"I look for the new Teacher, that shall follow so far those shining laws, that he sall see them come full circle, shall see their rounding complete grace, shall see the world to be the mirror of the soul, shall see the identity of the law of gravitation with purity of heart, and shall show that the Ought, that Duty, is one thing with Science, with Beauty, and with Joy."--Ralph Waldo Emerson in an address at the Harvard Divinity School, July 15, 1838
I read this quote and had to re-read it several times before I had even an inkling of an understanding of it. I'm certain that others will have different interpretations of it, but, for me, the poet was saying that we do not need to choose between science and faith, that they will work together, complementing each other, rather than competing with each other.
The debate between science and faith will probably always be with us to some degree. I have never seen a conflict, however; I see a world in which God's laws and those of nature are in harmony. For did not the Lord Himself create everything?
Joy for today: recognizing, as did Emerson, that all "is one thing with Science, with Beauty, with Joy."
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