The owlet has left the nest

Elizabeth Johnson’s new book, Ask the Beasts: Darwin and the God of Love, is a beautifully written tome. The title is taken from the Book of Job-ask the beasts, they will tell you everything you need to know about God. Johnson examines Darwin’s Origin of the Species in detail. This gave me a whole new perspective on Darwin’s great contribution to the scientific world. I had some new learnings. Darwin’s theory has been and still is being misapplied as social Darwinism—some are less worthy than others. [Unfortunately, our current governmental budgetary practices reflect social Darwinsim in the raw!] Darwin’s theory goes far beyond survival of the fittest. Darwin brings out the communitarian, integrated aspect of natural selection. Darwin’s main focus was to show that creation was ongoing and plastic as opposed to a series of divine interventions from on high. Johnson summarizes the flux of evolving life as “extraordinary fecundity and perpetual perishing.” (212) Here I am reminded of Merton’s wonderful opening in his poem “Hagia Sophia”: Continue reading →