Is God Done?

So did God, who is said to be all–knowing and super intelligent, mess up when he created us and the rest of the universe?

The “human condition” – generally all the failings and stupidities and cruelty of humans – seems to suggest that. St. Paul, writing to the ancient Romans, summed up the problem.

“I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do everything I hate. …For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh.”

Not Perfect

And there are other “imperfections.” Our bodies get diseased; they give out. And the universe not only provides life, but terrible storms and natural disasters. No, the universe isn’t perfect.

So, did God, who is supposed to be perfect, not get it right? Either that, or is God a myth and not the creator of the universe?

But there’s a third possibility. He/she is far from done.

Teilhard de Chardin, who died in 1955, was a French Jesuit priest, scientist, paleontologist, philosopher, mystic and teacher. He investigated the theory of evolution from a Christian perspective and wrote scientific and religious works on the subject. His mainstream scientific achievements include his paleontological research in China, taking part in the discovery of the Peking Man fossils.

I was fascinated by his writings when I was studying philosophy and theology in my youth, but I must admit that I found much of his writing over my head. Some of what I did get, and with which I was intrigued, was his futuristic outlook. An AI source can describe his views better than I can.

Omega Point

De Chardin viewed evolution “as a cosmic process moving toward higher consciousness and spiritual unity, culminating in the Omega Point. …He interpreted evolution not merely as a biological phenomenon but as a universal process infused with consciousness and spirit. He believed that all matter is evolving toward greater complexity and awareness, and that this process is inherently directed toward spiritual realization.

“For him, evolution was a fundamental law of the universe, illuminating all aspects of reality and providing a framework for understanding both science and spirituality. …As matter becomes more complex, it also becomes more conscious. Human evolution represents a critical threshold in this process, where reflection and self-awareness emerge.”

For de Chardin, evolution is not random – for me, randomness is the most difficult to accept about evolution – but progresses toward this Omega Point, which he associates with the universal Christ.

Christ All in All

Writing to the Christians in Colossae two thousand years ago, Paul and Timothy may have had an inkling about this when they wrote, “Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.”

So how did Paul and Timothy think this was going to happen? In the next paragraph, they write: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

One needs faith, and hope.