The Numinous Legacy

Where is God in the universe if anywhere? Why did God make germs? Why should we be so special? Could the universe have been different? This is a book that brings home, in no uncertain fashion, the discrepancy between the universe envisaged by the ancient sages and prophets and that of modern scientific cosmology, where the possibility of divine intervention looks less and less likely. Butchins demonstrates with clarity how the scientific method may be used, despite certain drawbacks, in an attempt to verify objective truth. It describes how the effect of the Copernican Revolution in the seventeenth century has steadily undermined the basic structure of the three great monotheistic religions of our day, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, especially with respect to their eschatological concepts. The Eastern religions, being less anthropomorphic, are less affected. The theistic argument from design is shown to be powerful enough to have caused disagreement among present-day scientists, in spite of the strictures of Professor Dawkins. In general, the book attempts to make some sense of the structure of the universe in terms of our own consciousness; it behoves the reader to consider that the universe and everything therein and pertaining to it, including religion and mysticism, is eligible for the scientific method of investigation. An appendix gives the response of various religious authorities to some of the problems that are encountered in the modern cosmos.