Sep 30, 2018

Science and Spirituality

I have always been in love with my God and a deep believer in science, from age four (I am now 84). My profession as an engineer has supported my family and allowed us to live comfortably, and has been one of the greatest joys of my life. I gain great satisfaction in solving a problem, and know deep within that the science behind the tools of my trade all fit comfortably within my spiritual belief.

I spend a lot of my spare-time in books. It is about evenly divided between science and spirituality (and a bit of fantasy stories, before going to sleep). My history of spiritual reading dates back to reading the entire bible, from Genesis to the Apocalypse, in the 8^thgrade. I never had any problem with both my science reading and what the bible said, for I always understood that the bible was symbolic to reality; that is, it spoke truths using stories and allegories, especially the ancient stories handed down verbally in the Old Testament. During my early years, I was very interested in paleontology, that is, the history of our earth as recorded in the bones turned to stone found around the world.

I recall being in third grade when our class use to visit the town library once a week. I had been reading since age 5 or so, and my mother used to take me to the local library children’s room, which was in the basement, and I would read everything that seemed interesting, taking home as many as was permitted. So when we went to the children’s room as a class in 3^rdgrade, there was nothing I wanted to read, as I had pretty much read everything I wanted to read in that section – but I really wanted to read the science and especially the paleontology books in the adult section (I had looked in the science section with my mother in the past), and after pleading with the teacher and the library I was granted permission. The facts I read in these marvelous adventure stories of how they located the findings and removed them from the rock around them kept me glued, and my active imagination took off with adventure stories, featuring me, of course. I was encouraged to read more, and I found it marvelous to see how God had evolved the story of life to eventually have humanity and its strange ability to ask “why”, or consciousness.

In case you are wondering who the enlightened teacher was, this was a Roman Catholic grade school, and my teacher was a nun, who supported my love of science. My love of science was supported all through my education, and I spend 16 years in Catholic schools, graduating as an electronic engineer from the University of Dayton.

I read many of the books from the theologians who set the stage for Vatican II, and learned so much about the thinking of the makings about God. I also read much on cosmology, that study of science of the entire universe. I had been offered a PhD scholarship on Radio Astronomy, but had turned it down as I was 25 when I graduated from College, and felt I did not want to wait until I was 30 or more before starting to live. (This was a difficult decision, but I would not have met the love of my life, and found a unique career in flight simulation otherwise. What changes ones choices in life can make!) Somewhere when I was about 40, I stumbled into quantum physics, and was amazed at some of the statements and thoughts behind that study of the very, very small. While still enjoying cosmology very much, and read and watch courses on that topic often, I spend more time examining the thoughts of those physicists who specialize in Quantum physics, and the work of Albert Einstein who spun the breathtaking world of the relative (it is not called the Theory of Relativity by accident).

Thus began the dual study of theology and physics. The more I learned to understand what each was saying about the underlying reality that we are a part of, I began to understand that much of what they said amounted to the same thing, using different languages. The similarities are amazing, from talking about the story of creation from apparently nothing (science calls it a singularity, theology calls it the Word of God), to the common source of all (science talks about how all are (is?) fields, or a field, theology talks about the all being one under God, and so many more).

What I find that science spells out the physical nature of the universe in great detail, (God?) and leaves it at that, while theology starts there and discusses the nature of God being not only the creator and presence of the universe, but beyond that physical nature, a living presence that we call life. Yes, I do believe that the universe is what theologians call the Christ, as St. Paul talked about the body of Christ, and St. Francis of Assisi understood that God is in the flower as well as a Spirit.

All of this forms the background of what my beliefs are as expressed in my book, The 12 Steps to Joy and Happiness, (finding the Kingdom of God that lies Within). If God is in every molecule, and IS every molecule (energy) in my body, than that living force can bring me to paradise, or Joy and Happiness, no matter what outward circumstances are present.

Meditation

God, I can see you laughing at the seemingly childish behavior of those who call themselves intelligent. It seems so obvious to me how everything is only one thing: You! You have blessed us with a universe that sits on a knife-edge of balance, perfectly balanced to last for a time that could spin and produce intelligent beings that have the capacity to live in paradise – if we but see it right before our eyes. Instead, we hide it and pretend that it just “happened”, or else we insist that You are like us and work on our finite time table. Your laughter provides us with the Love we need to come into the culmination of Living Love, where eventually we will know and feel our unity with all of creation, that is, within You. I am grateful to be a part of this evolution, and ask for gentleness in moving us to fulfilled Love in Life.