Rather than share a link to some scientific article today, I’d rather elaborate on one of the things that I talked about in my Yellowstone video.

When I was a believer I enjoyed being out in “God’s second book,” nature. It was amazing to take in the stately sights of majestic mountains and tall trees, the serene sounds of the beautiful birds and invidious insects, and the fresh fragrance of pine, fur, and ceder trees. Then the sun would begin to set and bring with it kaleidoscopic colors, followed by an immense expanse of dazzling dots of luminance in the otherwise dark sky. The awe of the magnitude of the work of God’s creation was nothing short of inspiring and it was so gratifying to relish in the thought that God was speaking to me through all this natural beauty.

When I lost my faith, all of that was gone. The beauty and majesty of nature had become meaningless.

Since then I have made an effort to shore up what was missing from my science education. After all, it had been horribly crippled by myths of creation and a global flood. It was my hope that by replacing the mystery with knowledge that I might be able to get back that which I longed for.

With my trip to Yellowstone I was able to immerse myself in it all. I saw mountains that were the work of continental drift and volcanic activity. The landscape was riddled with geysers bursting forth from ruptures in a thin volcanic crust. There were bison growing their winter coats and bacteria that thrive in the most inhospitable of environments. Yellowstone is a land of extremes, yet teeming with life.

I was able to see the natural forces at work that had created this landscape. There were places that resemble what the earth may have been like billions of years ago when the first life forms were starting. I was able to appreciate how the forces of geology and natural selection had made that precious land and reflect on how those same forces have made us. I also reflected on some of my past experiences with this awe of nature and was horrified to realized that it all boiled down to relishing in the selfish thought that God had made all of that for me to enjoy in that moment.

I’m almost ashamed to say that there were a few moments that I almost teared up. The sense of awe was back and better than ever, not based on delusion and mystery, but based on knowledge and understanding.