Carl Sagan’s new article can be found in the March/April 2007 edition of Skeptical Inquirer. It is titled “Science’s Vast Cosmic Perspective Eludes Religion.”

Well, okay. As you know, Carl Sagan died of pneumonia in 1996. This “new” article was actually prepared by Ann Druyan, based on lectures Sagan gave in 1985.

Sagan begins the article by pointing out that there are more galaxies in the universe than there are stars in the Milky Way. This, he finds, is “a useful calibration of our place in the universe.” Nonetheless, virtually no religion has taken into account “this vast number of worlds [or] the enormous scale of the universe.”

If, as Sagan argues, life is commonplace throughout the universe, “it must follow that there is massive destruction, obliteration of the whole planets, that routinely occurs, frequently, throughout the universe. . . [T]hat is a different view than the traditional Western sense of a deity carefully taking pains to promote the well-being of intelligent creatures.”

Sagan concludes by arguing that the God portrayed by traditional religions “is too small. It is a God of a tiny world and not a God of a galaxy, much less of a universe.” Sagan suggests that science is, “at least in part, informed worship.” Further, curiosity and intelligence, to the extent provided by a God, would be gifts, which we must use. This passage reminds me of a humorous drawing I posted a few days ago.

Even if a traditional God does not exist, “then our curiosity and our intelligence are the essential tools for managing our survival in an extremely dangerous time.”

I found Sagan’s article compelling. God’s own book forgot to tell us that the universe is almost unimaginably large. In light of well-published findings of modern astronomers and biologists, it would be nonsensical to doubt that life abounds throughout the universe. Nonetheless, most religions avoid discussion of this possibility of the universe as A) existing and B) constituting a fertile field for large number of sentient life forms.

It’s just much easier to talk about an artificially contained story involving a man, woman and the serpent in an earthly garden. To the extent that fundamentalists (and even more “liberal” religions) focus only on Earth, however, the rest of the universe is a very big elephant in the room. If many believers have their way, 99.99999…% of the universe is dispensible frivolous scenary for the only show in town, everything worthwhile allegedly occurring on a single tiny blue speck.

Sagan’s point might just be the best reason of all for demonstrating the arrogance, ignorance and silliness of the inerrancy crowd.