A Flat Balloon

The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you. – Neil deGrasse Tyson

I love this quote by NDT! Lately I have been fascinated by science podcasts. I’m not sure why. I have never been a STEM gal. Give me all the -ologies; sociology, psychology, theology, philosophy. I’m a humanities gal and proud of it 🙂

Recently my son took a Intro to Physics class and he was sharing all sorts of interesting science stuff with me. The Higgs-Boson theory was particularly intriguing. To the best of my understanding, it is a field of “energy” that permeates the universe and gives reason for the presence of matter. I hope that blows your mind! There is a source of Energy that gives purpose to the matter that exists; all matter.

 In high school, we were barely introduced to the sciences. They seem to give you just a little taste. A sliver of science. Enough to either whet your appetite or scare you away. Maybe it is the education system’s way of weeding out the crowd. The real STEM students will want more; seek more; crave more. And everyone else will become English teachers.

One scientist described it as looking at a small point on a balloon. If you are only seeing that small point, then the balloon looks flat. But when you start to see the bigger picture, then you realize it is actually curved. When I heard this illustration, I thought it did well to describe theology too.

Most of us are given little slivers of faith or theology. We read a verse at the bottom of a photo. We hear someone quote Jesus. We entertain a sermon or two a year. Just a little taste of God and faith and scripture. Enough to make Him appear flat. And it works as a catalyst to weed out the crowd. Some of them want more; seek more, crave more. Others are either too scared or too bored.

But what if we stood back and looked at the bigger picture of faith? What if we took in a more complete picture of Jesus? What if we pulled up to the table of scripture for a feast?

If we did this, then we might find the balloon is not flat after all. We may experience a faith that is profound and transforming. We may even discover there is Energy that gives us purpose.

Are you asleep in a recliner? Come and see the balloon of faith is not flat.

Further Reading: The Great Partnership: Science, Religion, and the Search for Meaning (Sacks)