Well, Barbara Bradley Hagerty set out to find the evidence of God, and the Transcendent reality she hoped to find and -- guess what? She found it! She asserts she's a "journalist" and "reporter," but her awards as a "religion correspondent" tell me more that what she is is a believer looking for any evidence -- or lacking that, any justification to lower the bar for what counts as evidence -- for grounding her belief.
She often asserts her feeling that "There has to be more" than this, and her final crowning realization is: "Earth is not our home." The problem with most religionists is right there, in that five-word negation! They look at what they see and, not happy with it because it changes, seek something that is eternal. The imagined reality is, for them, more real and more valuable than 'just this.' There is no lack of awe in the fact that sub-atomic particles, come together to form molecules that assemble to form bacteria, monkeys, you and me!
She leans heavily on William James and his defense of faith and non-evidential belief basically because it makes her feel good! The ethics of such a 'will to believe' leaves much to be desired, and yet, credulous folk still seek solcace in such pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking!
I had hoped for more from this book based upon the title.
3 comments:
Yep, sounds like a nauseating book with that pie-in-the-sky mentality. Heck, the title would have given it away to me.
Out of the Stars
Robert Weston
Out of the stars in their flight, out of the dust of eternity,
here have we come,
Stardust and sunlight,
mingling through time and through space.
Out of the stars have we come,
up from time.
Out of the stars have we come.
Time out of time before time
in the vastness of space,
earth spun to orbit the sun,
Earth with the thunder of mountains newborn,
the boiling of seas.
Earth warmed by sun, lit by sunlight;
This is our home;
Out of the stars have we come.
Mystery hidden in mystery,
back through all time;
Mystery rising from rocks
in the storm and the sea.
Out of the stars, rising from rocks
and the sea,
kindled by sunlight on earth,
arose life.
Ponder this thing in your heart,
life up from sea:
Eyes to behold, throats to sing,
mates to love.
Life from the sea, warmed by sun,
washed by rain,
life from within, giving birth,
rose to love.
This is the wonder of time;
this is the marvel of space;
out of the stars swung the earth;
life upon earth rose to love.
This is the marvel of life,
rising to see and to know;
Out of your heart, cry wonder:
sing that we live.
______________________
Spirituality of Atheism
http://www.uuca.org/spirituality-of-atheism
Thanks for posting this poem. I enjoyed the article you linked to as well. Interesting that the writer singled out the idea that "Earth is not our home." The thought that such a view is -- or even could be seen as -- 'religious' or 'spiritual' is a bit frightening! It's the metaphysic behind christian fundamentalists looking forward to 'the rapture.'
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