Cosmic Christ
I recently came across one of my old college folders. Surprisingly, my findings about a "cosmic creation," as told by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ, reminded me of how closely the Triune God is connected to the cosmos.
French Jesuit priest and scientist Pierre Teilhard De Chardin (1881-1955) was a unique figure in the history of theology and science. He integrated scientific research with a religious vocation, a combination that was often seen as controversial in his time. As a paleontologist and Jesuit priest, he made it a point to present the most basic Christian doctrines from a scientific perspective, a stance contrary to the prevailing views of modern society. His ideas were seen as a threat by the early Church, which led to some of his works being censored. However, he also set the stage for the renewal movements that finally came to flower in the era of Vatican II. The scientific world also saw him as provocative and radical. Only a small number of scientists have adopted his models of cosmic creation. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin taught that God is present in the cosmos and that His Son, Jesus Christ, is the center of the future for all mankind. Here, we note an expanded consciousness in that all-natural things are brought back to God through Jesus Christ.
Teilhard's spiritual vision includes God's presence in the evolving universe. As the creator of all things, God has placed charity and love in the hearts of mankind because God is love and charity. This transformative gift of love and charity, with which God showers mankind, is an invitation to return to our creator. The order of the cosmos moves mankind back to God through Jesus Christ, a journey of transformation and hope.
Jesus Christ, according to Teilhard, is not just the Redeemer, but also the 'cosmic Christ' who is the center of mankind's future, redeeming the world through His life, mission, and resurrection. Christ, 'the finality of all created things and by which the created world will meet Christ in the end,' occupies the central position in the world, the evolving Christian. By way of Genesis 1, The Word, and the incarnation of Christ, mankind's death is changed. No longer will there be a void in mankind's soul. The cosmic Christ, a concept that Teilhard developed, shifts our being from 'matter to life to personal spirit."
"God must, in some way or other, make room for Himself, hollowing and emptying us, if He is to finally penetrate us. And to assimilate us in Him, He must break the molecules of our being to re-cast and re-model us. The function of death is to provide the necessary entrance into our innermost selves. It will make us undergo the required dissociation. It will put us into the state organically needed if the divine fire is to descend upon us" (Teilhard 61).
The Christian way of life, according to Teilhard, must incorporate both the opposing forces of divinizing human passiveness and the positive forces of nature in divinizing human activities. In short, we are the changing entities that bring the Christian message and actions to society, which are forever evolving. That is the thesis of Chardin: the Christian's function in the world is to divinize the world in Jesus Christ, which means to bring the transformative power of Christ's love and teachings into all aspects of human life and society.
Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre. (1960). The Divine Milieu. Wm. Collins Sons & Co. and Harper & Brothers.
Action Step: Start discussions with friends or community groups about the integration of faith and science. This could lead to rich dialogues that explore how both domains can complement each other.
