And I don't see any shadow of inconsistency or tension between these two features that I ascribe to life. I am just puzzled. I would like to know more about what lies behind the very exclusive-sounding or in the sentence I have quoted. In closing, I would like to make a few comments about what Professor Grinnell says about religion. The following quotation seems to sum up his ideas.
Religious faith orients a person toward the ultimate meaning of the world.
Well, yes, I can agree with that. But I think that such a statement could be very misleading. It suggests that religious faith consists in some sort of reaching out by the individual or the community toward a passive infinite. My faith holds that an active Infinite is reaching out toward me and every other human being. This active, personal, living reality has plans for me and for you and for everyone else, and is working to bring these plans to fruition.