The Universe Story |
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- Adapted from the IHM Environment Committee Stance
We live in a mysterious and wonderful universe. According to Stephen Hawking, scientists believe that when the universe emerged some 13.7 billion years ago, it was infinitely hot. One second later, the universe had expanded enough to reduce its temperature to 10 billion degrees Celcius. After another ninety-nine seconds, the temperature would have fallen to one billion degrees. If space had unfolded one trilliionth of a percent more slowly, the expanding universe would have collapsed back into quantum foam. If space had emerged a similarly miniscule percentage more rapidly, the elements of the universe would have been dispersed at too great a distance to have produced even simple life forms. Scientists estimate that there are over 300 billion galaxies in the universe, each estimated to have from tens of millions to 500 thousand million stars. This magnificent universe has from the beginning maintained a delicate balance. However, the universe has not received the attention from theologians to match the discoveries in physics and the other sciences. "...There is a vital theme largely absent from the thinking of most North American theologians, namely, the whole world as God's good creation. There are a few notable exceptions, but surveying our work as a whole would quickly make this absence clear. "This mainstream neglect of 'the cosmos' by recent decades of mainstream Catholic theology has two deleterious results. It enfeebles theology in its basic task of interpreting the whole of reality in the light of faith, thus compromising the intellectual integrity of theology. And it blocks what should be theology's powerful contribution to the religious practice of justice and mercy for the threatened Earth, thereby endangering the moral integrity of theology." - "Retrieval of the Cosmos in Theology" This following Universe Story bibliography is a panoramic view crossing many disciplines. We offer you, the curious, and you, the serious and committed Earthling, opportunities to deepen your own vision of our universe. With Elaine Prevallet, SL, enter the conversation: "We are the universe becoming conscious of its capacity to be in communion with the Holy Mystery that lies at the Source of our being." Let the journey begin! The Universe Story - an annotated bibliography (PDF, 73 KB) A Working Paper for Reflection and Discussion, by Mary Ellen Sheehan, IHM Four Stories,by Mary Ellen Sheehan, IHM. Four Stories integrates our 13.7-billion-year-old Universe story, our 4.6-billion-year-old Earth story, our 4,000-year-old Judeo-Christian story and the 162-year-old story of the IHM Sisters of Monroe, Michigan. |
"We, as members of the planetary community, recognize and respect the sacredness and interdependence of all creation. We are aware that when we lose the reverence for and awe of creation, as well as an understanding of our place as partners within the Earth community, our sense of God and of ourselves is diminished."