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The author argues that the science of complexity provides a way to move beyond reductionist science to something new: a unified culture where we see God in the creativity of the universe, biosphere, and humanity. Kauffman explains that the ceaseless natural creativity of the world can be a profound source of meaning, wonder, and further grounding of our place in the universe. His theory carries with it a new ethic for an emerging civilization and a reinterpretation of the divine. He asserts that we are impelled by the imperative of life itself to live with faith and courage-and the fact that we do so is indeed sublime. This book will change the way we all think about the evolution of humanity, the universe, faith, and reason

This is a challenging and difficult book in many senses. It challenges our beliefs, whether we hold firmly to a version of God, or to a secular faith in no God. It challenges us whether we see science as the only Way, or doubt science as the way. It is a work of science, religion, faith, doubt, philosophy, and ethics, humanism and humanity. It challenges us because the thinking and feeling are deep and challenging in themselves. It is challenging because sometimes, like Kant, Kauffman seems unnecessarily dense in his writing. But this is a book well worth reading, no matter where you begin, or end. ( )

data data data = new agey vision of global sacredness

I am not really even criticizing what he ends with, though what he ends with is not very critical, but dear god I just don't get how scientists make these moves. ( )

For those people who say that the evidence for God is in nature, Stuart Kauffman is a good way to bridge the gap between a godless universe and one where spirituality pervades the fabric of existence. After reading Niall Shanks’s God, the Devil, and Darwin, I got an understanding of the differing theories of complexity and how they sometimes form the basis for creationist thought. Kauffman’s analysis of nature and molecular complexity goes even deeper than that, however. In Reinventing the Sacred, Kauffman plunges into a scientific universe of systemic breakdowns and synthesis to rechristen what we think of spontaneous, divine, and even religious.

I will confess to having to run to the Internet many times while reading this one to get more context for his concepts and phrases. Things like “the adjacent possible” and “autocatalytic sets” took me a minute to wrap my head around, but in the end, his thorough reading of the universe leads him take God out of the heavens and put him in the helix of DNA. Kauffman’s spirituality lies in the magnificence of molecular spontaneity and the emergence of the human consciousness. I think this is a better way of thinking about the universe. There are still dark places where science cannot yet shed light, and while we shouldn’t immediately ascribe their beginnings to God, we can hold them in a place of wonder until understanding comes. This book takes some effort to get through, but the best conclusions usually come after a bit of struggle. A dense but rewarding book. ( )