Three years is a long time ....

Over the course of the three years between 2014 and 2017 I contributed to this blog as a means by which to work through some intellectual challenges I was having as a person of faith. One of the reasons I did this in a semi-public forum was to be able to share it with the youth in my community who struggled with some of the same questions, and the other reason was to commit to the ideas in a way that invites dialogue from anyone who comes across what I wrote. It has now been almost three years since my last post, and I am revisiting the content in hopes to incorporating it with new material into a spiritual leadership curriculum that helps in mentoring the future leaders of the Coptic Church. To that end, I will reorganize the previous posts here in a somewhat cohesive narrative, in order to better clarify the gaps that need to be addressed. 

Science/History/Physics

As a scientist by nature and by training, I first have to clarify for myself the relationship between how we learn about the world through science and how God reveals to us why we are here in the first place. Just as it is a metaphysical statement to reject metaphysics, as was done by the logical empiricists of the Vienna Circle, it is an act of faith to believe that God does not exist. The belief in the multiverse is still hypothetical and it currently does not have an even hypothetically falsifiable scientific standing, and it is crucial to distinguish this as a hypothesis and not mistake it for a well worked out theory of science. While I do accept the reality that some people do not consider the existence of God to even be a worthwhile question, I do think it is worth asking, and I have faith that God exists. Within that framework, it is then possible to consider how God has given us the capacity to align our physical reality with our spiritual reality to a unified understanding of the the mystery of time, the relationship between perception of gravity to our spiritual depth, and living in the present. This orients us eschatologically to history as not something that is removed from us in the past but unified with us as we are able to perpetually live out the life of Christ through the anamnesis of the Sacramental life of the church.

Relationship to the Mystical Church

While the relationship to the physical church may be complicated at times, the unity of all Christians to the mystical Body of Christ inthe Eucharist allows us to experience the antifragility of radical unity. Each faith community and each of its members take on a unique combination of differentidiosyncratic elements, but ultimately the spirituality of each church or individual is more than just about the language used in worship or other superficial factors that do not affect the essence of our relationship with God, but rather add to the flavor of how the worship is experienced. The Coptic Church is our mother, and previous generations have passed her down as a gift for us that nurtures us and guides us to engage with God in a physical reality that is a window into a greater spiritual reality. We must therefore avoid seeing the rules of the church as a burden, while at the same time not just treating them as an end in and of themselves. Our relationship with our church is as complex as any other relationship, and we must decide if we are willing to be committed to it despite the ongoing challenges.

Christian Anthropology/Psychology

If we continue to participate in the Sacramental life of the Church, we are then also able to see everything in the world around us through the eyes of its teachings. Our very nature as human beings created to be in the image and likeness of God makes us more than just a physical mortal body. Since we are called upon to be icons of Christ, we must strive to see ourselves and the world around us through God's eyes, so that we can better appreciate how far short we fall of that standard and that it is only through the grace of God that we can grow spiritually. This will be a constant struggle, but we are invited to follow in the example of the saints to serve without expectations and accept our spiritual lives as a perpetual work in progress. The reality is that if we could have complete control over our spiritual growth, this would have a negative effect on its raw, intrinsic beauty. 

Hopefully this train of thought is connected enough and helpful enough that you engage with this material. If there is an inconsistency or fallacy please give me the gift of your voice and the benefit of your correction. To God be glory in all things known and unkown.