|
Observing the Universe, Discovering Ourselves It is all a question of Story, says Thomas Berry. Our story, the human story, is the story of the Universe itself and much of our present disquiet stems from the fact that we remain largely unaware of this foundational narrative. Berry, an historian of cultures and a Passionist priest, has spent his life reflecting on the human community and its relation to the natural world. He has become a prominent voice articulating the sacredness of all creation and calling for a fundamental shift in human behavior appropriate to our place in the created order. It is essential, Berry believes, that we develop a new way of seeing, and for that we should turn to a view of the universe revealed by recent scientific observations. It provides a comprehensive presentation an integral story—of how we and everything else came to be, and the processes of creation still unfolding throughout the cosmos. • • • This has been an extraordinary century in terms of the deluge of discovery about the fundamental workings of the universe. New tools of observation have enabled astronomers to learn that the universe originated in a great burst of energy (dubbed ‘the big bang’) about fifteen billion years ago. Everything which has since come into being had its origin in that initial seed event. From its beginning, the universe has displayed an inherent restlessness, a built-in tendency, at every level, to continually organize itself into new forms. Initially,
temperature and other conditions were such that not even atoms existed.
Following a long period of complete fragmentation, the first elementary
particles of matter bonded to form simple sub-atomic combinations. Thousands
of years later those materials combined to On the macro level, large aggregations of matter formed initially into stars, and later into large clusters linked in close relationship with each other, called galaxies. At the start of this century, it was thought that our own galaxy (named the Milky Way), was one of just a few such assemblages in the entire universe. It is now known that there are more than a hundred billion galaxies, each of which contains several hundred billion stars. And new stars are continually being created, as the universe continues to expand. The universe was already two-thirds its present age before the star we call our sun came into being. Part of the material surrounding that new star became our planet Earth, some 4.5 billion years ago. The creative processes at work everywhere in the cosmos continued on this new, formless planet. From its initial gaseous structure, a surface crust developed along with the oceans, from which the first simple life forms emerged about 3.8 billion years ago. In a continuous sequence of transformations ever since, the fossil record reveals the emergence of a steady stream of new life forms, leading up to and including the human. This vast community of life thrives through an intricate, mutually sustaining relationship among its diverse members, and a dependent relationship with the sun. Apart from that vital infusion of energy from outside, Earth is a closed system, its life support mechanisms having developed over time to nourish existing life and promote its continuous evolution. That kind of bare-bones outline is becoming increasingly familiar to many people. But what is often missing from such accounts is that the evolution of life on earth is a psychic-spiritual, not simply a material-physical, process. It was Teilhard de Chardin, the Jesuit priest-scientist, who initially developed this observation in his extensive writings. Others have since taken this keen insight and elaborated it further. • • • This is a strikingly new view of the world, not available to previous generations. What is its significance for our own lives and its implications for the future? What is our (surely important) role in the still unfolding creation? Going back to the beginning and following the steady progression helps us to see our journey in its rich fullness—how each new reality emerges in its time, in the irreversible succession of things. A long period of preparation preceded us. As with all other species, the time, place and circumstances of our arrival shaped us in ways beyond our awareness. Thomas Berry suggests that to appreciate the natural world’s importance to our being, we might try to imagine ourselves as having been born on the moon instead of earth. Without the stunning beauty of our planet, the rich variety of life in which we are immersed, we would be impoverished in every way. Even our sense of the Divine would be dramatically diminished, shaped and limited by the desolate lunar landscape. It is the totality of everything which exists that makes us what we are. Thus, Berry considers the natural world to be the ultimate source of revelation, “the Primary Scripture” which enables us to form our images of God. It is sacred indeed all of it, including ourselves. He envisions a vital role for humanity, appropriate to the extraordinary gifts we possess. But he is also alarmed at the devastation which the human community is presently visiting on the planet, seeing in our behavior a kind of autism. We seem to have lost the affective bond, the sense of kinship which earlier cultures had with the earth. Our “plundering of the planet,” he says, is a desecration, recklessly endangering not only the rest of creation but ourselves as well. The root problem, says Berry, is that we have tried to construct a human community outside of nature, valuing the natural world principally for its ability to edify and serve us. But the reality is that we are intimately interwoven into the fabric of that world. It gave us birth and sustains us. There is no such thing as a separate human community capable of surviving on its own. We and the natural world, together, constitute a “single sacred community” of life, with a common origin and a shared fate. Thomas Berry’s message is a positive one. His life’s work has required a global vision, and through it he has acquired a rare appreciation of the wondrous beauty and integrity of all that is. His sense of the splendor, magnificence and unity of creation is reminiscent of Franciscan reverence for the work of the Creator. What was intuitively perceived then has now been augmented by new insight—the great cosmic story—acquired through the observations of science. • • • The feeling that something is fundamentally wrong has risen sharply during the past few decades, and is reflected in growing concern for the environment. That is a very hopeful sign. Still, this promising movement must have an adequate foundation. The magnitude of the problem is such, says Berry, that nothing will suffice short of our learning the universe story and embracing it as our own. Understanding how we got here, learning our place in the great chain of being, recognizing the depth of our connection to the earth—only then can we know and be able to carry out our vital role in the continuing journey of the universe. Let our search lead where it will. We cannot adequately pre-imagine where it will take us. The shift in consciousness it generates will bring its own wisdom. Space permits just a single example of the kinds of things that need to be done: All of our institutions—our economic, educational, and legal systems; our technology, industry, and science—are based on a human-centered notion of ‘progress’, in which the natural world’s significance is seen to lie in its utilitarian value. That must change. All of our institutions must have as their first priority to foster and protect the natural world. There is a need to move beyond the limited notion of stewardship. We sense in our bones our connectedness to the natural world. It is as if this awareness were genetically coded into our being—as it surely is. Nurturing this inner sense can be deeply satisfying and lead to a richer spirituality. Beyond the satisfaction which this new outlook can bring, there is another reason why earth literacy is important. Major investments and public policy decisions affecting the environment are being made now and in the years immediately ahead. The lens through which these issues are seen will largely determine the choices that will be made. One’s “way of seeing” is decisive. Those whose faith in the future rests with technology, bottom line economics, and other such disciplines will be active participants in these issues. They will be an important presence and can play a useful role. But it is vitally important that there also be a body of people, imbued with a strong sense of identity with the Earth, to speak from that perspective. In the end, it is informed public attitudes that will matter most. We are vital participants in the long-term affairs of the earth. Our task, and our privilege, is to help shape a future worthy of generations which succeed us. Tom O’Rourke
|
form
the most basic kinds of atomic structures (hydrogen and helium). Then, only
gradually, over vast eons of time, there emerged more complex elements of
which Earth and our own bodies