BuddhistCatholicContemplativeEvangelicalGeneral ChristianHinduJewishLatter-day SaintMuslimNew VisionsProgressive Christian
Beliefs
- Buddhist
- Catholic
- Contemplative
- Evangelical
- General Christian
- Hindu
- Jewish
- Latter-day Saint
- More Voices
- Muslim
- New Visions
- Pagan
- Progressive Christian
Topics
- Religion News
- Food and Religion
- Sports and Religion
- Religious Art
- Religious Music and Entertainment
- Religious Events
- History and Religion
- Style and Religion
- Politics and Religion
- Women in Religion
- Recreation Outdoors and Religion
- Business Finance and Religion
- Careers Workplace and Religion
- Education and Religion
- Family Parenting and Religion
- Health Fitness and Religion
- Home and Religion
- Relationships and Religion
- Technology and Religion
- Travel and Religion
Columnists
- Buddhist Columnists
- Business Finance and Religion Columnists
- Careers Workplace and Religion Columnists
- Catholic Columnists
- Contemplative Columnists
- Education and Religion Columnists
- Evangelists Columnists
- Family Parenting and Religion Columnists
- General Christian Columnists
- Health Fitness and Religion Columnists
- Hindu Columnists
- History and Religion Columnists
- Home and Religion Columnists
- Jewish Columnists
- More Voices Columnists
- Latter Day Columnists
- Muslim Columnists
- New Visions Columnists
- Nonreligious Columnists
- Pagan Columnists
- Politics and Religion Columnists
- Progressive Columnists
- Recreation Outdoors and Religion Columnists
- Relationships and Religion Columnists
- Religion News Columnists
- Religious Art Columnists
- Religious Events Columnists
- Religious Music and Entertainment Columnists
- Sports and Religion Columnists
- Style and Religion Columnists
- Technology and Religion Columnists
- Travel and Religion Columnists
- Women in Religion Columnists
Resource Library
- 2026 Calendar
- Library of World Religions
- The 100 Most Holy Places on Earth
- Patheos Answers
- Podcasts
- Videos
- Faith Leaders Database
- Anglican Episcopalian
- Bahai
- Baptist
- Buddhism
- Christianity
- Confucianism
- Eastern Orthodoxy
- Hinduism
- Holiness and Pentecostal
- ISKCON
- Islam
- Judaism
- Lutheran
- Methodist
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- New Age
- Paganism
- Presbytarian and Reformed
- Protestantism
- Religion Behind the Scenes
- Roman Catholic
- Scientology
- Shia Islam
- Sikhism
- Sufism
- Sunni Islam
- Taoism
- Zen
- See all religions
Research Tools
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support
- Trending:
- Forgiveness
- |
- Marriage
- |
- Consciousness
- |
- Death Penalty
- |
- Election
- |
- Halloween
Companions on the Journey
-
Websites
- Home
- New Visions
- “Infallibility and Its Errors, Part 2: The Infallibility of Science
“Infallibility and Its Errors, Part 2: The Infallibility of Science
Last updated on: February 20, 2018 at 7:00 am by Father Seán ÓLaoire, PhD
“Infallibility and Its Errors, Part 2: The Infallibility of Science 2018-02-16T14:51:43-08:00 Father Seán ÓLaoire, PhD
Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.
Note: This is the second of three essays. Number one was entitled: The infallibility of the mass media; this one – number two – is entitled: The infallibility of science; and Number three will be entitled: The infallibility of the Bible.
The Infallibility of Science
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
The third shock to my naïve credulity – after I had survived the shattering of my innocent belief in both papal infallibility and the infallibility of the mass media – came as I walked the hallowed halls of science, majoring in Mathematical Physics and Pure Mathematics (the queen of all the sciences) at The National University of Ireland at its University College Cork campus. Even in my great love of science and admiration for the scientific method, I quickly learned that science, too, is a story investigated and told by very fallible humans. So, I embrace all of its contributions even as I reserve the right to sometimes say, “Naw, I don’t think so.”
Science as Revelation
Science has become the new religion; its discoveries the most trusted form of revelation. The scientific method has, indeed, given us many great benefits – with some serious side effects. But, like all revelation, science is far from infallible and needs to be constantly evaluated using Aquinas’s criterion (truth is found only in the judgment) and, I humbly suggest, using my own definition of “truth” – something is true if it transforms me and aligns me with God/Love.
The scientific method itself, though it does, indeed, deliver significant practical benefits, is based on probabilities, typically at “p-values” at less than 5% -which means there’s only a 5% chance that the results happened randomly. Thus, “probable” is conflated with “proven.” So, in fact, experimental science can never prove anything but merely establish probabilities based on an acceptance of its postulates and methodology. And it’s a very recent and young story. Other stories have been just as satisfying to the populace and lasted much longer. Since it’s another kind of storytelling, then, like all stories and storytelling cultures, it is only consistent within its own parameters and methodology. Once you accept the postulates and parameters and methodology of any storytelling culture, then its “findings/truths” are consistent.
Science – when theories become laws
The brilliant biologist Rupert Sheldrake has written a book called Science Set Free: 10 Paths to New Discovery in which he points out how ten major “tenets” of science are, in fact, just theories that have been iterated so often that they have morphed into “laws.”[i] He has been censured by some in the scientific community and accused of blasphemy. His 2013 TED talk, The Science Delusion, was taken down until popular protest got it reinstated. Here is a quick synopsis of these theories-become-laws:
#1 Nature is simply a machine and all its parts are machine parts – the cosmos itself, plants, humans…So brains are merely programmed computers
#2 Nature had no consciousness until it “emerged” in some animal/human brain.
#3 The laws of nature were fixed at the moment of the Big Bang and can never change.
#4 The total amount of both matter and energy in the cosmos has been unchanged since the Big Bang.
#5 Nature is purposeless – there is no teleology to it. Evolution is blindly going nowhere.
#6 Biological inheritance is purely material via DNA.
#7 Memories are stored materially in the brain.
#8 Mind is nothing but the activity of the brain.
#9 Psychic phenomena are an illusion – a mind confined inside the head can’t possibly have effects at a distance.
#10 Mechanistic medicine (i.e. surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy) is the only kind that works.
Taken together, Sheldrake’s criticisms assemble powerful evidence for the way in which our notions of reality are often constructed upon hypotheses rather than upon proven facts. And the scientific community’s response to Sheldrake, and many other brave scientific souls before him, shows us that power corrupts, and that questioning authority is frequently seen as anti-social, unscientific or irreligious. No prophet is accepted in his own household.
Fundamentalism in science
For all its braggadocio, militant atheism has a much more difficult time trying to prove that God does not exist than timorous, doubt-filled theists/believers have in proving She does exist. This is true, firstly, since absence of evidence is not evidence of absence; and, secondly, even a single black swan, however long it takes us to discover it, immediately negates the proclamation that “all swans are white.” Moreover, when you get down to the individual arguments, the application of Occam’s Razor heavily favors the existence of some kind of mastermind behind project cosmos. Parsimony and elegance favor God’s existence.
Of course, it is very healthy to exercise discernment in dealing with the issue. I find that the spectrum of reactions to any proposition can be divided into five basic stances. First, come the Innocent who have no boundaries to their credulity. They are totally open and simply swallow any thesis without objection. In group two are the Naïve. These, while not being quite as gullible as the Innocent, have very permeable boundaries and, after a few tentative objections or questions, succumb completely to the arguments of the proponent. In group number three are the Critical Thinkers who examine all of the evidence with an open but very discerning mind, and are prepared to abandon even fervently held prior positions in the light of powerful new evidence. This, I believe, is the optimal stance when dealing with any topic including religion, revelation and science.
In group number four are the Skeptics, who are partially closed, and who only open up to “extraordinary” evidence. I find myself, here, in opposition to Carl Sagan’s statement that extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence. I have great regard for Sagan, but this is one of those statements which sound very profound but which, I believe, are actually pretty dumb. Why would any claim need to be subjected to test criteria or protocols which we would also not apply to the “hard sciences”? For example, the standards which mainstream science demands of parapsychological research are way in excess of what it demands of its own research. And even when top class research in parapsychology uses these “ultra-protocols”, the skeptics (and especially the debunkers) are still not convinced.
Finally, comes the Debunker group. These are people who are totally closed and whose modus operandi is to arrogantly act as if they already have the full truth, and any claim that might make a dent in that infallible edifice must ipso facto be false. Without ever examining the evidence, they “know” that the new claim cannot be true. All that remains to be done is to find the best way to discredit the research or, failing that, the good ol’ “argumentum ad hominem” is frequently summoned to the fray. This group cleaves to its positions with a religious fervor that would put even the most fanatical God-fearers to shame.
I’ve never heard anybody describe himself as “a close-minded scientist.” Each of us thinks we are in the correct place, all others are (too far) to the right or left of us in their opinions. Self-perception is a very fallible science. Latin warns us: “nemo iudex in causa sua” (nobody can be the judge in their own case.) As an example of that, 90% of Americans consider themselves “above average drivers”!
In the search for truth, in any discipline, we must allow the data to construct the theory, not the pre-conceived theory to decide which data are admissible. Again, I want to emphasize, this must be true in all forms of revelation – science, religion, “news”, or scriptures.
Major faux pas by prominent scientists
In 1807, Thomas Jefferson who was then President of the American Philosophical Society (the equivalent of today’s American Association for the Advancement of Science) reacted to a report of a discovery of a meteorite by two Connecticut astronomers with the statement, “I could more easily believe that two Yankee professors would lie than stones fall from heaven.”
In the nineteenth century, much of what is now twentieth-century science was laughed at. The renowned physicist and former President of the British Royal Society, Lord Kelvin, stated in 1900, “X-rays are a hoax!” Kelvin had a reputation for hubris and a sense of his own infallibility. Here are some more of his decrees: in 1895, he opined, to the Australian Institute of Physics, “heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” And in an address to an assembly of physicists at the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1900 he stated, “There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement.”
“The theory of germs is a ridiculous fiction,” said Pierre Pochet, professor of physiology in Toulouse, France, when he learned of the germ theory of disease developed by Louis Pasteur, who was a crystallographer, not a doctor. Others even refused to look at his data.
“The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will be forever shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon,” said Sir John Eric Erichsen in 1837; he was later to become Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria.
Perhaps the most famous “expert statement” of all came from Charles H. Cuell, Commissioner of the U.S. Office of Patents, who urged President William McKinley to abolish the Patent Office in 1899 with the assertion, “Everything that can be invented has been invented.”
Even Albert Einstein, the face of science for the 20th century, spent the latter half of his life trying to disprove the findings of Quantum Mechanics.
Even when these grievous errors have been acknowledged, a smug scientific attitude will then say that, though individual scientific claims have been subsequently discredited, the scientific method per se, is infallible, since it always, eventually, corrects its own errors. This is a very handy “blank check” that absolves it from all previous sins and promises that even present hidden sins, once they are discovered, will be remedied. Nice piece of self-exculpation! So, we are expected to still trust science since its present “truths” will be abandoned once contradictory truths have been established. Thus, not only does it forgive itself for past sins, it prophylactically forgives itself for its current crop of errors because someday they, too, will simply be past mistakes. How can you lose with that kind of deft footwork?
Of course, there are two kinds of ignorance: first, stuff we don’t know but we know that we don’t know it (e.g., how to define “consciousness”); and, second, stuff we don’t know, and we don’t know that we don’t know it (e.g., an undiagnosed and therefore untreated cancerous tumor.)
Like all of the storytelling cultures that preceded it, science is very fond of patting itself on the back. But it, too, will prove to be a temporary story, and will give way to a much greater future story. I believe that that future story will be some form of deeper mysticism whose adherents I’ve called, “mysticists” – people for whom the mind, heart, and soul are a trinity of antennae, receiving, deciphering, and acting upon unconditional love, pure awareness, and unity consciousness.
Previous Post

February 13, 2018
The Lord’s Prayer and the Mystical Poetry of Jesus
Next Post

February 27, 2018 On Competition
Browse Our Archives
Select a Category "All Lives Matter" "Anatomy of Human Destructiveness" "belonging systems" "bite-sized pieces of God" "Black Lives Matter" "block universe" "butterfly effect" "call to prayer" "counting to 10" "dog-whistle" language "I Am" statements "late term abortion" "lefties" "Nature Nazis" "Nephilim" "opium of the masses" "othering" "personal" God "personal/sensible" God "private" property "punctuated equilibria" "Silent Night" "Sky Gods" "Super Archetypes" "symbolic"experience "TaNaKh" "the difficult passages" "The Prophet" "the seamless garment approach' "virtualized" money "waking Life" 'creatio ex nihilo' 'dissipative structures' 'emanatio ab Deo' 'God the creator' 'God the Redeemer' 'God the Sanctifier' 'in potentia' 'The End Times' 1% abandonment Abortion abortion debate Abraham abstract rationality abundance Adam and Eve advanced beings/civilizations Advent adventure afterlife agape akasha Akashic record Alabaster jar Alan Watts alchemy aleinu alignment alive allegory altered states of consciousness alternate state of consciousness Alzheimer's disease America 2019 America 2020 America 2021 amnesia Anam Chara anatma (no soul) angels animasphere anitya (impermanence) Annuciation apathy apocalypse apophatic language apostles archetype art artists ASC - altered states of consciousness ascension asceticism ashram astral form astral travel astrology atheism Atman attention attention/observation autism avatar awake awakener awakening awareness awareness/imagination Axial Age Babel Baltimore catechism Baptism bardo state Bealtaine Beatitudes beauty behavioral psychology Being-Knowing-Loving belief systems beliefs Benediction Bernard Haisch Bethlehem Bhagavad Gita biblical literalism biblical revelation Big Bang biophilic biosphere birth canal birthright bite-size piece of God black holes blame Blessed Trinity bodhisattva bodhisattva vow body bonding Book of Job Book of Kells Book of Psalms Book of Revelation border wall Brahma Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva Brahman brain brotherhood/sisterhood Buddha Buddha nature Buddhahood Buddhas Buddhism burning bush Cain and Abel camán (hurley) cancer Canon Law canonical gospels Caol Áit caol áiteanna capital punishment capitalism Carl Jung cataphatic language Catherine of Siena Catholics causal void cause and effect cell mates Celtic Christianity Celtic Feast of Bealtaine Celtic spirituality Chalmers channel of healing chaos consciousness chaos theory charism children chreode Christ archetype Christ consciousness Christ/Christa consciousness Christa Consciousness Christian Christian cosmology Christian Trinity Christianity Christmas Christmas club ciotogs civilization classical conditioning climate change climate disruption co-create co-creating reality co-creative power and responsibility co-creative power of attention codependency cognitive flexibility coherence collaboration collective attention collective consciousness collective imagination collective intelligence/effort collective prayer collective unconscious collective/universal consciousness communication Communion of Saints community Companions on the Journey (COJ) compassion compassionate caregiver competition complacency complex/interdependent society Complexity/Chaos Theory complexity/entropy conceptual thought concurrency Confucius connectedness conscience conscious conscious evolution conscious observation conscious observer consciousness consciousness examen consciousness-primary cosmos consciousness-primary reality conservatism consumerism consumption continuous creation conversations conversion cooperation Coronavirus corrupt politics cosmic consciousness Cosmic Mind cosmic patterns cosmic whole cosmology cosmos Council of Constantinople Council of Nicaea countable infinity courage court prophets covenant Covid-19 creating creation creation by subtraction creative intelligence creativity creativity/paradox creator crucifixion culpability cultural identity cultural trance culture cynicism dark night of the soul Darwin daughter of Sion death debate and detachment deconstructionism deity déjá vu dementia demi-urge democracy democratization of Spirit Descartes desert fathers/mothers destiny detachment determinism devil's advocate Dia de Los Muertos dialogue dignity of all sentient beings direct experience disassociation disciple discovery disease disillusionment diversity divination divine brain Divine Feminine divine inspiration Divine Masculine Divine nature divine realm of perfection divinity DNA Donald Hoffman donkeys Down syndrome drama dream dream state dream time dreamers dreams dualism duality dysfunctional family earth Easter Eastern mystics ecology ecumenism ego ego identity ego-soul dialectic Einstein Einstein's "Block Universe" elementals Elijah Elohim eloquence EM field emergence emergent phenomenon emotional heart empathy en mesoi en-souled human person encounters end times endangered species enemies energy enlightenment entanglement entrainment entropy-complexity environmental degradation epigenetics epiphenomena epistemology equality/democracy equanimity equation of enlightenment Erich Fromm esoteric eternal eternal/mortal eternity etheric body ethics Eucharist Eucharistic Prayer of the Cosmos evaluation evil evolution evolution into enlightenment evolution of consciousness evolution of purpose evolution of society evolution of virtues evolution/devolution evolutionary inflection point evolutionary programming evolutionary shift evolutionary trajectory existence existential inflection point exit strategy experiential knowing experiential symbols extending rights/curtailing rights extra-terrestrial societies extra-terrestrials faery folk faith fake news families family Family of Man fate Father God fear Feast of All Souls feedback feminine face of God Ferdinand de Saussure fetus fifth dimension filioque fire flora and fauna Flora Spiritualis flow foreign policy forgiveness fractals fractals of divinity free will freedom friendship fundamentalism Gaia galaxy Gandhi Garden of Eden Garden of Gethsemane Gautama Siddhartha gemilut hasadim generosity Genesis geometry global crises Global Game Plan global narcissism global transformation global warming gnosis Gnostic intermediaries God God as Father God the Father God's Dream God's heart God's immanence God's will God-conscious Godhead gods Golgotha good and evil Good Samaritan goodness Gospel of John Gospel of Luke Gospel of Thomas grace gratitude greed Greek 'prosopon' ground of being guns habituation hate haves and have nots healing heart heaven Hebrew scriptures hell higher consciousness Hindu Hindu stages of human life Hindu trinity Hinduism Hippocrates Hitler holocene extinction Holocene/Anthropocene holy human Holy Spirit Holy Trinity Homo Narcississimus homo sapiens homo sapiens sapiens Homo Sociopathicus homo spiritualis hope hospitality Huang Po human agency human conditioning human evolution human flourishing (eudaimonia) human history human life human nature human nature/divine nature human needs human psyche human species humans as a social species humility hunger/yearning hypnagogic hypnopompic I AM idealism identity identity theft ideology idolatry illusion illusion of scarcity illusion of separation Ilya Prigogine image of God imaginal cells imagination immanence of God immanent aspect of God immanent experience impermanence improvisation impulse of spirit incarnation incarnational experience incarnational phase inclusivity individual subjectivity individuality indulgences industrial revolution Ineffable Source ineffable transcendence inequality inerrancy of the scriptures infallibility inferior mortal realm infinite inflation/deflation information revolution inner tranquility innocence inspiration instinct instinctual responses integration intellect intelligence intention intentional community interconnectedness interdimensional interpersonal relationships intuition Iománaíocht Ireland irrationality Isaiah Islam Issac Issac Newton Jacob Jacob's ladder of Genesis Jane Goodall Jansenism Jean-Paul Sartre Jeremiah Jesus Jesus as Divine Word John the apostle Joseph Campbell Joseph Cardinal Bernadin joy Judaism Judeo-Christian bible judgment justice Kahlil Gibran karma karma gobbler kindness Kingdom of God knowing knowledge and wisdom kosmic laws Kosmos Krishnamurti lack language Lao Tzu Latin "purgare" Latin 'persona' laughter Law of Impermanence Law of Love lay-away living learning legalism Lent letting go liberal/progressive liberation lies life life journey life purpose life-time commitment light likeness of God Lila limbo liminality lineage living systems living water logos longing love loving God loving without knowing lucid dreaming lucid living Ludwig Wittgenstein Luke and John Magi Mahavira mainstream media male/female faces of God manifest realm mantra Mariology Martin Buber Mary and Joseph Mary Magdalene Mary Oliver Mary the mother of Jesus mass media material world materialism materialistic science materialists mathematics matrix matter Maya mea culpa meaning of life media meditation Meister Eckhart meme memory message metanoia metaphor metaphysical universe metaphysics metaverse metta (Buddhism) Middle America Middle Way migrating Milesians military-industrial complex military-industrial demons Mind mind-body problem mindfulness mini-mystics miracles miraculous/mundane mission missionary mitzvah modularity moksha monasticism money Monoimus monotheism moral laws moral values morality morality/applied ethics morality/legality Moses Mother Earth Mother God mother-love motherhood Mount Shasta Mount Thabor multidimensional creatures multiverse music mystery mystic mystical body of Christ mystical impulse mystical poetry mystical self-empowerment mystical spirituality mystical union with Source mystical void mysticism mysticists mystics myth myth of the given mythic realm mythology naivete Namasté narcissism national security state nationalism Nativity natural disasters Natural Order Nature nautral selection NDE near death experience nebula necessity necrophilic neighbor Neils Bohr neural pathways neurotheology New Age philosophers New Age speak New Year resolutions newborn nirvana no-thing-ness Noah's Ark non-conceptual prayer noosphere nuclear nuclear weapons observer effect Old Testament oligarchy omniscience of God one-ness only-begotten ontology operant reinforcers oral language origin of laws Original Blessing original sin orthodoxy othering out-of-body experience overpopulation Pacha Mama pain pair-bonding Palm Sunday pandemic shutdown panspermia parable parallel lives parallel realities parallel universes parapsychological conduits pareidolia past-present-future Pater Noster Pavlov peace Peggy Lee Pena Creek Pentateuch Pentecost pepo perception perceptual state perfection persona personal cosmology personal enlightenment personal evolution personal responsibility personal transformation personality personhood personhood and ensoulment Peter and John Pharisees philosophy physical universe physical water physiosphere pilgrim Planet Earth planetary ascension Plato Plato's ideal realm pleasure principle Plotinus (d. 270 CE) Plutarch pneuma Pneuma Floriensis pneuma spiritualis pneumasphere poets politics post-incarnational phase power of love practice of prayer prana prayer prayer of petition Pre-Conception contract pre-incarnational phase predetermination prejudice priesthood priesthood of women primary reinforcement prime directive prison-industrial complex pro-choice pro-life profit propaganda prophets proverbs psyche psychodrama psychological conditioning psychological evolution psychology punctuated equilibrium pure awareness purgatory purpose pyramid of power Pythagoras Quakers Quakers "Sense of the Meeting" quantum field theory quantum foam quantum mechanics quantum physics quantum physics/mechanics quantum shift quarantined race radah radical love rainbow body raison d'etre Ram Dass Ramana Maharshi rationality/reason re-birth re-gifting intelligence re-incarnation re-incarnational phase re-magining reality reality gestalt reason recession reconciliation recycling reductionism reincarntion reintegration relationships relativism religion religionists religious systems remembering remembering/imagining renewal repetition resource wars response-ability Resurrection revelation revolution Richard Rohr Rig Veda rights/responsibilities Rilke ritual river of life Role-self root causes/social issues ruach Rumi Rupert Sheldrake sacrament sacraments sacrifice Sadducees Sai Baba saints salvation Samhain Samsara Sat-Chit-Ananda Satya Sai Baba scapegoat scarcity science science as revelation scientific fundamentalism scientific revolution scientism scientists Second Coming secondary reinforcement secular power secular/sacred secularization seeker seers Self self-acceptance self-alienation self-awareness self-compassion self-conscious life self-forgiveness self-identification self-identity self-interest/tribal interest self-liberation self-realization self-serving pathology self-understanding sense of self sense of separate self sensorium sentience separate self separation service to self/service to other sexual harrassment shadow shadow pod Shalom Shared Death Experience (SDE) sheep/shepherds Shiva Shiva energy Shroud of Turin signifiers silence simulated reality sin sin of separation sinner skin-encapsulated ego society socio-political division Socrates Son of Man Song of Amhergín soul soul group soul mates soul pod soul service Soul-self sound Source space-time special and general relativity spirit spiritual choices spiritual dis-integration spiritual DNA spiritual evolution spiritual garden spiritual healing spiritual heart spiritual heredity spiritual journey spiritual monoculture spiritual path spiritual power spiritual question/mystical question spiritual seeker spiritual water spirituality St. Augustine St. Francis St. Gregory of Palamas St. Ignatius of Loyola St. John of the Cross St. Patrick St. Paul St. Thomas Aquinas states of consciousness staying asleep staying awake Steven Pinker stillness stochastic terrorism Stockholm Syndrome stories story storytellers storytelling stream stress subconscious subjective consciousness subliminal perception submission suffering Sufi super-consciousness Supernatural Supernatural reality surrender survival survival of the fittest sustaining intelligence symbiosis symbols synchronicity taoism Tarot technology Teilhard de Chardin telepathy telos/teleology temptation tension terrorism the "Magnificat" the abortion process the Art of Dying the Bible the Big Other The Centering Prayer the cross the dead the Fall The Great Schism The Hero's Journey the human experiment the living The Lord's Prayer the Mother the Old Order the Other The Sign of Peace the Veil the World theology theory of entanglement Theory of Everything (TOE) theory of General Relativity Third Heaven "Shehaqim" thirst Thomas Aquinas thought patterns thoughts/tulpas Tikkun Olam time time travel time-space-mind tomb Tonglen Torah trans-lingual trans-rational trans-spatial trans-temporal transcendence transcendence of God transcendent aspect of God transcendent God transcendental experience transcendental realm transcendental/transpersonal Transcendentals Transfiguration transformation transpersonal Tree of Life Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil tribalism Trinity true Self trust truth truths tselem Tuatha Dé Danann tulpa ultimate reality Uncategorized unconditional love unconscious unconscious psychological modules uncountable infinity understanding unity Unity Consciousness universal basic income (UBI) universal consciousness universe universe as a living system universe itself as a living system Upanishads values Vatican II Veil of Veronica victimhood Virgin Mary virtues vision visionary experiences visions Vivekananda void of self-consciousness waking consciousness Watson and Crick wave-particle duality wealth wealth and privilege wealth gap Wilder Penfield will to survive William James wisdom witnessing consciousness women's spiritual group Word Word-of-God-Made-Flesh world view wu-wei Yahweh yin and yang Yogananda Zen Zen buddhist monk zero-sum game Zoroaster
Select a Month June 2024 May 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 April 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 June 2022 December 2021 November 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015
Follow Us!
TAKE THE
Religious Wisdom Quiz
Who told Saul, "To obey is better than sacrifice"?
Select your answer to see how you score.
David Nathan Eli Samuel
Related posts from Companions on the Journey
A Synopsis of My Personal Cosmology - Part...
A Synopsis of My Personal Cosmology - Part...
Some Musings that Support the Theme: “This is...
TRENDING AT PATHEOS New Visions
Did Prayer Cure His Cancer? Or Was It...
At 4 AM one morning, Joshua W. Brown’s wife awoke to a...
8 Ways a Near-Death Experience Rewires the Soul
Does Consciousness Survive Physical Death? After 50 Years of Research, Dr. Raymond...
Holy Longing: What Our Restlessness Is Telling Us
“One can find so many pains when the rain is falling.” -John...
What this is NOT about. This blog is definitely not about...
Who said the Israelites were God’s chosen? That’s right, they did. Who...
The Spirit World Is the Real World: God...
A Monk’s Wisdom on Body and Spirit I sit with Brother Martin...
view all New Visions blogs
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support
- About Us
- 2026 Calendar
- Videos
- Podcasts
- Library of World Religions
- Faith In Media Tracker
- Advertise With Us
- Write for Us
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service
- Do Not Sell My Data
- Contact Us
- Radiant Digital
- Manage Newsletter Subscriptions
- Unsubscribe From Notifications
- Sitemap
Copyright 2008-2026, Patheos. All rights reserved.
Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In











