I've never understood what is ungodly or anything less than miraculous about evolution, or in any aspect of nature. Nor have I ever understood the need to claim to know the answer to our existence -- the very enigma is, to me, part of the beauty.
To me, god is nature and nature, god. What is holier than watching the sun rise over the horizon, hearing birds sing in the morning, hearing the frogs and crickets sing in the twilight? That is my church, and I live with it every moment of my life.
How could the miracle of birth be any more precious with a human than with a kitten, a calf, or any creature?
Who better to teach the virtues of unconditional love and loyalty than those creatures with whom we share our planet? What could possibly be a better lesson for survival than the interdependence of all life on earth?
Just as our mothers nurtured us, and we in turn nurture our parents, so must we do with mother earth.
The achievements of mankind over the millenia, the strides we have taken since Lucy and our other predecessors are nothing short of amazing, but with our acquired abilities and wisdom have come ego, pride, and so many other vices. Not that other animals are without their faults, but ours have coupled with our unique abilities to threaten our very existence.
I admire Jesus and St. Francis of Assisi for their wisdom, their love, their appreciation of the earth and all fellow creatures, not for their supposed holiness. Holiness, to me, is shared by all living beings.
Mary
