DID YOU KNOW?
This week’s DYK is from Chapter 6 of a soon-to-be-released book, God and Spirituality, by Glenn Chesnut.” Professor Chesnut very eloquently addresses the subject of atheism in this chapter. Topics: God, ground of being, Big Bang, rise of western atheism in the 1840s, modern atheism as control neurosis and control fantasy, how twentieth century scientific discoveries tore away its supporting pillars, mystery and infinite, personal vs. impersonal concepts of God in Christianity, Neo-Platonism, Hindu Brahman, The Agnosto Theo (the Unknown God) whom we encounter within the Cloud of Unknowing, Rudolph Otto’s numinous mysterium tremendum.
Let us begin by talking about trees and the ground they grow in. The maple tree which grows in my front yard, with its pointed leaves, shades my lawn throughout Indiana’s summer. The tree and its branches form a totally concrete and tangible thing. One can put one’s hand on its trunk and feel the roughness of its bark and its sturdy solidity. One can hear the summer breezes rustling its leaves. Birds fly down—little twittering sparrows, brilliant red cardinals. Colorful blue jays—and perch on its branches. The tree is a reality which I can know and depend on, and it is part of a larger physical world which is familiar and understandable.
In the fall, the maple’s leaves turn a beautiful yellow and red, and seem almost to glow against the clear blue sky. Autumn in Indiana is a season of incredible beauty. One can see the furry grey squirrels scurrying up and down the tree’s trunk, beginning to prepare a nesting place in which to shelter for the frigid months ahead.
Then comes winter, when I can look out at the tree and its now bare limbs covered with white snow. The birds are gone now except for occasionally a few little snow birds (juncos), with their dark slate gray backs and white breasts, pecking around the base of its trunk. The only thing separating us here from Canada and the Artic is the vast expanse of Lake Michigan, so as the frigid wind howls, we feel grateful for the warm, snug house and the fire flickering in the fireplace. On winter days the limbs of the maple tree become coated with ice, but then twinkle like little diamonds whenever the sun comes out. We drink hot chocolate and pop popcorn as we sit in front of the fire and look out the window at snowdrifts piled against the porch.
In a few months though, spring comes again: bird songs fill the air once more, and one can smell the wet earth and the fresh growing things. First the daffodils planted around the base of the maple tree come out in brilliant yellow flowers, and then the first light green leaves start to appear on the tree itself. Little children come out once again, riding their bicycles and tricycles up and down the sidewalk which runs under the maple tree, laughing and calling out to one another. An important part of spirituality is learning to appreciate the beauty of the universe again, from the grandeur of its mighty heights to the ordinary little things which surround us every day. When those of us who were locked into self-destructive behaviors first start noticing the world outside our own heads and enjoying it once more—with all of our five senses—we know that our souls are beginning to be healed of all the self-centeredness which had driven us into that dark, grim place inside our minds. But to continue growing spiritually, we must go beyond simply enjoying all these things which we can see and hear and smell and touch and taste, and ask where all this beauty and goodness came from, and in what ultimate source it is grounded. We could study the maple tree for the rest of our lives without knowing everything about it but what about the ground it grows in? To be continued.
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