I Fought the Law of Thermodynamics and the Law of Thermodynamics Won

[create_destiny]

I've been reading a tome on the natural history of California. I just finished reading a portion about the laws of thermodynamics. It's the second law of thermodynamics that's blowing me away.

Energy can be converted from one form to another, but transformations are never completely efficient.

Disorder (entropy) tends to occur during energy transformations; therefore to create order or put things in a precise arrangement, requires more energy than can be reclaimed later.

I'm thinking this law must also apply to spiritual matters. Like God can pour his grace into us all the live-long day, but we can only convert 1% of this grace into anything fruitful.

Perhaps this explains why, after years of spiritual struggle, all that came from me was a pea-sized grape that quickly withered and fell to the ground where ants fed upon it until they were drunk with joy. A handful of drunk ants. This is my spiritual contribution to the universe. Christ was crucified for a handful of drunk ants.

Fuck. Hopefully I can use the law of thermodynamics as a justifiable excuse on Judgment Day.

I'm at least going to use it as an excuse to not clean the house today.

Forgive me.

Comments

[createdestiny.livejournal.com]

My mind really wants to resist going too deeply into the awareness of choas in the universe because, well, the whole idea of God's Providence. It's just...too....freakin'...huge and paradoxical...brain...will...explode.

[whosplittheatom.livejournal.com]

hehe, I totally know what you mean...

As you've probably known for a long time, my ideas and thoughts about God aren't exactly the most Orthodox or even Christian. Even when I tried to tow the line, it was only a temporary thing. I range from being somewhat atheist in some ways, to being very agnostic much of the time, and when I do believe or have a sense of God, it's very much in the sense of scientific pantheism. At the very least, God seems to be an extremely subjective entity, whose nature and actions seem vry dependent on things like a) each individual's own percption and maturity level, b) culture, environment, and circumstance, and c) the degree and manner to which the individual engages God. To say that there is a "true God", objective and above all this, is both a tautology and a red herring - even the highest of mystics cannot escape their own subjectivity, on the contrary they probably moreso than most are far more deeply immersed in it!

I guess what I'm saying is, the religious term "God's Providence" is, for me, completely interchangable with the scintific term "chaotic determinism". Whether we call the determining factor "God" or "the Cosmos" seems to be a moot point, simply because there's more than enough magic and mystery and wonder and crazy synchronicity in the natural world alone, without needing to invoke any supernatural agent in attempt to explain it.

This is actually a very good realization for me personally, because it keeps my feet on the ground and my head from going too far into the clouds - and we all know what a problem I've had with that in the past! And I've noticed, for example, that the exact same mental processes are at work in me when I contemplate the world from a naturalistic perspective, as when I pray from a supernaturalistic perspective - the essence is the same, only the terminology is transposed.

But yeah, you've seen Darren Aronofsky's 'Pi', right? There's definitely something to be said for knowing when your brain is far enough in. "Seek God, but do not inquire as to the nature of His dwelling-place..." Yup, I can testify to that from firsthand experience!