I was surprised to recently learn that the scientific theory ‘the Big Bang’, which is of course the theory of how the universe was created, was first proposed by a Roman Catholic priest! His name was Georges Lemaitre, and as well as being a priest, he was also a physicist. He published his theory in 1927, and it was confirmed two years later by Edwin Hubble, an American astronomer whom the Hubble Telescope is famously named after.
Francis Collins, the Head of the Human Genome Project and author of the New York Times bestseller ‘The Language of God’, makes the observation that “now that the origin of the universe and our own solar system has become increasingly well understood, number of fascinating apparent coincidences about the natural world have been discovered that puzzle scientists, philosophers and theologians alike.” He refers to the fifteen physical constants within our universe whose values current theory are not able to predict, and yet all of those constants have the values necessary for a stable universe that is capable of sustaining complex life forms. Collins suggests “our universe is wildly improbable.”
Two possible explanations for this phenomenon are: (1) our universe is one of an infinite number of universes (multiverse theory), and it is not miraculous, but is simply a product of trial and error, and (2) ours is the only universe, and the precise tuning of the physical constants that make intelligent life possible, is the action of the one who created the universe in the first place. This second explanation obviously has significant religious implications, as it suggests the existence of a supernatural being who created the universe.
If we accept there is such a supernatural being, and let’s call that being God for the sake of the argument, then how might we define this God?
For the past two thousand years, the Christian faith has largely described God in terms of a supernatural person who is external to the world, but who periodically enters into the world in order to bring about a divine objective. This view has its origins in a world where people attributed natural events such as earthquakes, famine and floods etc to a supernatural being or collection of beings. We know, however, that science now provides answers to many, if not most, of the natural phenomena that we experience in the world. So, if there is a supernatural being that created the universe, but that being isn’t the God of the Christian tradition, then what might that God be?
I recently suggested we could perhaps think of God as the very essence of being, and that if God is the essence of being, then God is already part of us, and we are already part of God. There is an unbreakable interconnectedness between us and God, and between all things and God. I believe that’s what the author of both John’s Gospel and the First Letter of John is referring to when they speak of Jesus in terms of Jesus “abiding in the Father” and the “Father abiding in him,” and of him “knowing the Father” and the “Father knowing him.”
The Gospel of John portrays Jesus as having a relationship with God that is of indistinguishable identity. When the author of that gospel tells us that Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd,” and “I am the bread of life,” and “I am the true vine,” they are using the same language used in the Book of Exodus to talk of God. But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:13-15 NRSV)
Jesus was a whole human being who lived fully, who loved freely and generously, and who had the courage to be himself in every possible situation. I believe that God was revealed to us in Jesus. Jesus showed us the meaning of God, understood as the source of life, the source of love, and the essence of being. Perhaps that’s the supernatural being that created the universe?
