Religious believers of all varieties are often accused by scientifically-minded atheists of being too narrow-minded. Of containing their Gods and their creation within the known sphere of Earth. As a science geek and a Pagan believer I aim to keep that wider scope. It's why I wrote posts about deeper geological views of stones, Paganism in terms of other planets, the death/rebirth cycle in places we don't often consider, and Paganism in terms of ancient and extraterrestrial life.
It's not just interesting to think about. It's a difficult challenge to undertake. One that has caused many a believer to walk away entirely and embrace atheism. I can keep my faith in a state of cognitive dissonance, in a sense plugging my ears when I hear about how my faith is challenged by science. But I'd much rather deal with it head on.
So what about the rest of our planet? One of the false arguments made by many theistic apologists is that the Universe is fine-tuned for life. Setting aside the serious weaknesses of this argument and looking only at our Universe, is it fine-tuned for life (See this great video by DarkMatter2525 about the issues with the 'fine-tuned' argument. Totally NSFW! Lots and lots of language.)? Is it really? On this planet we, and by we I mean every single living thing, live in a thin layer from at most a few miles down (some microbes have been found very deep in the Earth), to a few miles up (bugs, plant bits, and microbes have been found several miles up into the atmosphere). Our planet is just shy of 8,000 miles across. We make up less than 15 miles of that radius. And we don't even take up all of that space. There are places so dry, hot, cold, acidic, basic, and in general inhospitable that what little life we may find there just barely eeks by. That's alright with me. I don't believe the Universe is here just for us. Nor do I believe it was created by perfect deities just to keep me happy. I'm still wrestling out the details of that one for myself.
 |
| The Earth is not our temple. THIS... is our temple. Bow down in awe!!! Or stand. Don't worry, no one will notice. |
But what then of the other 7,900+ miles into the core of our planet? Do my Gods concern themselves with that? Do they concern themselves with the barren, asteroid strewn surfaces of so many of the planets out there? Or the vast expanses of literally nothing in the Universe? Or are they only concerned about places where life exists? Are there different Gods that handle the other worlds out there? I may not ever have the answers to all of those questions, or even any of them. But to me, it's important to find divinity out there as much as it is to find it in the cycles of the seasons or a flowing stream, or a delicate flower.
And there's a lot of there... out there. I recently found a video in my geek podcasts done through the research complex atop the Mauna Kea in Hawaii. It's a mind-blowingly detailed 3D walkthrough of the teeniest, tiniest block of our local neighborhood complete with annotations and explanations by one of the lead scientists. It left me wondering about all of those galaxies, each with trillions of stars. But beyond that, the gaps, the filament structures... everything. Structures so huge that it turns our galaxy into a tiny swirling "You are Here" in an absurdly expansive map. And it's such a small fraction of the whole Universe. And if I'm theologically consistent, I believe divinity lies in all of that. Every last atom. So what does that mean?
