Nice write-up, Grant, and I’d like to add the structural perspective to your writing, because science and religion have different structures.
In science, repeatable actions are the basics on which additional theories can be built. It is built like a house, but on close examination one can see that the roof is not finished.
In religion, the house is actually picture perfect. However, one should not ask to see the foundation because one may not live to tell what happened right there.
In science, the structure is solidly built with a good foundation; in religion, the structure is solid viewed from the outside. I hope you recognize that these structures, simple as they may be, are correct.
Next to science and religion, there are two more aspects most people recognize: philosophy and mysticism.
In philosophy, the communication is the message (such as your article). Though the truth is the basis for the communication, the goal is the exchange of the message, and not the truth per se. A philosopher can say: “I drove 75 miles on the freeway” and we all know what this person meant. The scientist would say that it was the car that was driven at 75 miles on the freeway.
A philosopher would not intend to lie, but making the message come across is the more important part and short cuts and analogies are just fine. The structure is therefore based in our reality, but the foundation need not be super solid, just believably correct. The contents of the house is what needs to be understood (which does not necessarily mean that it will then also automatically occur).
A mystic is a person of yet a different kind. He or she leaves things unsaid, partially because some things cannot be told. In general, mystics point to what is contained within, and the view is therefore not toward science, structure or religion, but inward, to who we are ourselves.
The mystic does not show the foundation, but points to our own or our common foundation. The mystic does not share what is held within, but points to what we hold inside ourselves. The mystic does not have a picture perfect roof, but asks about the roof over our heads.
Thank you again for your article, Grant. I like it.
