In Judaism, there is a concept of "tsimtsum," meaning (roughly) that God withdraws or contracts Godself to make room for creation to exist. So I've long thought along similar lines to what you write about a "morally significant" universe. However, I interpret this as a (self-imposed) limitation on God's omnipotence, not as impinging on God's omnibeneficence.
I struggle, though, with keeping tsimtsum from slipping into deism. Certainly it is in tension with the active, interventionist God that I try to believe in...
The probability of each life existing at all is difficult to comprehend. Each life is the result of one sperm out of hundreds millions reaching an egg. And there have been approximately 22,000 generations of homo sapiens. And so on . . .
Thank you for a gorgeous essay for Easter, Bill. Jesus washed the feet of his followers. Then he said he was leaving and no one, no matter how much they Loved him, could follow.
I've re-read this a number of times, always an interesting an impressive mix of science and spirituality.
That ".. cancer is the price of multicellularity" is an astonishing notion, to me anyway. Perhaps it was obvious. Is there some reading you recommend to understand this more?
In Judaism, there is a concept of "tsimtsum," meaning (roughly) that God withdraws or contracts Godself to make room for creation to exist. So I've long thought along similar lines to what you write about a "morally significant" universe. However, I interpret this as a (self-imposed) limitation on God's omnipotence, not as impinging on God's omnibeneficence.
I struggle, though, with keeping tsimtsum from slipping into deism. Certainly it is in tension with the active, interventionist God that I try to believe in...
The probability of each life existing at all is difficult to comprehend. Each life is the result of one sperm out of hundreds millions reaching an egg. And there have been approximately 22,000 generations of homo sapiens. And so on . . .
Thank you for a gorgeous essay for Easter, Bill. Jesus washed the feet of his followers. Then he said he was leaving and no one, no matter how much they Loved him, could follow.
I've re-read this a number of times, always an interesting an impressive mix of science and spirituality.
That ".. cancer is the price of multicellularity" is an astonishing notion, to me anyway. Perhaps it was obvious. Is there some reading you recommend to understand this more?