Teilhard And The Omega
There's no doubt in my mind that there's a spiritual aspect to our human existence. I was raised in a traditional religious environment, yet I waiver greatly on Humankind's ability to really know (or Define) just who is God, what is God like?
At various phases of life I've been all over the spectrum trying to answer that. In many ways, my God is still the "Yahweh" of the Old Testament: "the name too sacred to be spoken by man". The OT Yahweh is often referenced as being a vengeful god. My version though is one who is Mysterious in all aspects, caring and loving, I simply like the term "Yahweh".
Though I find great comfort, at times, in reading from the New Testament, I'm still immersed in the Old, haven't moved beyond several Psalms and passages from Isaiah which I keep coming back to.
I'm particularly enamored, however, with works of French theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955). A philosopher and priest, he also trained as a paleontologist and geologist (he took part in the discovery of Peking Man). His most notable works, published posthumously, are "The Phenomenon of Man" (1955) and "The Divine Milieu" (1957). Basically, he disregarded creationist theories of humankind but believed in Evolution, setting forth sweeping accounts of an unfolding of the cosmos and the evolution of matter and life. His cosmos originated in primordial particles from which life developed: human beings (biosphere) and the noosphere, finally an Omega Point which is pulling all creation towards it. He writes not of creation but of creative union. The movement of life through evolution towards unity "completes" God in some way, his Omega Point being seen, by some, as Christ, towards which all creation moves.
A descriptive quote that i think is particularly relevant today states "The Functioning of Nature should be the pattern human action Must Follow." Looking at where we are today with so much destruction of life and our planet, could anything be more obvious as a path for Earth's future?
I, too, am convinced that "there's a spiritual aspect to our human existence". I, too, was raised in "a traditional religious environment" (a variant of evangelical Protestantism). But there's much in my early formation that I have grown (and I think it is an element of spiritual growth!) to disagree with or at least to question. So it seems to me almost indisputable that there is an "ineffable Other" to which I, as a human being, am called to submit; and I continue to worship as a part of a Christian community (Lutheran or Anglican). But, while as a part of that worshiping community I continue to invoke the unnameable "other" as "Yahweh" (or "G-d"), I have no difficulty understanding that the Divine who has been revealed to me from early on may have been revealed to other persons by using other names. Even in the Hebrew scriptures, other names are used for G-d: Adonai and Elohim are but a couple in addition to YHWH. And while the G-d revealed in the Hebrew scriptures may be understood as a source of divine judgment, the Hebrew prophets make it clear that the G-d to whom they call all people to worship is "gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love."
And it seems to me incontestable that our devotion to this One, however you may understand him, is an aspect of what it is that will save the planet from our egregious onslaughts against it. Call that "devotion" spirituality if you well; but also, see it practiced in tandem with the best of scientific inquiry.
It's such a pleasure to see Teilhard invoked in a post on this site. He's another of so many who was able to see beyond the constraints of mid-century pre-Vatican II Catholic dogma: you mention, Leo, that he died in 1955, and his books weren't published until after his death. Well, the Jesuits of the period found his geological discoveries incompatible with Catholic dogma of the time. So he was in much the same kind of dilemma as Galileo in the 16th-17th centuries: it wasn't the first time that Rome was forced eventually to apologize to a person whose exploration and observation took him beyond the scope of what was considered "truth" by the "guarantors of dogma". I suspect it won't be the last.
As for "creationism": that is a modern notion that developed after conservative (largely Protestant) Christians began to see Darwin's theories of evolution as a threat to the notion that "God created the heavens and the earth". Darwin never intended to that his "theory of evolution" be seen as "atheistic attack on the sovereignty of God," although he recognized that it would be seen as such. A more considered reading of the Hebrew scriptures recognizes that, in fact, there is not "one" creation story, but that the writers of Genesis give us two; and there are other stories to be found, for instance, in the Psalms and in Isaiah. The point is that we understand that there is some kind of mystery at work at "the fiery ramparts of the origins of the universe" ... but the Bible is not an eyewitness report of that origin: and was never intended to be. And Darwin and Teilhard are among those who help us to explore, not only who we are, but how we got here. Augustine, after all, wrote in the fifth century that creation itself was the second textbook to go to for information about God.
It's a fascinating discussion: and I hope I'm not being irreverent or disrespectful when I say that I'm glad to see that a poster can say on TN that he's thinking about more than "cock, balls, and body-hair": though these things., too, are created by the ineffable source of all that is, who has so wonderful an imagination!
Allen
Unless mankind rejects greed and selfishness, and embraces nature, there won't be a happy outcome for our species. We are responsible for global warming, and pollution of the seas. We get most of our oxygen from the seas (55-85%), where it is produced by plants (phytoplankton). The sea is a major food source for all of us, and man-made microplastics have infiltrated the fish. It took over 200,000 years of human history for the world population to reach one billion, and only another 200 years to reach 7 billion. The current estimate is 7.7 billion, and it will reach 8 billion by 2030. There may not be enough water to go around, let alone food. If you want to scare yourself, look it up on the 'net.
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