I appreciate the work of
all sorts of scientists. Most recently I have been reading brain science and
astrophysics stuff, having conquered quantum physics last week.
I conquered physics when I
came across Neils Bohr’s observation: “If you think you understand physics, you
don’t.” I don’t think I understand it, so I guess I do.
There is a big difference
between explaining and understanding. We can explain how the world works—atoms
and molecules and all—and how it got here [Big Bang] but that does not answer
the question of WHY it is here at all. Or WHAT was before the beginning. Or
what will come after THE END. Or what is BEYOND THE LIMITS.
Our brains are good enough
to explain, but not to understand.
“Jesus did not say, ‘I
have explained the world.’ Instead he said, ‘I have overcome the world.’”
Leslie Weatherhead.
Jesus overcame the world,
conquered it, by accepting the mystery and living it.
Neils Bohr explained the
world and all its atoms better than just about anyone else, but he knew
explaining is not understanding. “It’s not our job to dictate to God how he
should rule this world,” he said.
He also said, “A physicist
is just an atom’s way of looking at itself,” which is irrelevant to this
discussion, but is one of the best quotes of all time.
If there is any of this
stuff above you don’t understand, well… accept the mystery and go on living.
John Robert McFarland
No, this isn’t writing;
it’s just accepting the mystery. And there is no post-script quote today
because there were so many good ones up above.
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