Meaning Wanes...

Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of scientific inquiry and knowledge progression is the possible diminishment of meaning we feel of both ourselves and of the world around us. The sense that nature does not show any special preferences to human beings leaves many of us feeling like we are the product of random and purposeless cosmic forces. Take, for example, the Copernican declaration that the Earth is not at the center of the universe. Although, historically speaking, Galileo's imprisonment was NOT based solely on some heretical proposition that infuriated Church authorities but rather on competing egos and power gloating, some of his contemporaries must have been crestfallen by the implications of his progressive ideas. The same is true today. We know that Earth is but an atom in the cosmos, and that life evolved biologically over the coarse of millions and millions of years. We have neuroscience attempting to explain how our brain apparatus behaves during mystic experiences, and how God might be nothing more than a necessary fabrication of our own minds. With M-theory, multi-verse hypotheses, and the possibility of alien life elsewhere, our standing within this universe might not be as exclusive as once perceived. Amid this challenging reality, where do we find God? For the unbeliever the question is laughable. For the believer the search for the answer is both daunting and exasperating.