Expanded Horizons

I've been enjoying cosmology documentaries at home for the last few days, many of which focus on the question of how the universe began. Scientists are endlessly intrigued by this question. Each time one of them has a breakthrough, it adds more complexity to the problem. The most humorous example was that of a Russian [I will insert his name later] who, along the way to trying to explain the singularity of the universe at the moment of the 'big bang', discovered a mathematical means of proving the existence of a 'multiverse', or an infinite number of universes for every possibility. That'll slow them down. Our laws of nature are impressive and empirical, but they only account for the universe as it is at this point in time. When they theoretically shrink the universe down to how it was in the beginning, these formulas are rendered useless. Darwin's natural selection is an elegant theory and any biologist will tell you that its principles are effective in their experiments. But one aspect of Darwin's natural selection dissatisfies me. It does not wholly explain our sentience and our mastery of this planet. How did we come to rise so far above other primates? Wouldn't it take millions of years for, say, chimpanzees to evolve to our level? I think it is unnatural for primates to be driving cars instead of swinging from the trees. How did this happen? [July 3, 2017: I wrote the following before I learned that our planet would be a lifeless ball of ice without the Moon.] The Moon is another mystery. Our moon is much larger in proportion to our planet than any other moon in the Solar System. It is one fifth the size of Earth, big enough to protect our world from threatening bodies drifting in from the asteroid belt. Look at the craters in the Moon. Maybe that's what the surface of the Earth would look like by now, cold and barren, if the Moon weren't up there. And those solar eclipses are quite remarkable. Such pinpoint positioning, almost impossible to imagine it occurring at random. To top it off, the Moon helps us to tell the time by its quarterly cycle. Is all this natural? One way I have of summarizing God is to call God 'unattainable knowledge'. Even a scientist may resort to using the name of God to help explain a problem which, for the moment at least, is over his head. But I'm sure these gifted intellects will ultimately move forward with their findings in this area and I wouldn't dream of discouraging them. Maybe it will be a scientist who makes the greatest discovery of all: God.
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Soul Reason

It pays to be honest. No matter how physically uncomfortable it might make you, with money often in the hands of corrupt and evil sinners who would rather spend it on hurting you, you can take refuge in your relationship with God. On the other hand, if you put yourself on the wrong side of a moral dilemma, all the money in the world won't comfort you. For this reason I will outlast all of my wealthy adversaries in the shameful war for my online posts.
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The Perfect Solution

Why do have faith in God? The best reason I can think of is that God is perfect. If you are going to have faith in someone, that person must be trustworthy. People are flawed. I have learned that I can't even have faith some of my own relatives. I certainly have no faith in the business. That leaves only God. I trust God. When I see terrible things happen, I remind myself that I am not seeing the whole picture as God does. It lets me accept pain and hardship. It is a very effective strategy for staying motivated to be good.
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Crossed Purposes

What do you think Christ meant when he instructed his followers to 'pick up your cross and follow me'? It sounds like he expected them to suffer. Why would a good man want his followers to suffer? And how does one pick up one's cross, as it were? The answer to both questions lies in answering the second one. Humans spend a great deal of time escaping discomfort through dishonesty. When truth troubles or hurts them, they simply pan it, often in favour of a custom made lie from the TV or some other commercial source. To face unpleasant truths is to subject oneself to suffering; it is to pick up a cross of punishment. Christ had special knowledge of the afterlife. He knew that this life, with all its pain, is only passing. By suffering for truth in this world, we may escape suffering in the next, more permanent living arrangement. Conversely, by trying to escape suffering for truth in this world, we may have to face it for all eternity at the end of our time on Earth. He believed this so profoundly that he let himself be crucified here. A few hours on the cross bought him eternal glory. Pretty good deal. (The cross also can be seen as a letter 't' for 'truth', but that's only effective for Anglophones.) While those violators may curse me now for getting them into trouble over their crimes, they may actually be grateful to me when they come to the end of their lives. My siblings, in particular, love my parents and do not want to lose them. By suffering punishment for their sins in this life, the door is open for these brothers of mine for a glorious reunion with their dearly departed when their own time comes. On the other hand, God doesn't seem to have let George Carlin have this opportunity. There are still a few bitter Carlin fans out there, and I would submit that their bitterness belies the torment passed on to them from their late hero in his new, permanent location.
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Why We're Here

As an atheist I once wrote that we may only be here to make plastic. I've since had more time to consider the question, and I take it most seriously. One of the things I used to enjoy about being an atheist was that it made me the centre of my universe. There were no challengers. There was stronger temptation to sin because my fear of punishment was gone, but I wanted to test my morality by trying to be good without God. When I had that transforming experience back in 2007, I had been an atheist for so long that my Christian entries looked almost alien to me before I erased them. The second time I had this paranormal experience in 2010, I knew that it was connected to my online work and I no longer thought I was crazy. That is why I am going to stay as I am until the day I die. The hardest thing for me to accept about being confronted with what I believed to be the reality of God was the humility. It was discomforting at first to learn that I was not the centre of the universe. But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. People wonder why we are here. I think we are here to learn humility. Life is humbling. It is one long humiliation which ends in the ultimate failure of our bodies to even support life. This may have been why Jesus was humble. He was trying to show us the best way out of this life. There is no room for an almighty God without humility. This makes humility perhaps the most important condition for admission into the Kingdom of God.
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We Can Handle It

Pain can bring the worst out in us and I'm grateful that most of my readers have been tolerant of my behaviour when I'm not myself. When I'm in pain I often say things I don't mean. I can't think straight. I lash out in a vain effort to put a stop to my ordeal. Then later on, when I'm back to my normal, relaxed self, I feel ashamed of how I acted. There are probably two types of pain: righteous pain caused by accident, tragedy, or injustice, and punitive pain, self imposed by our own wrongful behaviour. I'm quite sure that all of the pain I have suffered over my work is righteous pain inflicted on me by those who stole from me. Again it is helpful to contemplate Christ's passion and crucifixion when we are in pain. He showed us the proper way to handle it. We must accept pain and try to grow from it. We must have faith in God. There is a beautiful future waiting for each of us at the end of our time here. We must never lose hope.
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The Two Thousand Year Old Question

Some say that the miracles reported to have been performed by Jesus were more believable in ancient times because of a lack of scientific knowledge. I think people would doubt the miracles in any age. Raising people from the dead is an uncommon talent. Maybe we didn't witness the resurrection firsthand but if the account survived for two thousand years, maybe it's because others did. It would surely be remembered and passed on to future generations.
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John 3:20

All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. (John 3:20) What light do you think Jesus was talking about here? I think he was talking about the light of truth. The light of truth exposes ugly lies. Television in its current form is like a spiritual darkness. It might make you feel good for the moment, erasing all your worldly concerns, offering shelter from reality, but the longer you stay in its darkness, the harder it is to face the light.
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