#258 The Ghosts of Galileo and Goldilocks

EXCERPT: Popular physics writer Paul Davies has recently published a book entitled The Goldilocks Enigma: Why Is the Universe Just Right for Life? In that book, he argues there must be some explanation why the universe appears to be not too hot, not too cold, but "just right" for the development of life, and spends much of the book looking for alternatives to invoking God as our intelligence designer.

It seems to me that, even if scientists achieve a scientific answer to this question, that discovery will unlock more questions, until finally both science and faith share the same question: "Why is there something instead of nothing?"—and no one expects any telescope to answer that.

The Ghosts of Galileo and Goldilocks

From CrossCurrents # 258: "For those who read their Bibles literally, Darwin eventually replaced Galileo as the scientific villain, since the theories of natural selection and evolution challenged the Genesis account of a seven-day creation and a human race made from “the dust of the ground.” So we get oddities like the "Creation Museum" showing saddles on dinosaurs (since a seven-day creation requires believing that dinosaurs and humans once co-inhabited the planet)."

It turns out the Creation Museum is sponsoring a live webcast tonight on "The Collapse of Christian America." I feel sure Hubble and evolution will be featured.

Do People Care?

As I researched the piece on Vatican Ambassador-nominee Miguel Diaz, two quotes caught my eye. One was Notre Dame’s Cathleen Kaveny observing “What you see is President Obama taking seriously not just Catholicism as a political force but as an intellectual force.” The other was former ambassador James Nicholson (2001–2005) calling the office a bridge between "the strongest secular superpower and the strongest spiritual superpower in the world.” In both cases, the Church is being described in terms of its presence and impact beyond its own walls—as an important global influence.
I always believed Vatican II intended this and it’s clear that John-Paul II believed it and preached it—but I wonder if the average Catholic cares?
I suspect most Catholics want a place for baptisms, weddings, funerals—but don’t care much about the impact of Catholicism on public life, or even realize that Catholic wisdom could be a force for progress. If so, that is sad—especially since the reason I got into Church work (and still my main motive) was to promote Church life as a forum for mobilizing the social justice power of Catholicism among grass-roots Catholics.
Tell me I am wrong? Tell me people DO care?

Blog Launch

My aim for this blog is that it become a forum for CrossCurrents readers to share views and offer feedback. I am especially eager for people from a variety of churches to share experiences and perspectives.

As always, my hope is to foster a more thoughtful and well-grounded Faith-Identity amid today's pressing challenges.

I welcome any and all comments, especially those evoked by CrossCurrents articles, the most recent of which concerns the nomination of Miguel Diaz to be our next Ambassador to the Vatican.