For people who prefer a purely mechanical explanation for the existence of life, our planet, solar system and the rest of the universe, there are a couple of problems. One is that modern physics shows us beyond doubt that the idea of the scientist 'objectively' measuring data (results) of his/her experiment is only useful as a thought construct and does not apply at the fundamental level of reality.

Another problem for the mechanists, who are trying to 'explain away' all the mysteries of our experience, is that of entropy, one of the basic 'laws of nature'. It's not that entropy - which says that all systems move from order towards chaos, relentlessly and everywhere, all the time - is wrong. It's just not enough.

Without some other 'force' moving the entire universe towards ever greater degrees of complexity, sophistication and integrated inter-dependence, we simply don't have an adequate explanation for the why and how of the nature of things, especially living things. Something seems to be driving the whole process along. Some people call this 'force' God. Others, skittish of ascribing 'natural processes' to some unseen and suspiciously human-like creator being, shy away from anything that sounds remotely like a description of that archetypical 'fellow in the sky somewhere', sitting back and watching his creatures playing away and only occasionally deigning to put his hand out to interfere with our self-created issues.

I agree with these folks. God in our image is only us imposing that upon the face of the universe. All the evidence points that way - it is a deeply human thing to do and it's not necessarily bad either. But when we then begin to believe in our self-created creation myth, turn that into a religion and then go out and attack those who don't happen to agree, then we get into real trouble. Indeed, it has been argued by prominent writers and philosophers that religions are responsible for a very large proportion of human suffering over most of our history.

And yet, something moves us inevitably towards more complexity of life, the physical evidence of which is overwhelming. If we go back just 65 million years to when the dinosaurs were wiped out by a 10km wide meteor and see what's happened since, one can't help but be strongly persuaded that something profoundly intelligent is driving the evolution of all things. The fitness of individuals and species may determine who wins out over time. Still, with more than 99% of all species that have ever lived now extinct, it is clear that the entire process is not about any particular species, but life itself. And life just keeps getting more complex, beautiful and inter-related with time. Also, more self-aware. An ancient rain forest is a prime example. One rare South East Asian orchid has a single specialised pollinator - an equally rare and, until recently, only speculated upon (by Darwin) moth, that comes out in the jungle night, hovers in front of this orchid that has a very long-necked flower, unrolls a highly improbable tongue of nearly 30cms, and sticks it down a tiny opening of the flower to suck on nectar, in the process pollinating the orchid for the next generation's propagation. All this can be explained by simple natural selection. But we, as with our rainforest moth and all living things on this earth, are so vastly unlikely that the suspicion cannot be easily assuaged that that which has brought life into being, and which drives all systems towards ever greater complexity and elegantly interwoven beauty - despite entropy - has purpose and intention.

If you want to ascribe that purpose and intention to a creator being, of course you can. You can even name such a being. You can create a religion around all that. People have always done these things. But for those wanting an explanation stripped of anything remotely god-like (and they are entitled to that) there remains the issue of what drives creation. As we understand them now, the 'laws of nature' lack a credible explanation for that underlying impulse towards beauty and complexity. We at Odyssey see in this underlying creative impulse something that binds all people together, all creatures into one family, and all life into one expression of purpose. We don't necessarily ascribe anything religious to all that - but for us it is deeply 'spiritual' in the sense that it inherently inhabits all things manifest. One need not worship such a creator, in our view, but its existence should be acknowledged with an equally profound sense of humility and awe.

So when thinking atheists reject all religions because they cause conflict and pain and because (for the most part) one can argue away the need for some human-like creator being, they often replace that notion with a sense of reverence for the sheer incredibleness of the universe and its many strange and extraordinary parts. Our view is that these folks are re-expressing the same ancient wonder that our forefathers and mothers felt when looking into the nighttime sky with the grandeur of the cosmos stretched out before them. More important by far, then, is that wonder. It imparts a humbling but comforting sense of place that transcends petty arguments over whose religion is better/truer/whatever than anyone else's.

Atheist, believer or agnostic, let's just agree to be awestruck and amazed at our existence and our marvellous universe. Such an inclusive, non-judgmental and tolerant view might well leave the world and its people quite a lot happier than they are now.

Chris & The Team