Philocrites

'As the clock is to time.'

by Philocrites

James Carroll provides a nice twist on the old Divine Watchmaker doctrine by offering this analogy about religion:

Religion is to God what the clock is to time. Religion participates in the mystery of what it represents but does not embody that mystery. Not even Christianity, with its self-understanding as a religion of the incarnate Word, does more than enshrine that Word in symbol and sacrament. Indeed, "Word" is the clue, since all religion, however infinite the object of its worship, remains bound by the finitude of language — and language always falls short of its purpose. That truth applies to religion and science both. Words are to what they aim to express as the clock is to time.

("God's Clock," James Carroll, Boston Globe 12.14.04)

Copyright © 2004 by Philocrites | Posted 14 December 2004 at 8:41 AM

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