– THE MYSTERY OF BEING HUMAN –

now. This unity-and-multiplicity of my ‘nows’ makes the mysterious three-in-one of the Trinity seem comparatively simple.

LIFE WITHOUT RELIGION

So there we have it: the multi-storied mystery of the Universe, of Life, and of Us. Though science falls far short of providing anything approximating explanation, this does not justify appeal to a Divine Maker. A mystery – even a unique or many-layered one – does not make the case for God, even less one that is imagined and worshipped in any particular religion. ‘God’ invoked in this context would simply be a placeholder, or a place-blocker, pre-empting any search for explanation rather than counting as an explanation. But a humanism that would replace religion must keep the mystery alive; explicitly live within it; even entertain the possibility that we, like iron filings unaware of the magnetic field, or stones not experiencing our gaze, might fall within a consciousness higher than our own.

This is easier said than done. Without the support of the structures, rituals, and obligations of organised religion, not to speak of their threats and promises, the mystery of our lives has to struggle to find its place in competition with compelling priorities. For many human beings, indeed probably most of us over history, the over-riding concern has been survival, getting enough

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