Important Questions in Science and Theology

There are some important questions for everyone. For example: What happened before Big Bang, does anything exist on the other side of Universe, will it be possible to make voyages through time? There is also the question of the existence of God. In the Bavarian TV "alphacentauri" the famous Astrophysicist Harald Lesch gave a lot of answers to this matter. He said that science can only explain how the world works, but not why it so works as ist does. Some years ago, the Priest Jutta Hoecht-Stoehr from Munich said to me that the question why the world functions as it does, can only be explained by Theology. And what about the Theory of Evolution of Species by Charles Darwin? In this sence one does not need any idea of a creator, as atheists believe. However, the Priest, Teacher an Geologist Theilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) said that God makes things regulate themselves. This is a true statement in my own understanding. And it is also a strict contradiction to the meaning of atheists. This seems to be a bebeficient statement.

What is the meaning of life?

Willigis Jaeger, the famous mysticist and Zen-teacher from School of Contemplation in the german city of Wuerzburg, gave a lecture about "Eternal Wisdom" at the church "Kreuzkirche" in Munich on wednesday, 6/30/10. The question for me personally was, wether or not the way to eternal wisdom leads through contemplation. The latin word contemplari means "looking at s.th.". In a christian context this means sometimes Meditation, i.e. meditating about a subject like a picture, an idea or a word. W.J., however, thinks of a special form of praying. Contemplation in this context does not mean meditation, but a state of experience on the other side of consciousness. In this sense, I can understand his opinion that mankind is a wave in infinite ocean of divinity. From this the sense of life can be derived as part of godness. This is the way I understood his lecture, which presented also a lot of knowledge about modern science like Astrophysics and biological Evolution. What an interesting evening!

A Meeting at Ecumenical Days of Churches (OeKT)

From 5/12 to 5/16/10 the ecumenical days of churches took place in Munich. You could meet Catholics, Protestants, Orthodoxians and others. I as a Protestant am a fan of Margot Kässmann, the former Bishop of Hannover and former President of Protestants in Germany (Ratsvorsitzende der EKD). For some time I have been exchanging emails with her, so now I would like to meet her personally. This came true on wendsday, the first day of OeKT, in the library Hugendubel at Marienplatz. I came in time and was standing in front of the table, where she took seat after arrival. So I could observe how she talked to every visitor and signed several books. At the end of performance I got a dedication in her new book "Das Grosse Du" and had the possibility to exchange a few words with her. Three days later she was talking in a fair hall about the subject "Are Churches a Sign of Hope in the World?" This speech impressed me very much. What a charismatic woman she is!

Maxi, the city cat

Maxi is a central european greyhaired cat with white dots at breast and paws. My son Chriss had decided to bring him into the city-appartement of his mother at the yard of Gabelsberg. Maxi quickly found out that he wanted to live in freedom. Therefore he was looking for a tree to climb up and down from Chriss' mother's first floor appartement. He would mew outside the door so that he could be let in or out. This usually happened about 6 o'clock in the morning and with beginning of darkness in the evening. Sometimes he had a little mouse in his mouth. This reminded Chriss and his parents of the fact that Maxi was a predatory little cat. Otherwise he was a lovely animal. Sometimes he was lying under the blanket of Chriss' bed and slumbered in his own way. When I came into the room I said:"Maxi, old guy, wake up, Dad wants to play with you!" Then you could see, how he streched and extended under the blanket. He stood up and arched his back. Then you could play with him- however, you had to be carefull because of his claws. What lovely fellow he is!

"Lucy" and "Ardi"

What sort of environment had it been in the area of Afar in Today's Etheopia 3.2-4.5 Million of years ago? It wa a changing countryside, formed by forests, bushes, humid areas and savannahs. Here "Lucy" and his ancedor "Ardi" lived, whose fossils were found in this region. It was on 11/30/1974 when Donald Johanson and his assistent discovered the fossils of "Luxy" as Australopithecus Afarensis (= southape from the area of Afar) --- and between 1994 and 1997, when A.Asfaw and T.White found those of "Ardi" as Ardipithecus Ramidus (= groundape from the roots of man). "Lucy" is supposed to have been a female with hight of 90 cm and weight of 30-50 Kg. The bones of the legs are a proof of the thesis, that "Lucy" could walk upright. Concerning her teeth which were found, she likely had an age of 20-25 years. The scientists gave her the name after the Beatles song "Lucy in the sky with diamonds". Even "Ardi" had a similar shape and had been living in trees and on the ground and she could walk in an upright way. Therefore the upright walk had been developed first in the surrounding of forests and not in the savannahs, which had been formed in a later period.