When God is Gone Everything is Holy: The Making of a Religious NaturalistThis is a potpourri of sociology and theology dictated by a certain level of morality required by Catholicism. The author discusses the work of many philosophers, scientists and theologians about the impact of faith, prayers, and religious practices. In the fifth chapter titled The Sea into which all rivers flow he presents an interesting discussion as to whether the nature of God is veiled as most scientists believe, or Goethe who suggested that God has no veils and nature has no mystery. To support this controversial view he discusses the radical and feminist views of Meera Nanda who radicalizes ancient Indus culture and Hindu philosophy to present a liberal humanistic approach. If Hinduism is an extremist's faith, how would she categorize Islamic faith and Islamic laws? The author correctly notes in the Sixth chapter on Ockham's razor that righteousness and belief in false prophets lead to culture wars, jihad, crusades, and mass killings. The author is a physicist and a philosopher, but his work in this book does very little service to these two disciplines which offers consensus knowledge of the world in a rational and methodical way. Advances in quantum cosmology, particle physics and molecular biology have revolutionized human thought and brings science and philosophy closer than ever. Although God does not directly figure in any equations, formula or living cell but his presence is felt figuratively. |
Contents
An Introduction | 1 |
chapter three Ancient Mother of the World | 15 |
chapter five The Sea Into Which All Rivers Flow | 37 |
Copyright | |
5 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
agnostic agnosticism animals anthropomorphic astronomer believe big bang biologist body called Catholicism cells century chapter Christian Church comet complex creation cultural Dame dark Darwin Dawkins death divine Dossey E. O. Wilson Eckhart empirical ence eternal everything evolutionary experience galaxies genes Georges Bernanos Gerard Manley Hopkins gious God gene goddess Hamer healing Heinz Pagels holy hummingbird ignorance immortality inscape Jesuit knowledge live loves to hide Maanen machine memes metaphor miracles modern mystery mystics Nanda natural world Nature loves nature's nebula neurons Nikos Kazantzakis Ockham's razor philosopher planet poem poet prayer priest proteins reliable religion religious naturalist Richard Dawkins Roman Catholic sacramental sacred science and faith Scientific Revolution scientists secret self-transcendence sense Sigrid Sigrid Undset skeptical soul spiral spiritual story supernatural Teilhard de Chardin theology thing Thomas Merton tion tradition truth understand Undset universe Ursula Goodenough veil words writes wrote York