Science

Oh, Apparition!
I sit, head in hands,
Struggling with the personhood of God.

Science starts from wonder and the unceasing questioning of the free human spirit. The study of it enriches the mind through the fascinating and ever-widening picture of the universe that it provides . . . The power of the human mind when used methodically in the pursuit of truth . . .

Dear Editor: Thank-you for publishing Jim Humphrey’s “Here Sleep Dragons” in the March/April 2017 issue of Western Friend. I’ve long regarded the Quaker faith as both timeless and prescient, and a most fitting expression of 21st Century Christianity in which science, mysticism and justice advocacy meet and affirm each other. I admire Mr.

Dear Editor: As an engineer who went to seminary, I often find myself defending both Science and Faith. Like Jim Humphrey (“Here Sleep Dragons,” March/April 2017), I’m a “pro-science guy” who agrees that science often gets distorted by materialism.

As a young man, I joined the Peace Corps and served in Morocco for two and a half years. One day I found myself sitting in a café in Rabat, my mind in a swirl, as I looked at the equally swirling street scene. I was trying and trying to figure things out and just couldn’t. I sat there feeling lost and helpless, with a rising sense of panic.

The coming together (“confluence”) of Friends in silent worship is a rare and precious human experience. Even if other creatures have their equivalent merging with the Divine, Quaker worship is a distinctly human thing to do.

Paths of Faith in the Landscape of Science
by George M. Strunz, Michael R. Miller, and Keith Helmuth
Reviewed by Rob Pierson

I straddle two worlds. My scientific family and studies have given me a close-up view of the scientific endeavor. Its work, driven by curiosity and belief in logical methods, and conducted with an obedience to truthfulness, have inspired me to incorporate science ideas and images into my art since 1967. My other world is that of a practicing Quaker.