Fascinating piece by Phil Gates in the Guardian on the dung fly.
The first thing that took me was the description of the fly eating hoverflies "like hotdogs". I presume therefore that there is a really posh species in the Cotswolds that eats hoverflies with a knife and fork.
Then the other thing is the way fungus takes over the dung fly and turns it into a light-seekingg robot, climbing up to the top of grass stems to attract other flies to the same fungusy fate. Nasty.
This is a strange and wonderful world. Where the wonders are not always of the fluffy bunny or beautiful sunset kind. Darwin said he thought the ichneumon wasp was a challenge to the concept of a good creator. But then animals getting munched on by other animals was nothing new, even in Darwin's day.
For me, the rationality of the universe reflects that of its creator. I don't need fairies at the bottom of the garden - though they would be nice - or miracles happening all around - though that would be fun. Just one big miracle is enough to convince me that that God also walked this earth - and scattered a few smaller ones in his wake.
And in seeing God in nature and revelation, I can see God as bigger, stranger and weirder than the image we sometimes try to put frame on. Come siblings, let us like fungus-infected dung flies ever climb towards the light.
You know, I may not use that as a sermon illustration. I think it might be Pelagian.
I think perhaps I should get out more. I initially read 'agape' in this sentence from Phil Gates' piece as the NT Greek word for love, and was a bit confused!
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