Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Song 13 of 26 - Blind Faith

So, we're half way through, how are you doing so far? The thirteenth of the 26 songs is called "Blind Faith". Scroll down below the following video for the lyrics and a brief discussion of how this song ties into the project. A blog post which lists all 26 songs, including 1 video for each song can be found by clicking here.


A direct link to above video is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vppy4BOdSJ0

BLIND FAITH
words and music (c) by Rob Bryanton (SOCAN)
Isn’t it incredible?
This beautiful, crazy world that we’re livin in
Seems so impossible
That only dumb chance
And blind happenstance
In a clumsy cosmic dance
Collided and created this all

To be an evolutionist
You gotta have faith in a force that’s so mystical
Pulling strings behind the scenes
You believe it directs
Creatures one to the next
And it’s never perplexed
When the form that’s between couldn’t stand a chance

Same boat, different oar
Same sea, nothing more
If this is a creation, then there must be a Creator
Blind faith can say the question is resolved
But if there’s a Creator, how was He created
Blind faith can say that God just evolved
And round and round the whole thing revolves

Where’s it all comin from
You can follow the cause and effect through eternity
Evolved or created?
You must still reach a spot
When you connect all the dots
That the first thing you’ve got
At the start is just something that “is”

Same boat…

Isn’t it incredible?
This beautiful, crazy world that we’re livin in
Seems so impossible
That only dumb chance
And blind happenstance
In a clumsy cosmic dance
Collided and created this all

Same boat, different oar
Same sea, nothing more
If this is a creation, then there must be a Creator
Blind faith can say the question is resolved
But if there’s a Creator, how was He created
Blind faith can say that God just evolved
And round and round the whole thing revolves

Here's a link to a New York Times article written by cosmologist Paul Davies about a similar idea to this song:
www.nytimes.com/2007/11/24/opinion/24davies.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

The article is called "Taking Science on Faith". It caused quite a furor when it was published in November 2007, and the following link includes a rebuttal and clarifications from Paul Davies in response to those criticisms:
www.edge.org/discourse/science_faith.html

Quite frankly, I knew I was going out on a limb when I wrote this song, since it was an "equal-opportunity-offender", and it looks like Dr. Davies knows what I'm talking about here.

It comes down to this: has the universe always existed? No. Cosmologists tell us it's 13.7 billion years old, religion tells us God created it. What was before the universe? Well, some process created the universe. God? Let's say we agree it was God. Who or what created God? Well, God has always existed, so nothing created God. Hmmm. Well then, let's say we don't call it God, let's just say it was some process that created the universe. Then what created that process? That process always existed, so nothing created that process.

In other words, no matter what the preferred storyline, be it faith-based or science-based, you have to end up starting out with something that just IS ("I'll have to stop you there, your majesty... from there on it's turtles all the way down"). I wrote this song to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, but so far I haven't heard any chuckles from the crowd... maybe it still hasn't found the audience it's looking for, the people who will see why you just have to laugh by the time you're facing this, one of the biggest mysteries of all. No matter how deep you go, you will still be left with one question: what is outside the system? And whatever that underlying structure turns out to be, where did IT come from?

Other blog entries that discuss some of the ideas in this song:

How to Make a Universe
Google, Memes and Randomness
FAQ 9 - Does God and Spirituality Fit Into This?
The Universe as a Song
Tens, Google, and the Expanding Universe
Constructive Interference
Living in the Fifth Dimension
Everything Fits Together in the Zero at the End

Next song: 14 of 26 - I Remember Flying

No comments:

Tenth Dimension Vlog playlist