Taechang Kim
Evolutionary Faith
Diarmuid O'Murchu
All reactions:5Philo Kalia and 4 others
1 comment
Like
Comment
Taechang Kim
Attention please.
" What then surely is most new about our modern understanding of life is the idea of evolution, for it enables us to see life not an eternally repeating cycle, but as a process that continually generates and discovers novelty."
-Lee Smolin-
This book feels like an expedition into an unknown land, yet one that feels strangely familiar. The book arises not out of any particular intellectual pursuit or academic need.
It is being born out of hunger, a need to explore the big question that face our world today, questions that deserve consideration and attention at a more spiritual level, rather than being forever subjected to the harsh, piercing light of scientific analysis or socioeconomic reductionist. Evolution tends to be explained in one of three dominant ways:the scientific, the religious, or the mythological. Scientific research tells us a great deal on how the universe began and unfolded over some twelve billion years,
and within that context, science tends to cherish the Darwinian "survival of the fittest" as an important clue to our understanding of the entire process. The religions share a broad agreement on the idea that God created the world and everything in it, sustains its unfolding at every moment, and eventually will bring it to an end according to God's mysterious but wise plan.
Both science and religion aim at observable, verifiable truths, using different but related methods. Neither gives much attention to my third line of pursuit, the mythological. As popularly understood, myth belongs to the realm of the fanciful and the speculative, popularized stories that explain away rather than explain what the world is about. Alternatively, some social scientists-anthroplogist, for example-have attempted a rehabilitation of the notion of myth, suggesting that many ancient and primitive stories embody deep and enduring truths. The truth of the stories rests not in whether or not we can verify the the facts, because often we do not have the relevant information with which to do that; we access their truth more through rational intuition and imagination than through rational discourse and logical argument. Throughout the present work I draw on a range of different insights from both science and religion (theology), but I am attempting to blend them into what might begin to look like a myth for our time This is an onerous undertaking far beyond my learning or experience, but I hope that it serves as a humble beginning that others no doubt will modufy, correct, embellish, and build upon.
( pp. 7-8)
===
Roll over image to zoom in
Read sample
Follow the author
Diarmuid Ó MurchúDiarmuid Ó Murc…
Follow
Evolutionary Faith: Rediscovering God in Our Great Story Paperback – October 3, 2002
by Diarmuid O Murchu (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 16 ratings
4.0 on Goodreads 22 ratings
Paperback
$14.45
53 Used from $1.3525 New from $9.80
In this sequel to the bestselling "Quantum Theology, " O'Murchu explores the meaning of evolution and sheds light on the profound spiritual directions suggested by science.
Report incorrect product information.
Print length
231 pages
Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics
Diarmuid O'Murchu
4.2 out of 5 stars 90
Paperback
83 offers from $2.99
From Library Journal
O'Murchu is a London-based priest and social psychologist whose previous works include Quantum Theology and Our World in Transition; his latest uses the insights of science and the convictions of environmentalism to suggest that humanity's next evolution will both unite humanity with the life of the planet and bring us closer to God. O'Murchu is, in effect, a post-Teilhardian theologian, and as Teilhard de Chardin is rather little discussed nowadays, O'Murchu's ideas may be of great interest to the spiritual seeker.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product details
Publisher : Orbis Books; 0 edition (October 3, 2002)
Language : English
Paperback : 231 pages
#4,975 in History & Philosophy of Science (Books)
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
Eugene Silverman
4.0 out of 5 stars This is a mind bending exercise.Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2019
Verified Purchase
The book challenges many traditional ideas in science and religion. It broadens ones thinking. It offers hope for the future, if our species doesn’t destroy itself first.
HelpfulReport
hesychia
5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling and Prophetic WorkReviewed in the United States on September 5, 2011
Verified Purchase
O'Murchu's 'Evolutionary Faith' is not an easy read in that it requires a fully attentive mind to assimilate the full extent and depth of its message. And that message, conveyed through the medium of unfolding story, is that we belong and can only authentically live out our lives, in the context of our planetary and cosmic home. Unless or until we make a spiritual homecoming to this mystical 'place' of belonging at the heart of creation, and learn to listen, love and grow in congruence with its meaning for our lives (God's primary and ultimate revelation), we will forever flounder in our misguided will to power, arrogance, control and domination. From his seminal work, "Quantum Theology" to his most recent, "Christianity's Dangerous Memory", O'Murchu's writing has the quality of a profound quest . . and what this cutting-edge thinker has to say, he says exquisitely, compellingly and prophetically. Highly recommended for the discerning reader who has an interest in evolutionary theology's interface with science.
5 people found this helpful
HelpfulReport
Jock
4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring readingReviewed in the United States on March 23, 2014
Verified Purchase
Very readable with some deep insights into the potential of the human race if we can only survive our adolescence !, I too think that some of the negative reviews of this book reek of intellectual snobbery and speak more of semantics than the content.
One person found this helpful
HelpfulReport
Pauline Maurier
5.0 out of 5 stars I bought it for a friend who devoured mine. ...Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2016
Verified Purchase
I bought it for a friend who devoured mine. Not that difficult a read if you really want to be stretched.
One person found this helpful
HelpfulReport
Grumpy
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsReviewed in the United States on April 28, 2018
Verified Purchase
Very good condition as described. .
HelpfulReport
Maltese Falcon
2.0 out of 5 stars Non-Teilhardian and pantheistic (from Maltese Falcon)Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2005
This is just a note to acknowledge that the review entitled "Non-Teilhardian and pantheistic" was submitted by me before I became Amazon's Maltese Falcon.
HelpfulReport
Julie D. Vogelsang
5.0 out of 5 stars The book is wonderful. Our church members are discussing it and it ...Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2014
Verified Purchase
The book is wonderful. Our church members are discussing it and it is a conduit for great conversations and greatly needed hope!i
One person found this helpful
HelpfulReport
Murph
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsReviewed in the United States on June 22, 2017
Verified Purchase
Helpful!
HelpfulReport
See more reviews
Top reviews from other countries
James Strachan
4.0 out of 5 stars RadicalReviewed in Canada on March 20, 2012
Verified Purchase
I frequently read books that are considered to be theologically radical. This book, by Diarmuid O'Murchu, is by far the most radical theological text I have read recently. O'Murchu begins by outlining and celebrating the evolutionary process that underlies all of life in the universe or universes around us. Within that framework, he discusses the manner in which human spirituality was expressed during the many millennia prior to the rise of "civilization" and the organized religions associated with civilization. All this began about 6000 years ago. For a very short portion of human life on earth, organized religion has been the main channel for the expression of human spirituality. O'Murchu outlines the ways in which this development changed the nature of divinity in the human mind, and changed the values by which humans have come to live by.
The patriarchal and hierarchical values of civilization are diametrically opposed to the values governing human life prior to "civilized" life. O'Murchu underlines his belief that these civilized values are at the root of most of the planet's problems, human or otherwise. The values of pre-civilized humanity appear to have been much more amenable to cooperative life, care for the planet, wise use of resources, etc.
O'Murchu points out that the rise of civilization and organized religion were both dictated by the evolutionary process. He sees hope in the current decline in the life of organized religion, for that may signal that evolution's use for this entity may be changing, and organized religion may be on it's way out. It might take a few hundred years, but O'Murchu's view is that we all will be better off without it. His exposition of the message and ministry of Jesus tells us that Jesus was not interested in organized religion, or even of any religion. His mission was to show people how to life humanly together in cooperative and life giving ways. According to O'Murchu, the end of organized religion may be an advance in the possibility of living according to the message of Jesus.
Read less
One person found this helpfulReport
Ms. E. Byrnes
5.0 out of 5 stars Energising and Important Book for adult Faith SeekersReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 16, 2013
Verified Purchase
I found this book highly stimulating and energising. It spoke deeply to my faith and psyche and the concepts, though re-evolutionary, were somehow deeply authentic. I would recommend it to anyone who is searching for a deeper faith in light of the latest findings in cosmology and the thought and scholarship of contemporary thinkers and seekers in faith and religion. I found the book both challenging and a joy to read.
Report
Angie M
2.0 out of 5 stars O'Murchu gets carried away with himselfReviewed in the United Kingdom on December 3, 2013
Verified Purchase
O'Murchu blurs line between sense and his version of reality. He seems carried away by his own intelligence and wants to re write 2000 years of Christianity
Report
===
===
Evolutionary Faith: Rediscovering God in Our Great Story – Diarmuid O’Murchu
February 21, 2018
RGIOGS
The author uses the insights of science and the convictions of environmentalism to suggest that humanity’s next evolution will both unite humanity with the life of the planet and bring us closer to God. O’Murchu is, in effect, a post-Teilhardian theologian.
Just as Hindus see the need for a god of destruction and Christians see the cross at the heart of creation, so evolution seems to need destruction.
Gaia’s interconnectness is really the key to his thinking but the ‘scientists’ he quotes are really new-age mystics of the sort who hang around with the infamous Matthew Fox. There is, however, some real, though speculative, physics when he talks about string theory.
There is evolutionary physics as well as evolutionary biology.
He is on dangerous ground when he suggests that God may not be the ultimate creator or source and he is simply wrong when he asserts that there is a lone hero figure like Abraham in all religions.
The generosity of creation is shown at Cana and in the feeding of the five thousand.
Quotations:
“it is time to embrace the cosmic and planetary context within which our life story and the story of all life unfolds. We belong to a reality greater than ourselves, and it is within that enlarged context that we will rediscover the benign mystery within which everything is endowed with purpose and meaning.”
If we knew the unwritten story of our past, especially the prehistoric past, its fascination would cut the history of kings and queens, wars and parliaments, down to proper size. —John McLeish
We belong to a universe of creatively interacting systems, a giant network of interplay and possibility forever drawn toward novelty and innovation (which is what natural selection makes possible). In the creation around us there are no isolated objects; everything belongs to creative interactive systems. We miss the deeper meaning if we stay with the product and ignore or bypass the evolving process. Nothing is static or stable (a favored concept of classical Newtonian science); each moment characterizes the unfolding dynamics of a highly creative universe.
“I believe in the creative energy of the divine, erupting with unimaginable exuberance, transforming the seething vacuum into a whirlwind of zest and flow.
“I believe in the divine imprint as it manifests itself in swirling vortexes and particle formations, birthing forth atoms and galaxies.
“I believe in the providential outburst of supernovas and in the absorbing potential of black holes.
“I believe in the gift of agelessness, those billions of formative aeons in which the paradox of creation and destruction unfolds into the shapes and patterns of the observable universe.
“I believe in the holy energy that begot material form and biological life in ancient bacterial forms and in the amazing array of living creatures.
“I believe in the incarnation of the divine in the human soul, initially activated in Africa over four million years ago.
“I believe in the “I Am Who Am,” uttered across the aeons, pulsating incessantly throughout the whole of creation and begetting possibilities that the human mind can only vaguely imagine at this time.
“As a beneficiary of the Christian tradition, I believe in the power of the new reign of God, embodied and proclaimed in the life of Jesus and offered unconditionally for the liberation of all life-forms.”
New life-forms do not simply come into being when all the conditions are right. Often they unfold long before their expected time. Genetic mutation and natural selection are not just random processes; new possibilities are being invoked, often against tremendous odds. And we do not need to invoke some “God of the gaps” to explain the new upsurge. There is a deep and powerful creativity at work within the evolving process itself.
To describe this creative future as endowed with a sense of “promise” embraces religious wisdom in a way that enhances and enforces some of science’s greatest discoveries. In all the major religions, God promises—not just a reward in a life hereafter, but a fullness of life in an open-ended future that is more enduring and all embracing than any “here” or “hereafter.” This is the resilience of life that science never has been able to explain adequately. The fascinating coincidences are sometimes suggested as evidence for God’s involvement in the evolutionary process; they certainly awaken a sense of awe and mystery, but I suspect that they are no more than a tiny glance at the depth of mystery that characterizes creation. We never are, and never will be, able to explain adequately this divine creativity; to do so would effectively strip the future of its radical promise and possibility.
Does this mean that everybody is a theologian? Yes, it does. God reveals indiscriminately and with prodigious generosity. Some will appropriate the revelation through the study of theology or some other exploration of ultimate meaning. An indigenous person may appropriate it through a convivial relationship with the land. A little child staring into her mother’s eyes and intuitively knowing that she is loved unconditionally is responding as profoundly as any theologian ever did. An old man sitting in an armchair and reflecting in gentle gratitude on the story of his lifetime is doing theology in its fullest sense. And so is the politician seeking a peaceful and just outcome to the tribal conflicts that ravage many African countries. All are touching into the energy of the ultimate mystery.
The theologian Peter Hodgson (1994) grapples extensively with the meaning of energy, and he concludes that we are dealing with something akin to a primal, erotic, alluring, relational force. It is beyond precise definition, and Hodgson, like Chaisson, believes that it permeates every sphere of existence. It is tangible but not quantifiable. For those who believe in God, energy is a primary characteristic of divine creativity; indeed, it might well be the most tangible evidence of God’s creativity at work in the cosmos.
Were there no differentiation, the universe would collapse into a homogeneous smudge; were there no subjectivity (autopoiesis), the universe would collapse into inert, dead extension; were there no communion, the universe would collapse into isolated singularities of being.
The Eucharist is a supreme moment of cosmic, planetary, spiritual, and human embodiment. All the elements meet as one in a ritual engagement from which nobody, for any reason, should be excluded. Radical inclusion is at the heart of every eucharistic enactment, subversively modeled by the Jesus of Christianity, who welcomed everybody to the eucharistic table, including those who were totally prohibited according to the religious rules of the day: tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners.
There is a profound evolutionary connection with every eucharistic celebration, which often is overshadowed by the role assigned to the priest in the Christian tradition, and by his equivalent in other faith traditions. According to the official rite of celebration, the changing of the bread and wine in the Eucharist does not happen through the power of the priest, but by the invocation of the Holy Spirit — the “epiclesis.” And eucharistic theology requires a second epiclesis to be enunciated after the consecration of the bread and wine, beseeching the creative Spirit to transform the hearts of all those who are about to receive the consecrated food so that it will nourish them to become more proactive in their commitment to justice and right relationships. That same Spirit-power which enlivens, animates, and sustains everything in creation is also the heart, source, and inspiration of every eucharistic celebration.
The Eucharist acclaims and celebrates unashamedly the radical relationality that characterizes every form of embodiment, from the cosmic to the personal. And it also pronounces that God is totally at home in the immediacy of that encounter; stated in the affirming assertion of Sallie McFague (1993): God loves bodies! God is present precisely in the moments of intense bodily encounter, whether in the erotic passion of sexual embrace, the intensity of human intimacy, or the inexpressible wonder of childbirth; God is also present in memorable moments of being a one with nature, the expressionless bond in which people of grief can be united, or the mysterious unity that brings people of every race, creed, and color around a eucharistic table. In all these situations and in many more besides, God is at home and radically present to us. Words may fail to say how, but the heart has its wise and unspeakable intuitions.
The Christian theologian may feel uneasy because I have moved into eucharistic reflections without first considering the embodied presence of Jesus as a historical person of the past and an incarnational influence in the present. From an evolutionary point of view, I suggest that the Eucharist needs a fresh articulation in the context of an alive creation that is forever responsive to God’s allurement. Every Eucharist is a profound affirmation of the prodigiously nourishing God who wants to see nobody excluded from the table of cosmic abundance. God overflows and so does God’s creation. In a word, that is what eucharistic celebration is meant to be about.
And nourishment is intimately linked with bodies. All bodies need sustaining nourishment and cannot thrive without it. God’s body, the cosmic and terrestrial bodies, along with the vast range of embodied forms that populate creation, all meet at the eucharistic table. Yes, it is about sacrifice — in the literal sense of the word “sacrifice,” which means “to make something sacred.” In fact, what really happens is that we draw forth the innate sacredness of all things and unite as one body in proclaiming the prolific goodness of our nourishing and sustaining God.
Meanwhile, the triumph of consciousness continues unabated. We have contributed to this triumph, but it also has its own momentum. And at this critical moment, the crucial question is not, “How do we control it?” but rather, “How do we submit to its higher wisdom?” Many people cringe when they hear the word “submit.” It sounds so passive; but most perturbing of all, it means that we are asked to let go of our power. And yet letting go of power is another misperception, because when we choose to engage with our planet and universe in a symbiotic relationship, we do not abandon power; rather, we rediscover it in a whole new way.
As a planetary, cosmic species, we belong to a reality greater than ourselves. It is our congruence with our planetary identity and our cosmic potential that bestow genuine power upon us, including the wisdom to befriend our human vulnerability. As long as we continue to set ourselves against or above the creation in which we are embedded, all that we will achieve is more sickness, pain, alienation, and meaninglessness. We set ourselves at enmity with the creation to which we belong. Ironically, we may be paving the pathways of our own destruction, and if we continue blindly on that route, not all the gods on earth or in heaven will save us from ultimate catastrophe.
Return to the home page
===
Evolutionary Faith
Rediscovering God in Our Great Story
By Diarmuid O'Murchu
An exhilarating overview of personal and planetary transformation.
Book Review by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/book-reviews/view/5748/evolutionary-faith
Diarmuid O'Murchu is a Catholic priest and social psychologist in London who is mesmerized by all the wild possibilities of life transforming life on both a personal and a planetary scale. He has been writing about the connections between science and religion for many years; his books include Quantum Theology, Reclaiming Spirituality and Religion in Exile: A Spiritual Homecoming.
At the outset of this dramatic theological work, O'Murchu states: "It is time to embrace the grandeur, complexity, and paradox that characterize evolution at every stage, a story that continues to unfold under the mysterious wisdom of our cocreative God, whose strategies always have, and always will, outwit our human and religious desire for neat, predictable outcomes." In four sections that all intertwine, the author spells out "our great story" of evolution, synergy (an emptiness that overflows, aliveness as an E-merging property), relationality (the Divine as relational matrix, thriving on paradox, boundaries that no longer hold), embodiment ("This is my body," humanity's rightful place, incarnation: African style), and consciousness (the future of evolution, consciousness and globalization, our next evolutionary leap).
What are some of the most important dimensions of evolutionary faith? O'Murchu celebrates the innovation and creativity of the universe with all its constant newness and rebirths. He loves the diversity in every precinct of the natural world. No two atoms are alike. He is convinced that "communion is the goal of all movement, personal and planetary alike." And closely allied with this dimension of relationality in the cosmos is the new emphasis upon Spirit in the evolutionary story. The author concurs with William Johnston and others who see mysticism as the most capacious spiritual perspective for a world of constant novelty, transformation, communion, and Spirit. Adventure is built into the very core of evolutionary faith, and O'Murchu conveys this excitement in his writing.
