You’ve heard the old question: “If a tree falls in a forest, and there’s no one there to hear it fall, does it make a sound?”
It’s a kind of koan -- a question designed to make the hearer think.
Yet most of us persist in offering our own versions of an answer.
One group will say, “Of course it makes a sound! Sound consists of vibrations, transmitted through a medium. The shock of a tree falling creates vibrations, whether or not anyone measures them.”
A second group will say, “Sound is a sensory phenomenon. Without an ear to translate those vibrations into a neural response that we call a sound, there is no sound.”
Both answers are valid.
“So what?” you ask. Okay, translate those responses into a different context. How do you prove that God exists?
The first group would have to say, “God’s existence does not depend on human proofs.”
If the second group are logical, they would have to say that if no one can discern the presence of God – by whatever name -- then God does not exist.
Which, logically, would make God (and a pantheon of previous gods) a human creation.
Of course, logic is not, and cannot be, the final arbiter of reality. Not even in science. Logic cannot tolerate direct contradictions. But in fact, nature runs on two contradictory laws.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics, commonly called the Law of Entropy, says that all energy dissipates. Kinetic, electrical, nuclear, and chemical energy all eventually degrade into heat, and all heat will eventually cool towards absolute zero.
Entropy moves from the complex to the simple.
But evolution does exactly the opposite. Each new evolutionary development moves from the simple to the more complex. Algae became giant redwoods; tiny lizards became soaring eagles; comb jellies eventually mutated into sentient beings.
There is, as far as I can tell, no evidence of evolution ever reversing itself. Of eagles reverting to lizards, of a human race losing opposable thumbs.
Granted, evolution has had dead ends. Whole species have died out. Genetic malfunctions cause some babies to be born with shrunken brains, or no brains at all. But these adaptations do not help them survive; flawed mutations quickly eliminate themselves from the gene pool.
So maybe both entropy and evolution are right.
Perhaps we need to accept that “either/or” is a choice we humans impose on our thinking.
I suspect that if God were rewriting the Ten Commandments today, the second commandment might come out something like this: “Thou shalt not subordinate me to any human formulation – such as logic, mathematics, philosophy, or science.”
Try applying the falling-tree koan to the Big Bang that, we’re told, launched the universe. Did the Big Bang make a bang?
On the one hand, it was the most catastrophic explosion of all time. It must have created gigantic ripples. Astronomers claim they still echo through space.
But vibrations must be carried through something. At the instant of creation, there was nothing to ripple. Nothing at all. Not even space for the ripples to expand into.
So did the Big Bang make a sound? Or not? Or both?
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Copyright © 2016 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups, and links from other blogs, welcomed; all other rights reserved.
        To comment on this column, write jimt@quixotic.ca
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YOUR TURN

Last week I did some pondering about the effects of anger. Pauline Finch empathized with my description of the way anger had affected me: “You couldn't have expressed it better when it comes to dealing with fresh anger and trying to make music. In fact, you nailed it for my own experience too. 
“Even when I think I've managed to round the mental edges of extreme stress, fury, outrage, etc., my body still retains the toxins that anger floods into the nervous system.
“And if I pick up a recorder in that state, it's almost impossible to impose control on the sound without doing some very mindful and prolonged deep breathing.
“Unlike other wind instruments, the recorder needs no ‘back pressure’ to produce notes. Its tone control comes from the player's deep breath support…
“More than any other musical instrument, except perhaps, the human voice, the recorder has this way of keeping us humble -- always a little vulnerable to the ebb and flow of our basic human emotions.”

Cliff Boldt, as usual, saw another side to the issue: “But sometimes, I just want to be angry. Oh, I regret it later, but at the moment, I don't want to be calmed down, thank you very much.”

James Russell created his own inspired metaphor: “There's huge energy in anger, but like you, I find it a dangerous friend. Good sometimes when you need a boost to get a project done; not a pal to go drinking with.”

The column inspired John Shaffer to recall some episodes from his own life “There have been a few times in my life journey when anger was a real issue for me.
“The first was in high school when I become the subject of heavy teasing and I finally reacted badly… Sadly, the tactic worked. He never teased me again. But the experience frightened me.
“The next time I was enraged, I walked away. This happened in a summer camp when I was in charge and I made a mistake. One of the counselors pointed out my error in front of the whole camp. I was able to cool off before embarrassing myself and others.
“Long after this, on a remote road in Hawaii, someone in a very big truck tried to force me off the highway on a cliff. As I maneuvered my rental car out of harm's way, I glanced up and saw his smile. I realized then when it was a good thing that I didn't carry a gun. He had put my family's life at risk just to show his disdain for visitors. 
“Anger -- a good thing to have under control.”

Randy Hall said he “was reminded of the saying ‘Depression is anger without enthusiasm.’ But it sounds like your anger had some enthusiasm, which will help keep you off of the antidepressants!”

Priscilla Gifford sent a poem (I think her own) about breathing. Poetry should not be edited, but I’m going to do it anyway. Here are a few lines, to give you a feeling:

Breathing
The woman pants, takes deep breaths and pushes.
Then, the baby, new to the world, breathes and cries.
The mother inhales the sweetness of her baby's skin…
We breathe together as our bodies join in love.
We sigh as we return to life, afterward…
And, at the end, there is a final farewell breath,
Perhaps alone, or sadly heard by others…
We who are left are told to take deep breaths to ease our grief,
To clear our thoughts, to still our minds.
What a natural sweet remedy.
Breathing is something we all know how to do.

Isabel Gibson wrote to Tom Watson, about his letter last week, and sent a copy to me: “I was struck by your comment on Jim's blog, sent today, where you wondered why we think people shouldn't die alone. Some of the best deaths (at least on the face of it) are those who (seem to) die in their sleep at home, or are found sitting in a chair. In these circumstances, I never hear anyone lamenting that the person died alone - we're just grateful that they lived until they died, and went quickly and, apparently, peacefully.
“The husband of an old friend of mine was in hospice in his final illness. Friends wanted to set up a visiting/attending schedule so that someone would always be with him, so that he "would never wake up alone."  My friend refused, flatly. And angrily. She saw that assumption of the value of their company as a presumption.
“I wonder whether our preferences in dying are linked to our preferences in living -- extroverts wanting folks around them, introverts wanting some alone time. But I haven't attended


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PSALM PARAPHRASES

This isn’t the whole of Psalm 27, but it touches my heart, so I’m going to use it today. I wrote it after seeing a little dog lying under a hedge at the corner of our block. As I drove by, I don't know if it was alive or dead. But my heart aches for the little dog, and for the family that had lost it.

7   I raise my head and howl at the sky. 
Hear my cry, and come to me!
8   "Where is your home?" my heart pounds;
"You are lost, you are lost, you are lost!"
I need to find my human. 
Find me, find me! Do not forget me!
9   Do not be angry with me for wandering away;
do not punish me for straying from your side. 
You have taught me, you have trained me; 
Now show me that you can save me, too.
10   When I was small, you took me into your home; 
You took me for your very own.
11   Do not desert me now, when I have wandered into unfamiliar territory,
by paths you did not teach me.
12   Do not abandon me to an alien world, 
where I can trust no one. 
I fear for my life.

13   I will lie down here and wait. 
Soon I will hear my human’s voice calling me; 
I will see familiar feet coming towards me.
14   I can be brave, if I know she is coming for me. 
I shall lie down here, and wait.

For paraphrases of most of the psalms used by the Revised Common Lectionary, you can order my book Everyday Psalms from Wood Lake Publishing, info@woodlake.com.

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YOU SCRATCH MY BACK…
Ralph Milton has a new project, called Sing Hallelujah – the world’s first video hymnal. It consists of 100 popular hymns, both new and old, on five DVDs that can be played using a standard DVD player and TV screen, for use in congregations who lack skilled musicians to play piano or organ. More details at www.singhallelujah.ca
Isabel Gibson's thoughtful and well-written blog, www.traditionaliconoclast.com
Alan Reynold's weekly musings, punningly titled “Reynolds Rap,” write reynoldsrap@shaw.ca
Wayne Irwin's "Churchweb Canada," an inexpensive service for any congregation wanting to develop a web presence, with free consultation. <http://www.churchwebcanada.ca>
Alva Wood's satiric stories about incompetent bureaucrats and prejudiced attitudes in a small town are not particularly religious, but they are fun; write alvawood@gmail.com to get onto her mailing list.
Tom Watson writes a weekly blog called “The View from Grandpa Tom’s Balcony” – ruminations on various subjects, and feedback from Tom’s readers. Write him at twatson@sentex.net

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TECHNICAL STUFF

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