The Twin Pillars of Our Ceaseless Striving

SCIENCE and RELIGION are invariably juxtapositioned as two halves of a couplet because they should be, they being the twin pillars of human perception. We know everything about ourselves and the universe, or think we do, through religion, and we slowly, painstakingly learn a little bit about both through science, fully cognizant of how little we really do know. Religion describes human beings as flawed, broken, sinful, dumb, stupid, weak near nothings, desperately in need of a connection to their creator, most often an anthropomorphic omniscient, omnipotent creater with characteristics identical to us imperfect humans, interestingly, ironically. Science sees people as intelligent, inquisitive creatures, smart, full of wonder at their own existence and the universe, good learners, endowed with brains absorbing knowledge they themselves discover,essentially beautiful entities, wondrous beings with a great potential for self improvement and eventual greatness. I have spent a lifetime involved in science as an ignorant student, pointing my little telescope up towards suburban skies, absorbing science fiction novels to satisfy my yearning to see the universe as mysterious but accessible, explorable by human beings. You don't have to be a good science student to sense the value of our studies of nature by direct observation. Nor must one be religios to appreciate how vital human religiosity is in fully fathoming and experiencing the sheer amazement which the cosmos evokes within any inelligent living being. It is of course easy to settle into an attitude of complacency concerning our miraculous existence, to take our amazing selves for granted. Einstein said that either everything is a miracle, or nothing is. When everything you see, hear, smell, touch and taste is a miracle, a simple flip of the intellectual switch is all that is required to see nothing as a miracle. Absorbed with our daily societal and personal struggles, our slings and arrows of our seemingly outrageious fortunes, our illnesses personal and societal, our petty struggles with which we are constantly consumed, it is not difficult to lose sight of the fundamental miracle that we are, as living, sentient creatures. We discovered science and religion by inventing both of them. That we did this qualifies us as intelligent beings, despite the fact that on a cosmic scale, space faring immortal beings of light, our distant cosmic cousins, must surely be observing our painful, sluggish advancement from primitive barbarism to intelligent awarenesss with a pensive mixture of frustration, disdain, and hope holding on. Primitive and unenlighened as we ofen see our ancestors as having been, our descendants will doubtless see us in a similar light. We are closer in cultural advancement to our ancesors than our descendants will someday soon be relative to ourselves. That human knowledge has begun advancing exponentially proves to us our potential, and justifiably causes ue to be simultaneously amazed and fearful of what even our near descendants can and will achieve. Are we in fact close to achieving essential individual immortality, or extreme longevity? Are we poised to strike out into the universe in large numbers, establishing habitats far from Earth, as we progrees to a Levle One civilization? Will we stagnate, go extenct, or eventually evolve into a Level Five culture, pure energy beings moving easily and freely among the stars and galaxies, watching as primitive creatures emerge and evolve on billions of planets? Maybe.