When the Homily is about Immunology

More excerpts from a conversation with a beloved Atheist (Agnostic)

BA:
>This principle (always seeking truth)
>certainly doesn't justify atheism, and I do not profess to know the
>truth about the existence of god. I am not an atheist. Science
>cannot prove that god does not exist, therefore, as a good
>scientist, I have to keep that possibility open.

Me:
Well, yes it is impossible to prove a negative. I think my concern is: what happens to the "beautiful" things of life when they are subjected to a sort of totalitarian "science." As we have discussed before, I think our western “enlightenment” notion of dissecting and categorizing in the name of seeking “truth” can in fact destroy the beauty (and might beauty be where real truth is found?). Like dissecting (destroying) a flower into it various biological parts in order to determine the true “nature” of the flower – when in fact its true nature is found in the brilliance of its color and gentleness of structure. Can we not have both, you might ask? Of course…it is a matter of emphasis and what conclusions we draw and what both of these mean to our personal paradigms.

Science says nothing of value (in my humble opinion) about beauty (or love – or indeed many things!). These things, I believe, transcend science and any attempts to subject them to science will doom their true nature to at least misinterpretation and at worst destruction. Again, science has boundaries – I believe. It is not the sole mechanism by which truth can or ought to be discerned.

BA:
>However, I think
>that (1) the lack of supporting evidence and (2) the fact that its
>so attractive an idea (i.e. we should be especially suspicious of
>our objectivity), leads me to strongly doubt its authenticity.

Me:
I used to be big on Christian apologetics and I could go on and on about “evidence” that has led me in the direction of believing. But, I believe God transcends science in the same exact sense that love and beauty do. I think we miss Him if we try and analyze Him like a frog on a dissection table. (Recall what I said earlier about coming to know the nature of God….once you think you have it nailed down, you’ve lost it.) I think there is something in us all that calls us to a lofty plain of being which is above science, above logic, yes even above our emotions – an internal realm in which we perceive the true nature of beauty, love, and even a small taste of the divine. It is here that we meet with God and I believe that this is God’s intent…for us to break out of the Matrix and see reality, just as Christ taught: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

As an Atheist, I think I often experienced this realm in times when something struck me as deeply profound, moving, or beautiful…but I could not explain such things or reconcile them to my scientific world view which seemingly dismissed them as being much less than what I actually perceived them to be: something of phenomenal proportions, something of the utmost importance, and yes even something that I would call divine.

**Comments, Advice, and Prayers coveted.