[Oe List ...] A review of Charles Taylor's "The Secular Society"

[Tracy E. Longacre]

David,

Thanks for this "God hypothesis" idea. I ind that very useful. And it
guards against my constant problem of "God" turning into some capricious
absent father figure. . .

On Tuesday, July 9, 2013, David Dunn wrote:

> On Jul 9, 2013, at 3:49 PM, Herman Greene <hfgreenenc at gmail.com<javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 'hfgreenenc at gmail.com');>>
> wrote:
>
> Now this is an incomplete response and there is much more to be said,
> including some positive things about Michael's approach. By the way, in
> some senses I am a religious naturalist, but along the lines of process
> theology. See
> Reenchantment without Supernaturalism: A Process Philosophy of Religion
> (Cornell Studies in the Philosophy of...<http://www.amazon.com/Reenchantment-without-Supernaturalism-Philosophy-Religion/dp/0801486572/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1373406412&sr=8-10&keywords=David+Ray+Griffin>
>  by David Ray Griffin<http://www.amazon.com/David-Ray-Griffin/e/B000APTCK4/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_10?qid=1373406412&sr=8-10> (Nov
> 16, 2000). In the process approach there's plenty of transcendence as well
> as immanence, and religious knowledge is not only what can be known through
> the five senses and logic. There are other ways of knowing.
>
>
>
> I think of myself as an avid scientist. What I believe is secondary and
> derivative of what I experience, with gratitude to the RS-I and Frank, Amy,
> Lyn, et al. I find myself thinking these days, "I don't believe in God, I
> have a God Hypothesis."
>
> I observe in more ways than I can name a mystery, depth, and greatness in
> the world (and dozens of et ceteras that I'll lump under the category
> gracious and holy mystery) that come at me in the form of relationships and
> events, inside me and outside me. It's all sustaining and energizing, etc.,
> etc.
>
> My God hypothesis (for which read: narrative of what to expect) gives me
> eyes to see. My hypothesis is a narrative about trinitarian dynamics
> (limits, possibilities, freedom) and it has been uniformly and reliably
> predictive for over 40 years now. It's saved my life, one might say.
>
> Rather than "do you believe in God?" I prefer to ask, "What are our images
> of God? Are they predictive of life experience? Do they give us eyes to
> see?"
>
> I toy with images of myself as contemplative or mystic or inveterate
> listener or ceaseless questioner. All of them, really, are about
> constantly, unobtrusively observing, testing my hypothesis, refining my
> images of the way life is, and looking again, to see if I can see more of
> what is there and what is real.
>
> I think I'd better read Dowd, Griffin, and Brooks, to see what all the
> energy is about.
>
> I go a bit berserk at the endless, mindless contraversy about conflict
> between religious belief and scientific knowledge.
>
> David
>
>
>
> ---
>
>
>
> David Dunn
> 740 S Alton Way 9B
> Denver, CO 80247
> 720-314-5991
> dmdunn1 at gmail.com <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 'dmdunn1 at gmail.com');>
>
>

-- 
  Tracy E. Longacre
  from the road

  just another child of God Blog: http://tlongacre.wordpress.com
  Run Blog:  http://revruns.blogspot.com
  Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tlongacre/

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