“Oh Mom, why do I have to keep going to Church? Nobody really believes that stuff anymore. Science explains everything.” Sound like any tweens you know?
Many thinking adults have made an uncomfortable accommodation to two worlds. Yes, religion has an important role. Religion instructs in morality and social codes, and it's a good emotional support to deal with uncomfortable issues, death and other fears. And it’s important to be a good person and help others in the community and the world. But, in the end, "We live, we die, and that's that." When it comes to the supernatural belief in a real God or Creator, many people are uncomfortable. They feel deep in their hearts there is a scientific explanation for all things and that there is conflict between the scientific view and religion.
Recent scientific discoveries have raised disturbing questions about the underlying causes of the facts we observe, and our ability to "know." We’ve had an artificial split between the world of religion and the deterministic view of science going on since the seventeenth century. Maybe longer. In medieval days, religious dogmatism was the iron rule, and you departed from it under threat of excommunication or worse. But when empirical science took center stage late in the nineteenth century, it began to weaken the claims of religion. In the twentieth century, after Freud, Mach and Einstein rolled out surprise after surprise the tide gathered strength. Logical Positivism, the philosophy of science that strictly limited all scientific proof to positive observation by the senses was firmly established. Science had – or was about to have – all the answers. No God needed.
I am convinced the more we understand science, the deeper our faith in God will grow. Starting in the twentieth century Science has had troubling findings. Think about gravity. Isaac Newton, perhaps our greatest scientist, figured it out, right? And we all learn about it in grade school – or earlier when we fall down. Einstein spent his life looking for the Grand Unified Theory to explain gravity. Gravity is still a mystery. We have laws about the effects of gravity, we hypothesize it’s an attractive force with generally predictable results but there’s no proven or consistent explanation for what it is or what causes it.
But recent astronomical discoveries by powerful new space telescopes begin to stretch the theory of gravity to the breaking point. We now know the Universe is still getting bigger, expanding and expanding at an ever accelerating rate, driven by a yet unknown force. The Big Bang is not over. A current quote from NASA: "The discovery in 1998 that the Universe is actually speeding up its expansion was a total shock to astronomers. It just seems so counter-intuitive, so against common sense. But the evidence has become convincing."
Cosmologists have patched the gravity theory by imagining the existence of something unseeable by any sense or apparatus called, "Dark Matter." In order for the "attractive" theory of gravity to survive, scientists now need to make one of two choices, one as yet untestable, and the other unpalatable. The choices are: (1) Assume the existence of an as yet unseen and undetected "dark matter" and "dark energy" in the Universe to explain contradictions otherwise inexplicable by the current theory of gravitational attraction, or, (2) Assume Newton's Laws of Motion are wrong and need some fine-tuning or recalculation.
Neither of these alternatives is scientifically "beautiful." The Dark Matter and Dark Energy hypotheses require we accept dark matter as the largest component of all the "stuff" in the Universe – maybe 95% of the matter in the Universe. Moreover, the requirement that "Dark Matter" somehow replenishes itself as the Universe expands does violence to Newton's Laws of Motion and Thermodynamics since neither matter nor energy can be created. They can only be converted from one state into the other. As implausible as it sounds, a conversion of energy from an unknown source (maybe unseen Dark Energy) into new unseen "Dark Matter" is necessary to keep the theory of attractive gravity whole. This is not good science. Philosophy of Science teaches that when a theory gets "stretched" by new findings, it is important to come up with alternative theories that could better explain the observations.
Let’s look at another problem of science. String Theorists believe the underlying make-up of all matter and sub-atomic particles are tiny vibrating strings of energy. String Theorists surprised the world a few years ago by claiming there were ten dimensions, maybe eleven. This was a big surprise because for centuries everyone believed there were only three; length, width and height. Beginning of last century, Einstein demonstrated there was a fourth dimension. Einstein added space/time as a companion to our familiar three dimensions of length, area and volume. Most of us, me included, still don't fully understand this mysterious fourth dimension, and now there are six or seven more?
What exactly is a dimension? In Physics a dimension is, "a physical property, such as mass, length, time, or a combination thereof, regarded as a fundamental measure or as one of a set of fundamental measures of a physical quantity." By the way, what exactly is a “physical” property? Doesn’t Physics’ definition of “dimension” start from an assumption that there are only our three or four familiar physical dimensions? Science has trouble handling the idea of ten dimensions. It's hard enough being a scientist in four dimensions. After all, science, by its own rules, has to operate in arenas measurable by our physical senses. The rules of science require science deal only with things whose existence can be viewed or tracked by our physical senses. Science requires an object or it's influence to be seen, whether by telescopes searching beyond the stars or microscopes looking for quarks. Physical measurability or the ability to be perceived by our limited human senses is the iron rule - and shackle - of science. Three dimensions are tough enough. Four has challenges. But the next six haven't even been named yet!
Fortunately, religion has been dealing in all ten dimensions for over two thousand years. This dimension discussion is where religion and science can meet. Religion deals with the entirety of human experience, not just those experiences measurable by our physical senses. I think there are answers to what the next six or seven dimensions might be. I'll outline a version to provoke your thinking.
Let's look at the familiar three dimensions.
Length, or line is the first dimension. A line is the simplest of dimensions. All the points between two points. The distance between your front steps and the sidewalk, say. You can think of a line as containing an infinite number of points.
Width, or area is the second dimension. Area is made up of both length and width. Think of your lawn. You can think of area as containing an infinite number of lines all stacked across.
Height or volume is the third dimension, which together with length and width make volume. Think of your living room. You can think of volume as containing an infinite number of areas all stacked up.
Time, or duration is the fourth dimension. Think of your house yesterday, today and tomorrow morning. Time is made up of an infinite number of volumes. This fourth dimension we now call Space/Time, ever since Einstein. Most of us have difficulty understanding this fourth dimension, Time. We are often confused by the idea of Time as a dimension since it has no clearly understandable physical boundaries, as do Length, Breadth and Height. But even those who are comfortable they understand the concepts of time and event horizons usually see Time as the final dimension. But String Theorists think there are a total of Ten or Eleven Dimensions, with the Eleventh a Master Dimension containing all others.
Let's do a brief introduction to the other six or seven dimensions:
Infinity, or endless expansion and acceleration The fifth dimension comes after the fourth dimension of space/time. Infinity, or infinite expansion – No End. Infinity means, "No end." Not just "very big, or very long", but no end to time, no end to space, no end to acceleration, no end to expansion. No ruler or spectroscope or nuclear microscope can show our eyes where "no end" is. No end is No end. Once we can really imagine that there are no limits or bounds to infinite space, we can conceive of other unusual ideas, such as infinite expansion and infinite acceleration.
This dimension suggests the phenomenon of gravity may just be the result of infinitely accelerating expansion. Everything may still be expanding at an accelerating rate. Not just at the edges. All the atoms and the spaces between them. The big bang is still going strong. Always has been. You may not need a grand unified theory to explain gravity; maybe it’s not an attraction, maybe it’s the “push” of infinite expansion. Like the g force when you hit the accelerator in your Ferrari.
The concept of infinity. It’s something Religion has been talking about for millennia. Faith asks us, challenges us to wake up and step into eternity, to imagine the reality of Infinity. We can think of Infinity as Time and Space with No End. No end to motion, no end to space, no end to time. Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I am". And as we sing in the Gloria, "World without end." Amen?
That's a mind-stretcher, this 5th dimension of Infinity. But what comes next? What's after "No end"? Well, it's not after, because dimensions intersect. All the dimensions, all ten, all are present and operating at the same time. Right now. We just don't see them very clearly. Although we do see and feel their impact on us and the world around us.
Opposition, or inertia The next, the Sixth dimension is Opposition. We know, scientifically, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Newton described this as inertial resistance. Yes, but this resistance, or opposition extends to all forces, all energy, thoughts and motives as well. Every thought and intention has an equal and opposite counterpart. In religion, opposition is called The Opposer, The Abbadon, the Devil, or Satan. He, or it, is always with us. In the scientific arena, the impact of the Sixth dimension of Opposition is visible in Black Holes, and in the existence of anti-matter and anti-particles. You can think of Opposition as limiting or defining Infinity. You can also think of Opposition as infinite inertial resistances. Resistance with No End. Not a bad description of Satan.
Equity, or Justification, The Seventh dimension is Equity, or Justification. Equity is the natural balance point of action and reaction. Science understands that Nature seeks a balance of opposing forces. The breakdown of complex into simple. Gases try to level out and fill all available space equally, for example. Scientists call this entropy. You can think of Equity as a balanced result of an infinite number of actions and opposing reactions. In the human arena we call Equity, Justice. Humans are capable of equity or justice in human interactions, but our animal nature opposes it. We instinctively want to maximize our own pleasure, our own safety and our personal control, no matter what. This maximizing of our personal safety, our personal pleasure and personal control is often called sin. One of the great roles of religion is to teach us to overcome certain instinctive original animal drives by a new action of human intention, a will to overcome these drives and practice equity or justification.
In religious teaching practicing Equity is also called Righteousness. You know the Justification tab on your word processor, the margins are equal, the words are balanced left and right? That's also the principle of Equity. Balance. Equity is a movement to balance opposition. At a human level, we sense when injustice is being done, and we resent it – particularly when we are the sufferers of the injustice or distortion. Our moral sense wants "Justification, Equity, Fairness." We sense when things are wrong and want matters corrected. When the energy of the field in which we live is distorted by inequity there is tension straining to be unwound and released.
Sacrifice, or Surrender The eighth dimension is Sacrifice, or Surrender. Once having achieved the dimension of Equity, we are poised to reach the eighth, to surrender to, to accept the willing death of self. We can think of self-sacrifice, the surrender of self, as infinite Equity. We value others as much as or more than ourselves. Jesus demonstrated this for us all. For us, it’s a slow process of killing our egos and placing others ahead of ourselves, creating the desire to serve. The road to diminishing our sense of a separated self is arduous and narrow. The ego does not want to die. It must practice and learn to give itself up willingly. The Old Testament taught us to sacrifice our possessions. It also taught us that life is in the blood and sacrifice of blood was critical. Abraham's binding of Isaac foreshadowed the sacrificial death Jesus would willingly accept in the New Testament. This was preparation and training for us. The Gospel teaches us to surrender ourselves, sacrifice ourselves in happily willing service to others.
Love, or Caritas The Ninth dimension is Love, Caritas, a dimension or state not achievable by anything in nature except human beings. Humans have received the capacity to make conscious decisions about whether to practice Caritas or not practice Caritas. Perhaps Caritas is infinite surrender. Paul defines Caritas for us in First Corinthians. Love is patient and kind. Love envies no one, is never boastful, never conceited, never rude; love is never selfish, never quick to take offense. Love keeps no score of wrongs, takes no pleasure in the sins of others, but delights in the truth. There is nothing love cannot face; there is no limit to its faith, its hope, its endurance.
Nature, as well as humans, demonstrates and enacts the first eight dimensions, even Sacrifice. But Love is the first dimension that can only be reached by human beings. Nothing else in nature is capable of expressing and experiencing this unnatural, conscious and empathetic identity with all God's creations. Dogs, dolphins, horses and elephants may be intelligent, intuitive and even instinctively sacrifice themselves for another. But they cannot willingly decide to love. Caritas is what makes humans human. Here is an important point about dimensions; you cannot advance to a higher dimension without manifesting the prior dimension. You cannot have area without lines, you cannot have volume without area, and we cannot fully Love until we reach a state of Sacrifice and surrender. You cannot Love without being willing to put yourself last. You can think of Love as infinite Sacrifice.
The New Testament teachings on Caritas represents a clarification of the Law and the Prophets. The Law and the Prophets were given to Mankind to prepare us for the Gospels. We were not ready for the Gospel teachings on Love until we understood the meaning and practice of Sacrifice and Forgiveness. Pagan, feral mankind had little sense of equity, and regarded sacrifice as a bribe to a higher power. The Gospels teach sacrifice is a willing acknowledgment and acceptance of the gift of sacrifice given for us. But persuading us evolving humans to adopt the values of the Sermon on the mount is a little like teaching sharing or self-denial to a two-year old.
However, in God's time, the importance and meaning of the dimensions of Equity and Sacrifice have been revealed. Only after absorbing the dimension of Sacrifice is mankind – and Man – ready for the higher dimension of Caritas, Love. As you cannot proceed from one dimension to a higher dimension without fulfilling the earlier dimension, so we cannot proceed directly from Opposition to Love. First we must learn and practice Equity and Sacrifice.
The first 900 pages of the Christian Bible are the Jewish Law, Prophets, and Writings. Only then can come the explanatory 300 pages of Gospel and Letters. The Old Testament focus teaches us about Opposition, Equity and the principles of Sacrifice and forgiveness, release. It hints at human Caritas in showing the mercy and compassion of God. The New Testament opens us fully to experience Caritas, Love in Jesus. Line must go before area; Sacrifice must precede Love.
Peace, or Shalom The Tenth dimension, the dimension beyond Caritas is Shalom, Harmony, Peace. The mystics call this Unity and Union with God. This Tenth dimension is also called the Kingdom of Heaven. We can think of Peace as Caritas without end, Infinite Love.
You can scoff at this rough attempt to define the dimensions, but it does help think about the multi-dimensionality of Jesus' message. Parables are analogies, which teach by example. Parables are practical examples of isomorphism, analogy. We all notice similarities of relationship between huge planetary systems and tiny atoms. Parables teach us that as it is in one matter or system, so it is in another matter or system. Parable has no regard for the size of the system. Only the relationship of elements within the system. The tiny and the huge are the same. So, when we do even small things like preserving the life of an annoying insect in the room, or picking up someone else's trash, or even aligning the window blinds, we are "in a small way" attuning ourselves to be instruments of balance, or Equity. As the song says, "Little things mean a lot." Even the little acts we do affect the cosmos. Almost as if somehow more than particles might be entangled.
That's Ten. The Eleventh? Mathematicians believe the Eleventh dimension, the M dimension, is a Master dimension which contains the other ten. This is a reasonable way to meditate on the infinitely loving Creator.
So, here are the ten dimensions:
Length
Breadth
Volume
Time
Infinity
Opposition
Equity
Sacrifice
Love
Peace
?
The Eleventh is outside of and contains the Ten. God contains all and is.
Here is the point of this "11 Dimension" discussion. What have Science and Religion got to do with each other? Everything! Science is a wonderful tool, also a gift. Science is a process of making sense of the particulars that our physical senses can see, measure and explain to others. We use induction to hypothesize, to create and formulate propositions. We use deduction to test these propositions, to corroborate or disconfirm the propositions. We organize the surviving hypotheses into laws, and use our imaginations to derive theories from the laws. Scientific method demands that all theories are temporary and subject to continuous testing. We test through making more precise observations and deriving hypotheses from the new observations. We test and retest. When the current theory no longer comfortably holds the new tested observations and derived hypotheses, yet researchers persist in stretching the current theory to fit the data, philosophers of science call this "holding the theory together with chewing gum." At some point, we are obliged to try on new theoretical structures to explain phenomena. If we do not, we are as stuck in rigid scientific dogma as was religion in the fifteenth century.
10 Dimensional Science Science is unearthing mysterious signs that there may be ten or eleven dimensions, well beyond our current scientific capacity to measure and test. Religion has been practicing and studying human experience in ten or eleven dimensions for millennia. Maybe Science and Religion should work together? I would like to see Scientific Method open a new front, a front that understands the limits and boundaries of sense perception and is willing to explore and create new ways to test and corroborate, new ways to open science to explore the totality of human experience. Think of it as 10 Dimensional Science, a use of structured tools and controlled exploration of Ancient Revealed Wisdom.
So what does all this this say about the intersection and integration of religion and science? Paul also teaches in First Corinthians; "For we know in part ... but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away... Now I know in part; but then I shall know…" Science today knows in part. It has barely entered the fourth dimension. It will advance over time. Jesus teaches in all ten dimensions. Science' knowledge is partial. God is complete. Jesus teaches us to believe in and act on that we cannot yet see. Our faith is confidence that what we cannot yet see, IS. Faith gives understanding where current scientific theories of reality fall short.
Sir Isaac Newton, himself a devout Christian all his life, wrote, “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy, playing on the seashore and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or prettier seashell than ordinary, while the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”