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SPACE AND RELIGION: AN INTERWEAVING OF INFLUENCES
Author(s) -
Arnould Jacques
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
zygon®
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1467-9744
pISSN - 0591-2385
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9744.2008.00905.x
Subject(s) - humanity , destiny (iss module) , contemplation , space (punctuation) , beauty , dream , meaning (existential) , philosophy , aesthetics , pessimism , environmental ethics , conquest , epistemology , history , sociology , theology , astronomy , ancient history , physics , psychology , linguistics , neuroscience
. Since the earliest ages of humanity, the contemplation of the starry sky has invited the human being to ask: “Who am I? Where is my origin? What is my destiny?” The revolution introduced by modem astronomy has affected how humankind understands itself, and the development of aeronautical and then astronautical techniques introduced a new experiment for humanity—that of being citizen of the sky. By carrying out the dream of Icarus, has humanity realized the attempt of Prometheus? Would we take the place of the gods or God? Do religions have to fear the conquest of space? Despite modern science and the knowledge we have accumulated, space still holds its share of mystery, nurtured by its vast dimensions and startling beauty. Space continues to raise the issue of meaning.