http://politicsofsoul.org/2008/09/07/evolution-and-perfection/ exploring the signs on the horizons and in ourselves Thu, 31 May 2012 00:02:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://politicsofsoul.org/2008/09/07/evolution-and-perfection/#comment-22 Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:20:18 +0000 http://www.elephantskin.org/2008/09/07/evolution-and-perfection-by-matthew-bain/#comment-22 I think it’s likely that many people, religious and non-religious would agree that there is potentially some discrepancy between the appearance of something and its function. The Creationist could say that the material world is ‘perfect’, despite its apparent flaws, as it is a perfect training ground for God’s beings’ to learn and develop spiritually. It functions ‘perfectly’ in this way to help us ‘discover’ God. This is the argument used, sometimes, for the existence of ‘freewill’;. God is exempt from blame for all the evil actions that humans’ perform, because these are a consequence of misdirected ‘freewill’. Why then did God burden us with freewill? Because, so I hear, God can only be known through a process of spiritual-self-discovery, and this can only take place if a person has the freedom to get their fingers burnt, so to speak.
Dawkins could respond to this, though, by asking why it seems that humans are not given a level playing field from birth. In the eyes of the Lord we are supposedly equal but different, yet, when the opportunity for spiritual growth is examined, it is difficult to overlook some very apparent inequalities…and if these do exist, how can a Creationist maintain that we are a product of a perfect Creator? For instance, it is not hard to appreciate how a mother, who looses her 5 month old baby in a natural disaster, can use this horrendous experience as part of her spiritual path, but what about the child himself? Does he take a quick path to heaven? If so, why is it necessary to put the rest of us through this turbulent and hellish ride?
A linear approach to creation, where the the sole/original cause is an all-pure one, does not seem to allow for any imperfection to exist at all. Having said that, I’m not doubting that there many pragmatic reasons for adopting a monotheistic belief system on a personal level. Dawkins might argue otherwise, but then he does follow the religion of Empiricism which is as prone to painting over cracks as the rest of us are.
Lets just say, I do not find the poster-boy of Atheism very enticing!

]]> http://politicsofsoul.org/2008/09/07/evolution-and-perfection/#comment-23 Tue, 09 Sep 2008 06:17:07 +0000 http://www.elephantskin.org/2008/09/07/evolution-and-perfection-by-matthew-bain/#comment-23 Very well expressed Matthew, and a particularly helpful article for all confused Buddhists who have got lost in arguments about reality. It is so important to recognise our subtle minds, which are not interested in gross “is it this or is it that” analysis but in establishing our relationship with the world.

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