Aaron Admin
Number of posts : 1919 Age : 52 Location: : Connecticut Registration date : 2007-01-24
| Subject: Open Pandeism Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:12 pm | |
| This is an excerpt from a book by Charles Blaise titled 'Life Itself as a Modern Religion'. In the book Blaise outlines his concept of a scientifically credible religion based on the divinity of life and nature. He calls his theology "Open Pantheism". The way it's described below sounds like a type of Agnostic Panendeism to me. - Quote :
- A SCIENTIFICALLY CREDIBLE DEFINITION OF GOD
Is there a scientifically credible way to define God? Let’s posit the concept of Open Pantheism. The reasoning unfolds without, I think, offense to saving skepticism.
First, in a more traditionally philosophical sense, let’s consider the universe itself as the grand molecular structure of our Natural Supreme Being. Is it alive? We know that since we’re part of it, it’s as alive as all the animate beings who populate it. If a part is alive, then so must be the whole. What about the inanimate matter? Don’t even the smallest subatomic particles vibrate and whirl? Have we been insensitive to what we consider their movement and might we be more accurate to accept it as a form of inanimate life, which provides a foundation for animate life? Then we might say that the entire universe, our Natural Supreme Being, is alive – that all of Creation is alive, animatedly and inanimately, somewhat like flesh and bones – and that we consider everything in it a sacred form of the life and substance of our natural God.
Is the foregoing enough to satisfy our longings? Far‐seeing souls that we are, we have infinite ones, the satisfaction of which may lead us to wonder whether or not there is a being or are beings beyond our Natural Supreme Being, the question that brings us to why we have called our concept Open Pantheism. Since we do not think we have the knowledge to attempt a decision, we believe we can, more wisely, leave the question open and express our willingness, even our humble eagerness, to accept whatever the answer might be, when and if we may ever know it. Thankfully, as beings born to finitude, we do not require the answer to this enormous question to understand the proper conduct of life. Here's a link to the entire book in PDF format... http://toreasonpublishing.com/LifeItselfAModernReligion.pdf | |
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