Chronicles of the Daily Grind

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin made an attempt to reconcile these two seemingly opposite polarities. He is a Jesuit priest and at the same time a geo-paleontologist. He talked about the evolutionary process of creation, that everything came from the ``Big Bang,`` thus eventually delineating from the traditional doctrine of the six-days creation. In those days, the Church were not pleased with this synthesis and so he was ``silenced,`` prohibited from publishing doctrines or essays unrelated to his scientific works. It is short of saying ``shut up`` to his idea.

It is difficult for something we believed in and have held on for so long to be shaken by a new contrary idea. We are taught that God created the world in six days, and that He is transcendent, and that the world underwent these three major Christian mysteries of creation, incarnation and redemption.

Theilhard presented a different view that the world is still in the process of evolutive creation. Everything all else is a process, an act of evolution. He agrees with Darwin`s natural selection, and that, can you imagine, we came from the descent of apes. Several Christian doctrines will be put into question such as the validity of the original sin and the human soul. If everything is still a process then these three major mysteries are not yet fully realized.

He also taught about the presence of God in all things as part of the unfolding and the evolutive process. He even mentioned particularly the presence of the ``Cosmic Christ`` in all things. Can you imagine, that everything, literally, on this earth would have the touch of the divine. Many accused his teachings as pantheistic (all things are God). But nay, it is panentheistic (God is in all things).

It is worth quite reflecting on the problem that if the Cosmic Christ has already been present since in the beginning of time, how do we explain the actual historical Christ vis-a-vis the Cosmic Christ? How do we account for the intertwining of the Cosmic Christ and the historical Christ in time?

Questions on human freedom had arisen that this evolutive process seem to connote scientific determinism and theological predeterminism thus putting into question the validity of free will. Teilhard asserts that inevitably the end of this evolutive process is the omega point. All else is set towards that predetermined state. How do we account then heaven and hell at the end of time.

Also if everything is a process, then the presence of mistakes and evil are part of the unfolding. Evil as such becomes permissible as part of the process. How do we view now of morality?

Indeed, with all these questions and objections especially contradicting firmly set theological beliefs and doctrines, how could one pursue such doctrine? It will necessitate a new theological exposition in order to be consistent with this.

That is precisely what happened to the conference we had just attended on Teilhard. We were made to understand of his doctrine. In fact all these questions were reasonably addressed. One has to maintain an open disposition to understand all these, then we realize that such openness could bring about science and religion in harmony. They are not dimensions but realities of the human person, for the human person is an integrative being and not of a duality. In our contemplation of the reality, science, the material things, we cannot but be led to the contemplation of God.

I personally believe in his doctrine of evolutive process. God is with us in the process. I could not imagine a God which is originally conceived as somebody up there, detached and just watching us go on with our lives. I believe in the God who journeys with us, who is with us, who is in us, who experiences what we experience, who shares our joys and pains. This is the heart of it all. His work of creation, incarnation and redemption is still a process, a journey. He is our co-pilgrim. He is with us. He is in us. Unless we are open to this, we fail to realize the spark of the divine in us. Isn`t it amazing that you are not alone after all? All these because God loves us. The lover is always present with the beloved. And the core of all these evolutive process is love. And in love, we go beyond reason and explanations. We just love - a love that binds all things material and spiritual. That is why one of the concern of Teilhard is the ecology and the care for environment, respect for all beings, love for creation.

Yet, I still don`t think the Church accepts his doctrine for it really is conflicting the theological foundations of our faith. But the Church is more tolerant of it. There are several priests, religious and lay people who in their personal way believe and promote his doctrine.

However, the bottom line in all these is that we as conscious, free and animating human beings are invited to spread the love, to help in facilitating the evolutive process of creation, incarnation and redemption, in reaching the omega point. Love.

Posted by brodiz on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 at 4:27 PM | Permalink