How are we doing?

It has been said by some that God created the world in six days, completing the task and resting on the seventh. One week, and all that is was brought into being. Evidence that suggests--strongly suggests--that millenia were involved and that a laborious process of trial and error and chance and adaptation--in other words, "evolution"--is dismissed as being too flimsy to stand against the revealed word of God. (A pretty conclusive way of closing down the argument.) And so people who're open to the discoveries and insights of modern science have often turned their backs on religion since so many religious folks have clearly turned their backs on science.

There are, of course, many religious people who do not find these two worldviews to be incompatible. As with poetry and prose, or classical music and jazz, the same thing can be expressed in different ways and science and religion can be seen as two different lenses offering different ways of looking at the world around and within us. Genesis can be seen as a poetic interpretation of the world's evolution and humanity can be seen as co-creator with the divine in the on-going creation of the world.

I came across sad evidence of humanity's creativity. A new island has emerged in the Pacific Ocean, partway between California and Hawaii. It is roughly twice the size of Texas. And it is entirely made up of pastic bags, fishing nets, empty bottles--garbage. Called the Eastern Garbage Patch it is yet another piece of evidence of human civilization gone wild.

Whether God created the world and appointed us stewards, or we are co-creators, we need to be doing a better job.

in Gassho,

Rev. Wik Print this post