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| Carl Sagan |
In
answering the question “Was Carl Sagan a man of faith?” I must
reply that I of course never had a chance to visit with him
personally, so cannot know firsthand. I’m told this rigorous
scientist saw himself as an agnostic—which certainly makes sense as
there is no conclusive evidence that there is a God. In other words,
belief in God by definition requires faith—a leap beyond anything
that can be demonstrated through scientific procedures.
I
am blessed by knowing a nonbeliever at work. He is in the downtown IT
department and is brilliant at computer programming. He is most
characterized by humility and his servant’s heart (and for having a
very spicy vocabulary). In fact, I attribute his non-belief primarily
to his humility—his sense that if one does not know for certain in
a way that can be demonstrated through careful testing and
verification by others— including skeptics—then one cannot with
integrity accept the hypothesis. I have worked with him on several
occasions and can testify to the genuine nature of his compassion and
humility and strong desire to be of effective service. I have said
of him behind his back that he out-Christians Christians.
If
he were in my living room this evening and we were in conversation, I
would want to point out that though it can be anecdotally illustrated
that in working with people and things humility and generosity of
spirit are more effective than arrogance and greed, it cannot be
proven so in an absolute sense. In other words, the virtues that he
assiduously lives by are guiding principles that share some aspects
of faith.
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