Water
Scientist will tell us that water is a molecule made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. They are right; so it is. While there might be a debate over how odourless or colourless water is or isn’t, there is no debate over the molecular structure of water.
But what if one chooses to understand water as a shimmering pond, a powerful wave, or a dark threatening cloud, or a hard frozen lake? Those are all water. Not all of them are scientific in perspective; some have a story to tell; some border on poetry. And yet it is all water.
Divers and sailors have even different understandings of water. Farmers and gardeners grow things by water. Philosophers ponder the meaning of half full glasses of water. Priests sanctify life by water. And yet it is all water.
The problem comes when those who tell the story and write the poems tell the scientist they are wrong about it being two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. The problem is equal when the scientists deny the story and poetry. All those are aspects of how we understand water.
Musical, Coffee, and Theological Musings 