Science & Beauty
I once had a conversation with a hardcore creationist (for those that don't know, that's someone who believes the universe was created by God). This is a rough remembering of how the conversation went.
Creationist: So, you don't believe that God created the universe?
Me: No, I am one of those who subscribed to the Big Bang Theory, and all the science that goes with it.
Creationist: That is sad.
Me: Why? I still believe in the Divine Presence, just not in the same way you do.
Creationist: But, how can anyone who believes so heavily in science see beauty in life? How can you see the beauty of the things God has created?
At the time, I didn't have an answer, so I excused myself from the conversation. But thanks to a friend on WoW, I was able to come up with an answer. It was inspired by music, music made from the words of scientists who also believe the same as I do. Here is what I learned, and how I can answer now.
Scientists can see beauty the same as anyone else. While a creationist sees a flower that they believe God created, and it calls it beautiful, a scientist sees something more profound. They see that the atoms of the flower are made up of the remnants of old stars, of old world, of old galaxies. These atoms, whizzing through the cosmos in a chaotic and random way, just happened to come together, here, and now, in this way. They formed this life form, out of pure evolutionary need and random mutation to form something beautiful. It is even more beautiful because of the incredibly small chance of this ever happening. In a million worlds, finding another flower like that one would probably never happen. That is the miracle of evolution, and of life in the universe. We are tiny, but we are precious because of our rarity.
If you want, take a listen to the three songs that helped me come to this revelation here: http://www.symphonyofscience.com/
Creationist: So, you don't believe that God created the universe?
Me: No, I am one of those who subscribed to the Big Bang Theory, and all the science that goes with it.
Creationist: That is sad.
Me: Why? I still believe in the Divine Presence, just not in the same way you do.
Creationist: But, how can anyone who believes so heavily in science see beauty in life? How can you see the beauty of the things God has created?
At the time, I didn't have an answer, so I excused myself from the conversation. But thanks to a friend on WoW, I was able to come up with an answer. It was inspired by music, music made from the words of scientists who also believe the same as I do. Here is what I learned, and how I can answer now.
Scientists can see beauty the same as anyone else. While a creationist sees a flower that they believe God created, and it calls it beautiful, a scientist sees something more profound. They see that the atoms of the flower are made up of the remnants of old stars, of old world, of old galaxies. These atoms, whizzing through the cosmos in a chaotic and random way, just happened to come together, here, and now, in this way. They formed this life form, out of pure evolutionary need and random mutation to form something beautiful. It is even more beautiful because of the incredibly small chance of this ever happening. In a million worlds, finding another flower like that one would probably never happen. That is the miracle of evolution, and of life in the universe. We are tiny, but we are precious because of our rarity.
If you want, take a listen to the three songs that helped me come to this revelation here: http://www.symphonyofscience.com/