Like most children, I was a very curious child. And I went on to become a very curious adult. I have not changed. Sometimes it got me into trouble and dad would say something like: “Curiosity killed the cat”. I always thought and still think that is a rather silly thing to say. Of course there is always the need to have regard for safety etc, but instead of trying to suppress curiosity we really need to be finding ways of encouraging it. Curiosity and imagination have led to some amazing breakthroughs in science and in many other disciplines.
I used to love Prof Julius Sumner Miller’s TV show and his famous line – “Why is it so”? Every week for about 20 years he stimulated interest in the vast field of physics: sometimes with whacky and bizarre experiments.
The curiosity I had as a child also made its way into my studies; especially asking many questions about the bible, history, theology and faith. I know I am not alone in that particular pursuit. There are so many questions and the search for answers usually takes you down other paths leading to even more questions. As a consequence, my faith is stronger not weaker. Richer not poorer. Bigger not smaller. My faith horizons have been deliciously stretched.
For example, ponder on this beautiful and thought-provoking quote from Carl Sagan:
“How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, “This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant?” Instead they say, “No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want [him] to stay that way.” A religion, old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the Universe as revealed by modern science might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths.”
― Carl Sagan
Thank God for people like Carl Sagan.
Shalom
David
