 In
his work, Natural Religion and Christian Theology,
Canon Charles Raven, a naturalist and a theologian, commented
on the joy he derived from studying butterflies. “Every
specimen differed from the rest, in detail from those of its
own group, in total effect from those of others. Each was
in itself a perfect design, satisfying in whole and parts,
inviting one to concentrate one's whole attention upon it.
To move from one to another, to sense the difference of impact,
to work out the quality of this difference in the detailed
modifications of the general pattern, this was a profoundly
moving experience.”
To encounter nature in all of its beauty and
complexity is to wonder about nature's purpose. Today, biologists
and cosmologists have more advanced ways of studying butterflies
and other forms of life than Raven did. But many are moved, nonetheless,
to believe that the highly complex nature of life and the universe
is evidence of purpose in the world around us. Indeed, as our
tools in this search for evidence of our purpose and of nature’s
have become more sophisticated, it seems our curiosity has only
grown more intense.
Entrants may hail from such fields as physics,
biology, and chemistry. Their task is to explicate for the general
audience how natural purpose and order have become evident in
their field. The confirmation could exist on the cosmic or the
microcosmic level. Applicants need not demonstrate original scientific
research but they should shed some new light on the base of scientific
knowledge available today. Essays could also include suggestions
for other sorts of studies that might demonstrate natural purpose.
In recent years, there has been a new symbiosis
created between religious belief and science as each field looks
to the other for greater understanding of nature’s mysteries.
An essay in this category might examine some new points of contact
between science and religion.
There is certainly room for personal
reflection in this type of essay, as well. Entrants may try to
connect the natural purpose as observed in science with the purpose
of man. How has discovering this evidence of purpose either from
first-hand research or secondary reading affected your understanding
of your own purpose?
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