Cosmology Bus

eBay and Life beyond Earth

I rarely visit eBay, but right after Christmas I got caught-up in a high stakes bid for an out-of-print book written more than thirty years ago by an assistant pastor at a church in Fall River, Massachusetts. This was my first excursion into the world of online auctions, but I was confident because my entrepreurial nephew, John, was back on break from school. I knew John had bought and sold on eBay before, so I didn't hesitate to ask his advice on how to improve my chances for nailing a winning bid.

I also felt confident because it seemed more than lucky that the book was available at all. Right after learning about it I checked my usual online sources in hopes of finding a copy, but not one bookseller had the title. Then somehow I got the idea to look on eBay and, well, there it was. Just one copy. Just one bid submitted. And just a little more than twenty-four hours left in the auction. I didn't speculate much about karma or destiny. Instead I quietly acknowledged the good opportunity and did what any self-respecting consumer would do: I joined eBay, signed-up for PayPal, and plotted strategy.

The work in question is Many Worlds, One God, by Kenneth J. Delano. It was published in 1977 by Exposition Press in Hicksville, New York, and runs 141 pages. The ISBN 13 number is 978-0682486442. As far as I was able to determine, Exposition, a small vanity press, ceased operations sometime in 1984.

Details of publication are usually of zero interest to readers (being a former publishing house GM, they always interest me), but in this case there's an added feature on the copyright page that makes the work and its contents special: the page includes a nihil obstat and an imprimatur. A nihil obstat is an official approval granted by a designated censor in the Roman Catholic Church. Its presence certifies a work does not contradict Catholic teachings on matters of faith and morals. An imprimatur is the final approval and official declaration by the bishop in the diocese where the work is to be published, indicating the content is free from errors concerning Catholic doctrine.

Rev. Delano undoubtedly knew the value of obtaining an imprimatur when writing about controversial subjects. Many Worlds, One God is described on its dust jacket as "An intelligent discussion of the existence of extraterrestrial life and its impact upon mankind."

When Many Worlds, One God was published, Kenneth Delano was an active amateur astronomer and member in both the Astronomical League and the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers. Before Many Worlds, One God, he wrote Astrology: Fact or Fiction?, which was published as a mass market paperback. I know little more about his first book, except that it was favorably reviewed in Homiletic & Pastoral Review, a well-known Catholic pastoral magazine. I have no idea if it also bears an imprimatur.

I find it interesting that in Many Worlds, One God Delano suggests that churches should raise questions "in anticipation of the discovery that we are not alone in the material universe." Questions like:

"How many people have premised their religious beliefs on the uniqueness of man?

How many would be capable of conceiving a relationship between themseves and God as being founded on anything else but the belief that the one God finds only one being, the human being, worthy of His attention?

Would the people say with David, 'What is man that Thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that Thou visiteth him,' not with the psalmist's devout wonder, but rather with enervating skepticism about God's concern for humanity? 

How many would survive the incomparable revolution in thinking that may be forthcoming with the discovery of alien intelligences?"

These questions are good ones that have yet to be addressed either informally on local levels or through official Catholic or Protestant positions. That said, I doubt anyone's surprised about this, including Rev. Delano, who is now retired.

For me, the value of this very readable book lies in its official sanction, its unique mention of the role churches can play in assisting believers with the presumed future discovery of life beyond Earth, and its thoughtful non-technical presentation (circa 1977) of a broad range of relevant topics. The latter includes evolution, the nature of life in space, extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI), communicating with sentient beings, UFO phenomena, cultural impacts of the discovery, and "astrotheology." Delano's bibliography contains an equally wide range of sources, not exhaustive by any means, but helpful to general readers.

I also appreciate that Delano wrote his book with a concern for people. His Introduction makes this clear:

"Now is the time for all of us to start making the necessary mental preparations for the revelation that we are not alone in thge universe. If our minds have not been prepared beforehand for the detection of or an encounter with ETI  we will suffer the shock of having to adjust too rapidly to a fact about which the world's religions have had little or nothing to say. The agitations experienced in the past over the theories of Copernicus and Darwin will seem to have been, by comparison, tempests in a teapot."

Whether he is correct about this or not (I can picture scenarios that suggest he is), it seems to me that Rev. Delano deserves credit for emphasizing the need for people of all faiths to take a confident approach in matters concerning the prospect of intelligent life outside our solar system:

"Any person possessing a religious faith that conveys an adequate idea of the greatness of God's creative ability, of humanity's humble position in the universe, and of the limitless love and care God has for all His intelligent creatures, should not be afraid to look at the evidence. . .that indicates that we humans are not the only ones in the universe having intellects and wills capable of knowing and loving God."

Confidence on eBay has its rewards, too.

At 1:30 am on December 27, just minutes before bidding closed, I increased the existing bid by $.25 and soon after received confirmation that I won the item.

Many Worlds, One God, and twelve dollars US. 

Next stop: "Billions of Earths" and a 2000-Year-Old Computer

Kenneth J. Delano, dust jacket photo for Many Worlds, One God (1977). For editorial use only.

Banner bus photo credit: Dorothy Delina Porter.

Cosmotheology

Cosmotheology is one of those words few people have heard of, but when they do come across it for the first time, there's at least some vague familiarity about it: cosmo from the Greek kosmos, meaning the orderly universe, and theology, meaning the study of religious faith, practice, and experience, and especially the study of God and of God's relationship to us.

Immanuel Kant (1724 -1804), the most influential philosopher of the late Enlightenment, coined the term in his best-known work, The Critique of Pure Reason, considered one of the greatest contributions to Western philosophical thought. But Kant's definition of cosmotheology was narrow, referring to a specific form of what he called "transcendental theology," a method human beings must use to discern theological concepts because, according to Kant, reason alone cannot prove God's existence.

Today cosmotheology means something quite different from what Kant proposed. Its origin is still very much Earth-bound -- a product of human intellect -- but the term is now more closely aligned with cosmology and astrobiology. The people who talk and write about it these days are more likely to be astronomers, physicists, and historians of science by training, not philosophers.

And not theologians, either.

I'll have more to say on this observation another time but, meanwhile, if you guessed that cosmotheology has something to do with religion and life-containing worlds not our own, or in addition to our own, that would be a solid inference. I first came across the word through an article by Steven J. Dick, a name already familiar to CB readers. In 1998, Dick and theoretical physicist and cosmologist Paul Davies, who is also a bestselling author, organized a symposium sponsored by the The John Templeton Foundation. The program's title, "Many Worlds: The New Universe and Its Theological Implications," brought together fourteen distinguished scholars from a variety of disciplines to discuss theological subjects in light of the comparatively recent and now dominant world view accepted by scientists (and the public at large). In Dick's own words:

"While the abundance of extraterrestrial life is by no means proven, it is the view accepted by many working on the origins of life, has seemed likely to most astronomers for thirty years, and is the working hypothesis of those in the growing hybrid fields of bioastronomy and astrobiology . . . This new world view of a universe full of life, produced by cosmic evolution, I call 'the biological universe.' The central assumptions of the biological universe are that planetary systems are common, that life originates wherever conditions are favorable, and that evolution culminates with intelligence."

This description is from Dick's article, "Cosmotheology: Theological Implications of the New Universe," which appears in the book that resulted from the 1998 symposium. Dick also edited the volume, which was published by the Templeton Foundation Press. If you've been on the bus a while, you might remember that Many Worlds: The New Universe, Extraterrestrial Life, and the Theological Implications (2000) was mentioned in an earlier post.

Dick defines cosmotheology broadly, more as a verb than a noun. For him it means "using our ever-growing knowledge of the univese to modify, expand, or change entirely our current theologies, whatever they may be." He further develops the concept through five principles:

"Cosmotheology must take into account that humanity is in no way physically central in the universe; we are located on a small planet around a star on the outskirts of the Milky Way galaxy . . . 

Cosmotheology must take into account that humanity is probably not central biologically . . .

Cosmotheology must take into account that Humanity is most likely somewhere near the bottom, or at best midway, in the great chain of intelligent beings in the universe . . .

Cosmotheology must be open to radically new conceptions of God, not necessarily the God of human imagination, but a God grounded in cosmic evolution, the biological universe, and the first three principles stated above . . .

Cosmotheology must have a moral dimension, extended to include all species in the universe -- a reverence and respect for life we find difficult to foster on Earth."

Each of these principles carries its own set of challenges for people of faith, the administrative bodies of the recognized world religions, practitioners of sprituality outside mainstream religion, and agnostics. For Dick, the challenges for organized faiths are especially large; religions will either adjust to these cosmotheological principles or face "extinction." In general, he says, monothestc religions that teach man is made in the image of God will have the most difficulty adapting. Eastern religions that present "salvation" through pesonal enlightenment will do so more easily.

The article also contains interesting discussions of changing world views, the meaning of a "natural" God, human destiny, and the need for creative concerted efforts to find our way ahead.

These are bold and provocative ideas from the (now) chief historian at NASA and author of two detailed histories of the extraterrestrial life debate, including The Biological Universe: The Twentieth-Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate and the Limits of Science (1996). Through his unique approach to the subject of cosmotheology, this astronomer and historian of science, more than any other individual writing on the topic today, places an inviting spotlight on the intersection of worlds religions and life beyond Earth.

In his introduction to Many Worlds, Dick also acknowledges an important limitation of the volume and, by extension, of the symposium that inspired it: the discussions are clearly Western in focus. As he correctly points out,

"A majority of Earth's population is non-Western, non-Christian, and not necessarily imbued with the values we take for granted, and we must not ignore the multiplicity of our world in the new millennium. The new universe has implications for all areas of human thought and for all the world's cultures." 

This cautionary note nicely complements the spirit of the The Templeton Foundation's Humble Approach Initiative, sponsor of the 1998 symposium.

Humility found anywhere in the exchange of ideas deserves recognition.

Next stop: When Stars Came Down to Earth

"Many Worlds" photograph by Eric Delmar, June 24, 2007. Copyrighted and used with permission.

Banner bus photo created by Dorothy Delina Porter

More Good Reads

Bringing the Sacred Home (11/11) mentioned Lonely Planets: The Natural Philosophy of Alien Life, by David Grinspoon -- a book that's always on my short list of good reads about the prospect of life beyond Earth.

The rest of the short list -- five in all -- inlcudes two histories of the extraterrestrial life debate, a volume on theological perspectives, and a posthumous gift of inspiring writing from Carl Sagan. I consider these must-reads for anyone interested in acquiring a clear and well-grounded understanding of the subject. (Actually, there are no "musts" on this route, so let's call them read-if-you're-inspired selections.)

The histories were written by Michael J. Crowe and Steven J. Dick, two historians of science I hope to meet one day. Crowe is the Rev. John J. Cavanaugh Professor Emertus in Humanities in the Program of Liberal Studies and the Graduate Program in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Notre Dame. An author of several distinguished volumes, his book The Extraterrestrial Life Debate, 1750-1900 traces the story as it unfolded in the West in meticulous detail. This is a work of formidable and impressive scholarship on every level: Crowe also covers the participants who wrote in langauages other than English. Not eveyone will appreciate the fact that there are some 80 pages of endnotes and an extensive bibliography, but I do. I consult this resource often, and never stop admiring the author's complete grasp of his subject.

Steven J. Dick, an astonomer and historian, is Chief Historian at NASA. His Life on Other Worlds: The 20th Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate (first soft cover ed. 2001), brings readers current on the evolving nature of the discussion in an equally engaging but different narrative style than Crowe's. Because it covers more recent thinking, the book includes chapters on the UFO phenomenon and SETI. FYI, Life on Other Worlds is an abridged and updated version of Dick's The Biological Universe: The Twentieth Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate and the Limits of Science (1996).

Dick also edited Many Worlds: The New Universe, Extraterrestrial Life, and the Theological Implications, mentioned in my 11/11 post. I have this on the list because it's the only volume I know that addresses theology from a diverse collection of individuals: physicists, astrophysicists, biochemists, planetary scientists, philosophers, historians of science, and theologians trained in science. That said, the title is a bit misleading: more scientitists than theologians contribute, and the subject, as large as it is, certainly deserves additional coverage from world religions and other spiritual traditions.

Rounding things out is Carl Sagan's The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God, edited by Ann Druyan. Published in 2006, this volume presents a series lectures Sagan gave in 1985 commemorating the centennial of the Gifford Lectures at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. In his talks Sagan outlined his personal views on what used be called natural theology, or as he described it, "everything about the world not supplied by revelation." In doing so, he spoke across a broad range of topics relevant to science and religion, including extraterrestrial intelligence, the implications of extraterrestrial folklore for the evolution of religions, and the God hypothesis. Sagan's approach to the lectures -- each one self-contained, revealing, and enjoyable from beginning to end -- is artfully described in Druyan's introduction. I have the Penguin Books soft cover edition. Speaking as a former publisher, it's hands-down beautifully designed and illustrated.       

There are, of course, dozens of other books well worth reading on the subject of life beyond Earth, including others by the authors referenced here. (Just last month, Crowe's The Extraterrestrial Life Debate, Antiquity to 1915: A Source Book, was published by the University of Notre Dame Press.)The more I've researched, the more surprises I've discovered. Future posts will call selected ones to your attention.

Meanwhile, if you've come across a volume that you'd like to share, I'd enjoy hearing from you!

Anytime.

Next stop: Saturn's Venting Moon

Banner bus photo created by Dorothy Delina Porter