Last summer Aunty went to Spain, whar' one can
visit the astounding' caves along the northern
seacoast.
When ya' lose yore breath gazing in sheer wonder
at how them primitive folks could paint their world on
rock caverns with nuthin' but firelight yore idea of
"primitive" shifts a bit. Some research I done when I
arrived home turned up another marvel: modern
scientists agree that these cave dwellers,in whichever
location over the globe and in whatever era, all had some
sense of a "Great Spirit", an awareness that beyond them
was God (however named).
Ain't that a puzzle? How on earth did it git into the haid of a
Cro-Magnon that thar wuz a god-like dimension somehwar'?
Now, afore ya' start down the trail of modern nihilism, thinkin'
"Aw Aunty, OF COURSE they had such ideas because the
idea is primitive, but we's sophisticated now (an we know we
doan need God-Who-is-dead-anyhow-cause-professor
Thickeskull taught us Nietzsche an' Darwin an' Marx).
Please help me think this through. Iffin' them Cro-Magnon's an
other cave dwellers was "natural" man, doan ya' think that the
natural (by which Aunty means nuthin' outside the realm of the
visible, experiential, solid, measurable...in short, somethin'
scientifically confirmed as existin') would be all they knowed about?
But somehow they--an' others in far flung caverns--git into their
haids the idea of somethin' "out thar'", somethin' divine (to judge
by the artwork, graves an' adornments). How? Why? Darwin
didn't make no case fer belief in the other worldly as an
evolutionary necessity to cave-dweller survival, did he?
How come Cave Dweller buried his daid wif' ceremony, as if
he knowed' that death heah ain't the finite thang
that post-modern Cro-Magnon thinks it is?
So mah puzzler is puzzled (an' charmed) to know that Early
Man somehow had in his heart ( brain? spirit?) that somehow
thar's more to existence than what's observable in the natural.
In short, how did that idea happen? Whar' did it come from?
How does an idea,(inspiration?)fer which thar' ain't no
observable proof, git thought up in the first place?
What is it about Man that he yearns for that which is infinite?
That which is beyond the natural world which is itself incredible?
Auntyhas her own theory, of course (of course!!) An it be this:
God is infinite. And Man, made in His image, also "knows" his
destiny lies in the infinite, not the the finite. Some of y'all may
have a different angle of view.
Herman Wouk (Caine Mutiny, The Winds of War) wrote The Language God Talks in 2010. It's a fun read, a slim volume that looks at scientists looking at the God possibility
via quantum mechanics or electro-something--or- other. Not a
God of dogma or commandments, but God as an intelligence
beyond what our science has yet to discover. He makes a witty
case for calling a truce a'tween science an' faith, since they
both hope to arrive at truth. They jes' come from
different directions.
I want a front row seat.
Hope y'all find the topic as intriguing as Aunty do.
Please share your ideas, links, insights.
Next week: The infinity within--a look at neurotransmitters and human inspiration and intuition.
6 comments:
Me too. I want that front row seat. I believe that creation and the creator is infinite. i believe that there is more then meets the eye. I also believe in science although i dont think it is infallible.
I have taught about cave art at times. I believe the image above is from the caves in Lascaux, France. Speaking of 'natural man'. These particular artists really knew their animals .. Down to the bones and sinews. It's alway impressed me how they used the protrusions in the caves to give those critters volume.
I'm telling ya, aunty. I come across a whole lot of folks in my neck of the woods who will look me in the eye and tell me I'm not a Christian because I don't believe the earth was created some 6000 years ago. I don't really mind though. I don't much care to be their particular version of Christian anyway. I've been to their revivals. They just about gave me a heart attack.
Anywho, based on carbon dating of charcoal and other artifacts, the caves of Lascaux have been dated to 15000 - 17000 years ago.
I'm thinking if the earth really was created some 6000 years ago it would have been an awfully busy place what with the all the Paleolithic folks running around with the Nubians, Babylonians, Sumerians, Egyptians, Isrealites, etc., etc..... and etc.
Good Morning Aunty,
When I first read this I thought I would refrain from comment. But I read your musings again today and decided to share this knowledge with you:
Mankind has always known God because we are born knowing this truth.
During our corporeal journeys, some of us lose this knowledge.
I think wanting to know where you came from, where you're going and what made it happen is - instinctual. Like birds flying south for the winter or congress not being able to pass a budget. It's man's (and woman's) pre-wiring.
Foamy,
we'll hold down the front row! Aw, them's who insist on 6000 years fer the history of this rock is entertainment. Of course the terra has been firma for eons. But we ARE hopin' you'll blog about the revival that nearly gave ya a heart attack.
Fishy,
lost knowledge...or wuz withheld in gubmint schools. Now, thang is, fer mah money, if every continenet shows a God-hunger/ awareness in every clan of primitives, it means somethin' non material "spoke" to 'em. I mean, they had no Twitter, so how did they git the concept out to them stone cutters on an other continent?
BuzzK,
ROFLOL, ha, Congress--thas' a good one!
Across all eras and all continents because we are BORN knowing. Same as no one had to tell us to breathe or cry.
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