Pantheism holds that God is identical with
the real world. God is all and all is God. God does not trancedent reality
but is immanent in reality, or rather, all reality is in God. Beyond him
is only illusion or nonreality.
My own short definition of a Scientic Pantheist would
be, "One who considers the Universe to be Divine, and all life, matter
and energy to be an interconnected wholeness; who believes scientific investigation
to be the only means of obtaining objective knowledge of the Universe;
who cultivates character and virtue consistent with being part of a nurturing
Universe; who cultivates an openess to knowledge of, and a sense of oneness
with, the Universe as a devotional practice." - Bill
PANTHEISM is the belief that the universe and nature
are divine. It fuses religion and science, and concern for humans with
concern for nature. It provides the most realistic concept of life after
death, and the most solid basis for environmental ethics. It is a religion
that requires no faith other than common sense, no revelation other than
open eyes and a mind open to evidence, no guru other than your own self.
- Paul Harrison
My own short definition of a Scientic Pantheist would
be, "One who considers the Universe to be Divine, and all life, matter
and energy to be an interconnected wholeness; who believes scientific investigation
to be the only means of obtaining objective knowledge of the Universe;
who cultivates character and virtue consistent with being part of a nurturing
Universe; who cultivates an openess to knowledge of, and a sense of oneness
with, the Universe as a devotional practice." to his name. - Jerry
Here's mine. Jeff had wrote that he was off to the finger
lakes to watch the meteor shower. I had forgotten that the East Coast was
bombarded this time every year. It brought me back to my youth. (Yes, that
long ago) to when my friends and I would sleep out in our back yards about
this time every year. Our thoughts would be turning to the waning days
of summer. And the fact we would be back in school in a couple of weeks.
Catholic school at that. I remember that even though we were in the shadow
of a big city like Philadelphia. We were far enough out in the suburbs
that we still got a good view of the meteor shower early in the morning.
It was a wondrous thing. Lights streaking across the sky in short intervals
which seemed endless. At 11 yrs. old it was just amazing to me that there
were so many. Wouldn't we run out of meteors?
And I guess it was also there in that sleepy little town
in Pennsylvania that I first got interested in geology. Yes, even though
we were in a city suburb, we still had all the elements. Even nature. We
had a field at the end of our street that once was a farmers wheat field
years before. Now it grew wild flowers in the spring and summer. And wild
wheat and hay in the fall and winter. We would roll down the slight hill
that led to our woods. That's right. Woods in the suburbs. And they were
ours. Only about 50 acres or so. But they were dense and wild and great
for exploring. I climbed my first Chestnut tree in those woods. Now all
of the Chestnut trees are gone. Ravaged by disease about a decade ago while
I was away in the military. I often thought that it was because I wasn't
there to protect them.
As you walked through the woods you came out to a creek.
Or was it creak. We always debated that. We would hunt salamanders and
guppies, maybe the occasional tadpole. After a long afternoon of hunting
we would sit in the shade and dip our cupped hands into the small, chilled
waters running down into the woods for a drink. You wouldn't dream of doing
that to that water today. On the other side of the creek was Simons Cliff.
More of a steep hill really. We called it that because our older brothers
told of a young boy who was playing on a tarzan swing on the side of the
hill one day and feel when it broke and died from the fall. We never did
find out if the tale was true. We really didn't want to find out the truth.
We would spend hours a day, digging into that hill, trying to discover
new rocks and minerals.
I especially remember one time. I was digging in my usual
place when I came upon a interesting rock specimen. It was odd, because
it was unusually soft and would break apart if given the slightest pressure
in your fingers. When it would crumble, it would glisten in the sunlight
like diamonds. I ran home to record my findings and maybe send them off
to the National Geographic Society. I would call it "Lee's Stone".
Hmmm. A bit precocious, even for a 11 yr old. I know. I would call it the
matter in which it crumbled and what it was before. Sand rock. Imagine
the disappointment of a young boy to discover that it was just, plain old
sandstone. But for a few moments I was a explorer on the plains of an ancient
dig. Oh, what memories. I think it's one of human kinds greatest gifts.
To have those memories. I only hope our children's children get to experience
the same things and make their own memories for their children's children.
That's what Scientific Pantheism means to me. Take care.