> At this time in history, we know a staggering number of natural causes for previously unexplainable phenomena. I don't think that an amazing thing becomes any less amazing - or spiritual - when you know all the reasons behind it. It may become even more so.

> I can look at the sun shining through leaves and feel awe for God's work, whether or not I know about chlorophyll, photosynthesis, reactions within the sun, or the process by which solar radiation crosses space to reach the tree outside my window. If I stop and consider these things, I usually feel more awe, not less, at the complexity of the world.
>

Thanks for bringing that up, B_G. I do agree with you, and what follows is meant to be an expansion or clarification of what I was saying, rather than disagreement with your post.

I might look at a fine painting and greatly admire its workmanship, but if I also personally knew the painter, there would be an even greater fulfillment for me, as I looked at the painting and thought about how it reflected the character of my friend the artist.

Like you, I'm generally overwhelmed, awestruck and pleased at the complexity of the world, rather than dismayed at it. But my enjoyment isn't just an aesthetic appreciation for the beauty in the cosmos; it's also--perhaps mostly--the pleasure of thinking about the *kind* of God who designed the world in this way. I smile when I think about what kind of person God is: active, involved with and interested in his own creation.

Science may not be opposed to spirituality per se, but it is opposed to beliefs which are contrary to the weight of evidence. Let's assume a hypothetical scenario in which science could produce substantial evidence that God is not *specially* active in the world today. Certainly that wouldn't prevent anyone from ascribing to God the authorship of the magnificence we find in the natural world; God could still receive our awe for his design work. But I, personally, would feel that I did not know the artist so well after all, and my enjoyment of the complex universe would be considerably diminished, or killed outright.

I'm not much interested in a laissez-faire God whose mind and purpose are foreign to me. Take away God's act of expressing his character as he works in his created world, and to me at least, you have taken away all that is worth believing in. Not just "God", but *this* God, the one who makes himself known to us, provides for us, actively governs the world he made. That's what makes the beauty of the natural world truly beautiful for me.

Iss "/act Brunnen_G deemed to be ruling" achar