wirh iexcltIl

atmesphm Ihr ((f(iexclf1 and fu surrace nxk Thc whofe oI tha comtirutes a single sy~tem ha reguultes iexcltstif kecp5 rhe rlimate tOllSU1n1 ami comjortaole lar ilfe ki~ps iexclhe chenrfmi (ompouacutelion ortlle almospJiexclere so fha irs alwaY$ breaiexclhablf The ~arrh is rwt alive likc n animal VWt 1am implyinq is aiiw iexcliexcl the seme of beiufI able fo regulae itsdf lts a iyJtent twt eVilved aUfomaticafly wirhoiexcll fin) purpos(

lt just happened and hu btC in exisfence Wl abcJUf bjfjNl yearj A Yery rou[h system

[n he United SUiles tlw UllServiltivc- Chrilttian communiexcllY has ohjected 10 rnechaniacutestk scientitic Lheones t)f biuacutelozkal evohuion preferrmg Crealionfsffi the concept (Jf mtenliollZlI diviacutenc creatiuumln of llare IOlfll5 Inlelligenr deslgn theory has becn cited tu 5Uprhm the rel1ginui OJ1IOp1 oiacute Ctcationism According tuacute imelshy

diexclsign t)iexcleriSlS sdcntHk di~coVClieS 01 lht compexltics and perfecrioos oiacute can oc said to pmvc the exiSl~nee of an Iutelligenl Designer For insiancc if

the wcak force in he nudeus uf an atoro Wefe- a small franjon weaker there wuuld be no hydroeen iexcl1 tiexcle uniVfs-imd thus no water Biologists find thaf

in lhe natural world is an iexcl111r1Catl hZlnnony uf beautirully elaboralcd intenelated parls vel to pmduce he miniamre propdleI that 1110W5 a liny DJcrerium to swim lome forty diffcrent protdm ue rc-quired

The questinn rhcll Grises Cnn Ihe complex maps Jlilt prorlungt me be Ihe COilshy

sequemes of chanct arrangemenu of aoms DI afe they thtgt Tsult oiacute deliberat deslgn by ~ome First Cause 111( intltlligem rlesign nmvement condudes thnr hele lTIl15t be iexcl) Creator Howcvn sdence is a melhod uf proposlng testable hypotheses ilnd lesling tlwm whereagt tbt intftligcnl dtsign hypothesis ls nuumlt tc~table In 2005 thejudge in a landmark cast in Dove Peunsfivanla rued that lntelligent design c0ud nol be recommended to ninth-grade biotogy students becau5t illleigem design does not qUi1Hfy as SCkUC0 ~llnless lhlC ddlnltiuacuten of

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Sdence Approaches Religion

_ r- Faul Daies (b 1946) has Templeton PrLre a prestigiol1s Imcmiexcltiexclanal r coultiacutebutlon 10 rhinking aoom reigion

that SciClICC approaches religioll when IUltmtal questions

a biologisl and you gel stuck yon migbt go to help )OH out U a rIacutetermst gets stock

a physiacutedsL If youre a piJysiacuterut and you ~ nowhere (1) gu except theulogy is the mmt MSic sriencc Irs at Ihe matory pyramid npon wbich is built le deals wiLl-iexcl cbe fundamenta And Ihat in~vitably prompls lb ro ask Why those 1aws Whe-re have they hy are rhey marhiacutematica Whal does it

they he differem Cleady Ihese are the borderline b~tween saacuteence aud

science and thfoJogy sdentists perce1ved this nnmral order mathematical comen and Ihey

deJived from a creatormiddotbelug Whal in (he centuries mal followetl was [hat

the exhlence oiacute a real order in cant Ve a sdemlsl if you donl bdieve sorne son oi order that 15 at leasl in llenslble l( m So ruu havf [O make

assumptiom~which dont llave to be a scJentist f0uve got ro believe

that there is a rationa urde in uu al we can LOnte ro understand

Whal an extraordinary in Tbere h a rariona

order in nature 5dellce asserts arbitrary ur ahsurd

Gad jI jiexcl nolln tbe gteuse oi IS exlsted ior all cternity iexcliexclnd

)$inic magidan brluw [he universe iexclmo bring

ai sorne momem in time on a whimskal basis When 1 refer 10 God ir i iexcln the 5trLie of the rahona ground In which the whole sciemjik enterprise is rooted The Goo Jm referring lo iacutes no reaUy a pc~n or a ocing in the uSUJl sens In particular it is something that is Qutside oiacute time Thal is a very significilnt issue and one un which thrre can tw a very iexclmidu exchangc in Illy opinion between physks aud phHosophy

~Amosl all oiacute my physln Lolleilgues and sdenrtru frmn other dlsdllineiexcl even if rhe would cas them~eiexclves as militant arheists llre deeply iexclnsplred by Ihe wonder lhe beauty lile ugenuily oiacute nature aud (he underlymg law~llke lUathematical order

lt could bl that rbere are som things thal are sltnply golng 10 be ottver beyond sctenrific enquiryshynot because were lacking lhe money Uf the expertise ur gtOIDething of Iha sort bU[ becallse there are iniexclerent jilnltl to how far rational enqulry can take lIS H sdence Ieaves us with mstery is there a Wdy

that we can mme lo knuumlw aboUI the wOIld about exlstence UOl through sciacuteenuficenqulry but through some uumllher method m uptn-minded as 10 whether (hat l~ tbe case Irn taking hete abon reveiatory or mystkal expeliences where 5Omehow the allSwer IS grasped -nut througb raliunal euquiry nnr through experimematlon hut by knowing In sorne imemal seme

Nolhing 1 huye ajoacute deals with lhr SOr of issues we struggle wirh iu rlally me whkh are ethical and moral issues The weakneS$ of restricuumlng ro a God whos jml sorne son of abstract mahematical raliona ground fUl the world is that lt doesn( provide us wl1b any son of moral gutdance Mos pClgtple mm to reiigluumln not because they want lO understand huumlw Ibe universe is pUl together but beca use they wanl lo nnderstmd how IheIacutel Qwn Uvegt are put togethcr and what lhey should do neL Yon dont 1$0 lO a physkist lO ask aooUl right and wmng~llt

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