Faith and Freedom to ask the Big Questions #4: The Relationship Between Entropy and Evil?

As readers of this blog are aware, I’ve been posting a series of Faith/Science questions for discussion. See here for the introductory post and the comments in #1, #2, and #3 for some interesting dialogue on the first three questions.

For question #4, I’ve decided to take a different tact. Cliff Martin, the reader who originally presented these questions for discussion, has started his own blog Outside of the Box. His latest post “Entropy, the Concept” is the beginning of a series of posts that will (I think) provide an overview how he would start to answer question #4 below:

What is the relationship of evil to entropy? As entropy is essentially death, and the Enemy holds the power of death, how is the driving force of the entire cosmos related to evil, and to the “ruler of the cosmos” as Jesus calls him? If entropy is a temporary bondage from which the whole cosmos longs to be delivered, how might its undoing relate to the undoing of the evil one, the undoing of evil itself? Zoroastrians and Jewish Kabbalists have long seen some connection here. Isn’t it time Christians ask these questions?

I think it’s both more appropriate and productive for Cliff to lay out some of his ideas on his own blog. So rather than comment here, I encourage readers interested in these questions to comment over on Cliff’s site (I have and will). For question #5, which deals directly with evolution, the current plan is to go back to the regular format on this blog.

The questions above are interesting for me because they tie in with some issues I’ve been thinking about:

• What does entropy / evolution have to do with eschatology? I reread Polkinghorne’s chapter on Eschatology in “Science and Christian Belief” this past week. Excellent stuff.
• The incarnation of God in Christ is central to Orthodox Christianity, and Jesus is the only way to God, but does that mean we should ignore what other religions have to say on certain issues? Can we learn from them? (I think John Stackhouse wrote a book on this – I’ve got to dig it up. If anyone has a good recommendation for an Evangelical treatment of this question, please let me know).

A quick personal note: Until 2 months ago Cliff and I had never met (actually, we still haven’t except over the internet – it’s a long way from Oregon to Toronto). However, through a bit of Internet research we were able to determine that we are 5th cousins. I’m wondering if anyone can beat that, ie. say they met their Xth cousin on an internet blog or forum where X > 5.

Faith and Freedom to ask the Big Questions #3: So much death and extinction. For what Purpose?

This third in a series of Faith/Science questions Cliff Martin presented for discussion. Please read this introduction first. For previous discussions, see the comments in questions #1 and #2.

As a result of the processes of entropy, millions of species of animal and plant life have become extinct upon our planet. What strange purpose of God would create so much life only to see it die out? Why would there be many times more extinct species than surviving species? Does this suggest anything about life, and God’s purposes?

Faith and Freedom to ask the Big Questions #2: Why is Death & Decay part of Creation?

This is the second in a series of Faith/Science questions that Cliff Martin presented for discussion. Please read this introduction first. There was some excellent discussion in Question#1: So old, so vast. So Insignificant?

Why did God create the universe in such a way that it is driven by a principle of death and decay? Why would he intentionally subject the cosmos to decay in hope that it would someday be liberated? Now that we know that entropy dates back to the very creation moment, what does all of this suggest about God’s creative purposes? And what significant role does Romans 8 suggest for people of faith?.

Faith and Freedom to ask the Big Questions #1: So old, so vast. So insignificant?

First in a series of Faith/Science questions Cliff Martin presented for discussion.

Why is the Cosmos 13 billion years old, and yet man (seemingly the crowning achievement of Creation) has a history of 10 or 20 thousand years only? Does this say something about the possible purposes of God? Or are the skeptics right when they say Christians are ridiculous for believing we are anything special in light of our extremely short blip on the radar screen of cosmic history?

Also, why is the Universe so incredibly vast? If man is central to what God is doing in the cosmos, why is our part of the cosmos so extremely infinitesimal? Does this suggest anything about the plan and process of Creation, and the purpose of the cosmos? Or are the skeptics again correct in saying that Christians ignore this salient fact and are ridiculously self-important.

Faith and Freedom to ask the Big Questions: Introduction

Trust is at the heart of any good parent / child relationship. However, this trust does not preclude questions. If anything it assumes there will be questions – lots of questions. As a parent, we long to have our children take an interest in the world around them, in our own lives, and ultimately in finding their own purpose.

I believe this is also true of our relationship with God. At the heart of a good relationship with God is trust, trust that his revelation in the incarnation and in the scriptures is authentic, that this authentic past revelation leads to authentic hope for the future, and maybe most importantly, that we act on this trust in the present. However, I believe he also welcomes our questions about his revelations, his creation, and the implications for our lives. An unquestioning attitude, a “just follow the rules” attitude is for slaves. We are not slaves, but children of God, joint heirs with Christ. Heirs are never disinterested. And that’s why asking questions is not only OK, but also what God desires. Part of our mandate as stewards of God’s creation is to understand it.

A new reader of this blog, Cliff Martin (no known relation), provided me with a list of “Big” questions regarding science & faith, including those to do with evolution – questions he has grappled with for some time. He comments:

In our time, science is opening many portals for viewing Creation that were not available to generations of believers that have gone before. We understand our universe much better than most of those who are responsible for traditionally accepted Christian theology. While we cannot ask science to give us ultimate answers regarding the Creator, or his purposes in Creation, science can at least help us to frame the right questions. Questions that never would have occurred to Christian thinkers throughout most of the Church age. Such questions, and a renewed study of the Scriptures in light of them, might just help us to develop theological understandings that are richer, more satisfying, and closer to Truth. Over the centuries, the Church has been guilty of lagging woefully behind science, sometimes playing catch up for hundreds of years. Isn't it time we begin to give heed to science as it unfolds, and allow it to adjust the parameters of our search for truth?

The questions he poses are excellent questions, and include many of the same ones I have either grappled with, or continue to grapple with. I think these are appropriate questions to share on this blog. Over the next few months I’ll be posting Cliff’s questions here. They should stimulate a very interesting dialog – if nothing else between Cliff and myself.

Note that neither of us has satisfactory answers to all of these questions, not even necessarily satisfactory to ourselves. Do not expect a simple catechism question and answer session. However, I believe asking these questions together, discussing them together, providing tentative answers together, and at times, conceding that there is no satisfactory answer together is worthwhile. This, I believe, is a necessary function of the Church, the community of Christians, the body of Christ. These are not questions we should answer alone. Sometimes, maybe most of the time, God provides answers to his children only through other children. As always, you are welcome to join the conversation.