God’s Plan for Creation

Sometimes, we are left with the impression that things die out completely. In fact, the second law of thermodynamics claims that such termination is the destiny of all organic life. The piece of coal thrown into the fire can never be restored to its original form. An important transformation takes place, however, as the burning of that coal generates heat energy that propels technology to create a range of new entities. The piece of coal has not come to naught. Its true identity as an energy-bearing structure continues in a range of new forms, which cannot be perceived, understood, or accessed in the original form of the piece of coal. Viewing the natural world around us, we see things growing, a vast range of life-forms becoming and developing through greater complexity. It is often an untidy, even messy process (hence, the notion of chaos) and certainly does not follow a neat, logical progression. Any process of development involving increasing levels of complexity, elegance, and beauty will be accompanied by a considerable amount of destruction and waste. At every level of life, creation and destruction are interwoven in evolution’s trajectory.

—from the book Paschal Paradox: Reflections on a Life of Spiritual Evolution,
by Diarmuid O’Murchu, page 6

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