History and future of life on Earth - a synthesis of natural science and theology

"A synthesis of research results of modern natural sciences and fundamental statements of the Christian faith is attempted. The creation of the universe is addressed. Four important events in the history of the Earth as well as the diversity of living beings are shortly discussed. There are good reasons to believe that the universe was created by a transcendent superior being, which we call God, and that this superior being intervened in evolution and Earth history to promote the development of intelligent life. Furthermore, it can be concluded that intelligent life is very rare in the universe. This is the explanation for the “Fermi paradox”. Intelligent life on planet Earth has cosmic significance. The overabundance of this universe inspires the hope for participating in the fulfilled eternity of the Creator in transcendence. Prehistoric humans had long had hope for life after biological death. While scientific speculation about the end of the universe prophesies scenarios of destruction, the Christian faith says that humanity is destined to be united with Jesus Christ. Furthermore, all evolution will be completed with the Creator in transcendence. Then the whole of creation will “obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God”. From the first primitive living cell, an abundance of the most diverse living beings has evolved. Comparably, humanity has differentiated into a plethora of different cultures. This entire abundance will find its unification and fulfilment in transcendence with the Creator of the universe, without its diversity being erased."

Magna Cosmogony

<p><strong>Abstract:</strong> This article aims to show that science and faith have always walked closer than is usually thought, and that they can even coexist harmoniously in the same individual. It also seeks to show the sterility of the debate that puts both in direct confrontation, evidencing the often prejudiced and disdainful position of current science towards faith as a characteristic of the human condition, whether or not it is associated with a religion. In a broader approach, it discusses currently existing beliefs about the existence of intelligent life outside the Earth in contrast to the possibilities that science offers in our actual state of technological development. In addition, the work intends to convey the perception that it would be much more constructive to accept faith as a natural manifestation of consciousness that recognizes the limits of knowledge, rather than rejecting it through scientific arguments that, being faith, is manifestly inapplicable.</p><p><strong>Key-words:</strong><strong> </strong>science, faith, cosmogony, cosmology.</p><p>================================================================ </p><p><strong>Resumo:</strong> Este artigo tem como objetivo mostrar que ciência e fé sempre estiveram mais próximas do que normalmente se pensa, e que podem até coexistir harmoniosamente no mesmo indivíduo. Também busca mostrar a esterilidade do debate que as coloca em confronto direto, evidenciando a posição muitas vezes preconceituosa e desdenhosa da ciência atual em relação à fé como característica da condição humana, associada ou não a uma religião. Em uma abordagem mais ampla, discute-se as crenças atualmente existentes sobre a existência de vida inteligente fora da Terra em contraste com as possibilidades que a ciência oferece em nosso atual estado de desenvolvimento tecnológico. Além disso, o trabalho pretende transmitir a percepção de que seria muito mais construtivo aceitar a fé como manifestação natural da consciência que reconhece os limites do conhecimento, do que rejeitá-la por meio de argumentos científicos que, para ela, sendo fé, não se aplicam.</p><p><strong>Palavras-chave:</strong> ciência, fé, cosmogonia, cosmologia.</p>

‘The Eagles are coming!’: A Pneumatological Reinterpretation of the Old Germanic ‘Beasts of Battle’ Motif in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien’s imagination is invariably abundant in all sorts of peoples, races, and other forms of intelligent life, including those whose prototypes could be encountered in the natural world and which found their way into Tolkien’s fiction with little alteration to their physical properties and only some modification of their often deep-rooted framework of cultural associations in Indo-European lore. This last group includes, amongst others, the Great Eagles of the Misty Mountains, Tolkien’s ‘dangerous machine’, whose two principal affiliations appear to be with, on the one hand, the pre-Christian beliefs of the Germanic peoples (via the so-called beasts of battle) and, on the other, the pneumatological soteriology of the Roman Catholic Church (via the eagle as a creative recasting of the evangelical ‘dove’). The present article is an attempt to demonstrate that these seemingly incompatible ingredients in fact came to be quite seamlessly unified in The Hobbit and, in particular, The Lord of the Rings, providing even more depth to the powerful Christian substratum of Tolkien’s fiction.

WHAT CAN EARTH HISTORY AND EVOLUTION TELL ABOUT THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE?

Conclusions about the Creator of the universe are drawn from the evolution and diversity of living beings. Furthermore, four events of the Earth's history are addressed. From them, it can be concluded that the Creator actively intervened in the history of the Earth to promote the development of intelligent life. Following characteristics of the Creator are observed: He is patient, creates an exuberant fullness, and gives freedom to his creation. He uses causal links and seemingly random events to steer the course of his creation. The Creator is in constant dialogue with his creation to lead it into ever greater abundance and freedom. He uses evolutionary processes, which are not goal-oriented, to achieve his goals. The observed characteristics of the Creator fit very well with the Judeo-Christian God. The question is raised whether the Creator is timeless or not.

Interlude V

I’m sure the universe is full of intelligent life. It’s just been too intelligent to come here. ARTHUR C. CLARKE (reproduced from an interview http://www.scifi.com/transcripts/aclarke.txt) The Vietnam War, during which American casualties ran extremely high, remains controversial in the United States. During the conflict, US forces estimated the strength of enemy forces based on the “SWAG” principle. At the war’s end, in a legal case, Colonel John Stewart took the stand. Lawyers grilled him, asking what, exactly, SWAG stood for. His reply, generating much amusement in the courtroom, was “Scientific Wild-Ass Guess.”...