Table of Contents | 15. What components are essential for the "new cosmology?"
The religious world view that has dominated Western culture for centuries emerged from the work of Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Descartes and Darwin. Their discoveries forced theologians and scholars to look anew at "the old, old story." So we keep hearing about the "new cosmology" and how it calls for a re-statement of "the mythology of Christianity." Some are claiming that "the mythology of Christianity" is rooted in a theism reflecting a metaphysical view that has imploded. The Copernican revolution saw to that. Thus there are views, such as Christianity Without God, the title of a book by Lloyd Geering, and Why Christianity Must Change or Die and A New Christianity for A New World, both books by John Shelby Spong, that dismiss theism as a way of talking about God. Marcus Borg and Sally McFague are presenting panentheism as a perspective to replace theism; see his The God We Never Knew and her Models of God. What I hear and read claims that human beings are "myth makers;" we are forever seeking to make meaning. But the "new mythology" must reflect a perspective that is cosmo-centric, ecologically responsible, egalitarian and religiously inclusive. Brian Swimme's The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos and Thomas Berry's The Dream of the Earth are books by some pioneers who are articulating the pathways into this new future. Maybe, just maybe, this is the place to seek for "a new story." For me it's worth the effort! Conclusions and hypotheses formulated to explicate these discoveries demonstrated that the view of a "three-tier" universe of the ancients was virtually bankrupt. Relying on their (Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Descartes and Darwin) astounding investigations and conclusions, modern science came to regard the universe as a great machine that operated primarily in a linear fashion. This view sees the world as mindless and inanimate and eligible to be exploited for human purposes. An explosion of scientific advances emerged from this view and led to the modern world of technology and capital investment and colonial imperialism instead of agricultural production. However, since the raw materials essential for such expansion are finite, an ecological crisis has erupted with a vengeance calling this vision into question. This perspective of unlimited growth and expansion has contributed substantially to a time when the future viability of the planet hangs in the balance. In the years following the Second World War the degrading of the environment has raised the question of whether we have "reduced the livability of our habitat to a point of no return." Moreover, quantum physics with its uncertainty principle has challenged the old deterministic model of a predictable clockwork universe. Traditional concepts of a linear causality and mechanical forces acting on material objects are being superseded by chaos theory, non-linear dynamics and dissipative structures; see Metzner's The Emerging Ecological Worldview in Worldviews and Ecology: Religion, Philosophy and the Environment for amplification. To the obvious relief of many, "a new story" is being constructed. In his essay entitled Beyond the Enlightenment Mentality which is the introduction to World Views and Ecology: Religion, Philosophy and the Environment Tu Wei-Ming, a professor of Chinese philosophy at Harvard University, offers guidance toward the end of a vision that will contribute to a renewed planet. He made the following observation. "We need an ethic significantly different from the social Darwinian model of self-interest and competitiveness. We must go beyond the mentality that the promise of growth is limitless and the supply of energy is inexhaustible. The destructiveness of 'secular humanism' lies not in its secularity but in its anthropocentrism. While the recognition of the spirituality of matter helps us to appreciate human religiosity as a way of living the fullness of life in all its dimensions, the exclusive focus on humanity as the measure of all things or as endowed with the unquestioned authority of dominion over nature relegates the spiritual realm to irrelevance and reduces nature to an object of consumption. The human project has been so impoverished that the answer to 'What is man that thou art mindful of him?' is either want to greed. The crisis of modernity is not secularization per se but the inability to experience matter as the embodiment of spirit." If he is right then some "new story" of this universe, a story that is sensitive to "experiencing matter as the embodiment of spirit," is essential. Is there a "story" adequate to fill this need? I keep hearing about "the new cosmology" and how it, too, calls for a re-statement of "the mythology of Christianity." The new data that is identified with "the new cosmology" points to the need for a new paradigm. That need is being satisfied by the creative work of people like Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme. Both of them are writing about the move away from a geocentric and anthropocentric perspective to a cosmocentric one. So what components are essential for a new "mythology of Christianity" rooted in such a perspective? In order to construct the elements of a new "mythology of Christianity" it is essential to learn the data of cosmology. Brian Swimme, in The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos, sets down much of what is involved. The facts he enumerates are astounding: (1) the birthplace of the universe is 15 billion light years from the earth; (2) the sun rotates in a tiny circle around its center of gravity; (3) every second the sun transforms 4 million tons of itself into light; (4) the temperature of the sun's surface has cooled to 6,000 degrees; (5) creation of the sun was 5 billion years ago and it began to pour out its energy; now, some of that energy swims in the ocean,sings in the forest and enables humans to stand, yawn and think because in the blood are molecules energized by the sun; (6) Einstein discovered that we are living in a universe that is expanding in all directions but, at first, he did not trust the equations that told him this and he resisted this conclusion; (7) the human being is the crowning achievement of the evolutionary process; (8) the human is the conscious mind of the universe, observing and interpreting its activities. What do these things mean? First, God is envisioned as growing and coming to maturity with the unfolding cosmos. A.N. Whitehead's book Process and Reality is rooted in this perspective and he has influenced Charles Hartshorne, John B. Cobb, Larry Rasmussen and David R. Griffin. Einstein's concept of religion was embedded in an "experience of the mysterious that the mind cannot comprehend but that triggers a feeling of sublimity and beauty," says Harry E. Moore in an essay called The Theological Implications of the New Cosmology. But caution should be taken. Intimations of the holy or sublime aren't the same as reality. Second, the elements of a new "mythology of Christianity" begin with a sense of awe and wonder. Mystery is the essential nature of this new vision. Third, the human ability to comprehend and articulate the nature of God or Mystery is finite. The implications of this view are stupendous in terms of the documents of the world's faith traditions and the traditions themselves. The holy books representing the accumulated wisdom of all religions, like the Qur'an, the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, must be examined in the light of critical analysis. Christainity itself is not a timeless set of creeds but rather an ongoing tradition capable of self-criticism and improvement. Not just the holy books but faith itself is subject to critical evaluation. Fourth, the capacity to tolerate complexity and contradiction and ambiguity is essential. Einstein wrote, "The sense that behind anything that can be experienced there is something that our mind cannot grasp and whose beauty and sublimity reaches us only indirectly and as feeble reflexion...suffices." He is suggesting just how important it is to be comfortable with complexity! Fifth, since the faith traditions of all religions, including revelation, are human constructs then a sense of humility is the necessary stance of one whose faith is rooted in "the Jesus story." I have another hammer for anyone who wishes to join me in this new construction! I warn you, however, that this construction work is both difficult, unnerving and alarming. It will call into question some of your most cherished notions of religious faith, as well as require you to reinterpret traditional theology. Some of your friends aren't gong to understand what you are constructing. In his book entitled Doubts and Loves: What Is Left of Christianity Richard Holloway captures what I believe to be the result of such an enterprise, namely, constructing a new story. "The fascinating thing about our day is that, as the political and theological structures of Christendom crash down before our eyes, we can see once again, through the rubble and dust of the centuries, a clearer picture of the prophet of Nazareth." Then, maybe, the human quest for meaning can construct a new "mythology" to express the understanding of our faith tradition that will be appropriately "cosmocentric, ecologically responsible, egalitarian and religiously inclusive." And "the prophet of Nazareth" is a symbol of God with enough potency to make a substantial contribution to the task. Free from the mythical matrix of Christendom this One can be our companion for the "perpetual journey to an unreachable destination." "It is a chastening experience," admits Holloway, "to realize that you have largely given your life to talking about Jesus, weaving words round the mystery of his meaning, rather than trying to walk in his footsteps. 'Poor talkative Christianity' said E.M. Forster and...he was right. And it is not just the boring talk, though there's been an ocean of that, it is the cruel talk, the 'I have the truth and you don't' talk that is so crucifying. Crucifying, yes. I know it's a bit late to have made the discovery but isn't it time we dismantled all the calvaries our words have built for Christ and simply tried to follow him, preferably in silence?" What I have found is a distant relative, at best, of the Jesus of an earlier era. What I now see is "a subversive poet" with an "alternative social vision!" Or, if you prefer, "a subversive storyteller" with a unique gift for framing a counter-world with aphorisms and parables, a counter-world he called the Empire of God. In effect, according to Marcus J. Borg in The Heart of Christianity, Jesus says, "Faith is not about me" and then points beyond himself to God -- to God and that counter-world of unutterable grace and peace and love. I now understand this human Jesus as companion for my journey, model for my life, the symbol of God and the way to the eternal embrace of God's love. This can point us to that new reality or "new story." In Context Martin E. Marty describes what he calls "a poetic spirituality;" he is reporting what he learned by reading a review of Jane Kenyon: A Literary Life. There are striking parallels between reviewer John A. Timmerman's description of a poet's faith journey and what Bernard Brandon Scott sees in Jesus. In a book entitled Profiles of Jesus Scott's essay called The Reapperance of Parables contends that Jesus is an "oral storyteller" who used parable as the window through which to gaze on an "alternative social reality" or Empire of God. He re-imagines a counter-world and, thus, he could be identified as a poet! Timmerman writes, "Often this quality -- this powerful immersion -- gives rise to poems of such luminous beauty that they haunt the inner eye and change the way we look at the world...." Jesus used parables, according to Professor Scott, to point to an "alternative social vision" or counter-world or Empire of God. And when you see it, that's the "blazing light!" This human Jesus who points us to that world is the one I believe to be potent enough to help with this new vision that the "new cosmology" insists is crucial for our day. And a new "mythology of Christianity" will emerge from our struggles. That "new story" will be a way of transformation and connection -- transforming those who walk the "Jesus path" and connecting us to the other faith traditions whose "stories" are paths to hope and justice and caring that includes the entire cosmos. |