Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Autopoiesis

With God's infinite scope and potential,
Intervention is just nonessential.
Evolution's His law
That will form in us awe:
Autopoiesis — means providential.


Autopoiesis (au-to-POY-es-sis) means: auto-creation (from the Greek: auto - αυτό and poiesis - ποίησις for creation or production).For some theologians posing a God who would intervene in evolution creates more problems than it solves.

Two examples:
  1. Why would God choose to design a world that requires his occasional maintenance actions to achieve his purpose when a more efficient design might be opted for?
  2. If God chooses to give us free will to love and believe in Him, would he not ensure circumstances to be such that faith in His existence is not compelled by scientific evidence?
With this said, it still may be true that God has created the universe with autopoietic potentiality for all that's within it. He utilizes the evolutionary process as an efficient cause. This has an effect that inexorably leads to sentience; giving rise to quests for meaning. Thus, we arrive at a pre-destined free choice to have faith in a God of Love, or not.