Seeking doesn't mean believingNow that we've decided to become a seeker, and proceed down a path of understanding what this intelligence or supreme being is, the question begs us:
- If there were something, a creator, intelligence, energy, what is It/He? - How can one figure out why we are here (our purpose), if He created us? Well initially, the first place to look would be to those that claim God. Namely the obvious, the Christians, Muslims, Jews, not forgetting all the other beliefs such as Hindus, Buddhism and like, nothing should be left off the table. However, before we do, how do we determine what is right, as each speak of dieties that seem to be supreme. So let's establish some principles that we can measure each scripture/or religion. The point is, this needs to be VERY SIMPLE and must be kept simple for clarity. I'll outline the principles below....if you disagree with these principles, please let me know what you think should replace them. Remember we are talking about a supreme being that is so beyond our capacity, that it was the instigator of the Big Bang. And it seems to have designed the solar system. Also another reminder, we don't know that it did, but we are seeking a supreme being that fits all these attributes. So what are the things or attributes that this being needs to be?? A key thing complicating this thought process are the times we live in and the material world grabbing our attention away from the reality of life. Where when you observe the machinations of technology, daily innovation and The reality of life is DEATH. This is the ONLY TRUTH that we know of the moment we are born. The question to ask is if it's possible to determine all this with a critical mind? To determine some rationality, i.e., through observation, nomadic observation I might add initially, and then gravitate to a more complex or scientific nature if you will, to continue to test the hypothesis. While this study can begin and it is one's choice to pursue it, isn't it worth to ask a few more questions prior to reading all the great books? Second, a principle that is worth considering is to not look for initial answers within a religion itself. The books themselves may rope you in without first developing a critical mind to test various hypothesis. The more interpretive and critical one's thinking is in approaching the books of "God", the quicker one will be able get the most from the readings or simply skip over them because they miss the common sensical litmus test. Thinking critically is to measure it against principles that you believe in. We've alluded to some of these principles, so let's now start to establish these principles. The ones I will help you set up should all be universal and agreeable. If they are not, then let's chat. |
Being Critical, Ask the Questions
The quality of our thinking is determined by the quality of our questions.
But first we have to set up the framework to measure what we learn going forward. How do you know a statement is true or false? It is by measuring it against knowledge that is sound.
1 + 1 = 5 ? is clearly wrong, because we have knowledge that it is incorrect. Not only the answer, but the way the answer was derived. The principles of math can be relied on to determine if an answer is false or not. Establish the framework of thought or principles first
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Principles that must be true about this Supreme Being
Otherwise there is no point or it's impossible for your purpose to stand up to scrutiny.
Principle #1 - BeginninglessnessSupreme Being must not have a beginning.
Whatever this intelligence is, it has to have no beginning, or have the attribute of beginninglessnes. After all, we just stated that the big bang had a cause. and it's insane to think that the big bang occurred just by itself. So if this is the case, whatever the intelligence is, it must have already been there. Principle #2 - EndlessnessSupreme Being must be endless or infinite.
If principle #1 is true, then principle #2 is obvious and has to be true for an attribute that this intelligence has. Another way of saying this is that it is infinite. Principle #3 - TranscendentSupreme Being must be Transcendent or unlike anything that we as humans can ever conceive of.
Transcendent means that it cannot be anything like what we know or have observed, or what we may be able to imagine. How can it be? It came BEFORE the Big Bang!! This entity must be something very different. Something indescribable. Transcendent also means that he must be free of need of anything. |
Principle #4 -Necessary ExistentSupreme Being must have been existing, it is necessary for this being to have and eternally be existent.
In order for the Big Bang to have occurred and thus creation to have occurred in the manner in which it did is the existence of this pre beginning universe had to have something exist before it, it had to be a necessity. This creators very existence is therefore absolute and necessary Principle #5 - Life: Will, Power & KnowledgeSupreme Being must have Will, Power to do anything, and infinite Knowledge.
He would also have to have will, since creation is engrossed in particulars – in particular times, in particular spaces, of certain sizes, in certain directions, of particular dimensions, etc. These particulars indicate that many choices were made, and choosing entails will. He would also have to have knowledge, since those choices could not be made based on ignorance. And He would have to have power, as one who is incapable could never produce anything or bring something from nothing. And of course, neither of these three – will, knowledge, and power – are possible without the attribute of life. Principle #6 - OneSupreme Being must be One, not multiplicity, or any division or derived from anything else.
He would also have to be one and alone in His essence and attributes and actions, without any partner, since the existence of another absolute being would contradict the existence, intricacy, and order of creation, as the “two creators” would otherwise vie with each other and nothing would result. |
A word on Beginninglessness.
Beginningless-ness, implies an 'infinite' past and endlessness, an infinite future. The word infinite has problems, because it assumes time.
We currently exist in a construct of time. Where time does have a beginning and it does end every second. Our intellectual constructs, within time cannot comprehend a place beyond time. If we could, we would grasp the creator of time. So defining the infinite, as the creator, or rather the creator as infinite, is actually describing the intelligent designer within a paradigm of the construct time. This is problematic. I've myself described the intelligent creator as "infinite" and now find issue with this particular description because it becomes limiting when starting to think about the infinite past. That's an oxymoron. Regardless, I will chip away at this in a blog post.
Beginningless-ness, implies an 'infinite' past and endlessness, an infinite future. The word infinite has problems, because it assumes time.
We currently exist in a construct of time. Where time does have a beginning and it does end every second. Our intellectual constructs, within time cannot comprehend a place beyond time. If we could, we would grasp the creator of time. So defining the infinite, as the creator, or rather the creator as infinite, is actually describing the intelligent designer within a paradigm of the construct time. This is problematic. I've myself described the intelligent creator as "infinite" and now find issue with this particular description because it becomes limiting when starting to think about the infinite past. That's an oxymoron. Regardless, I will chip away at this in a blog post.
Some Quick Observations |
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I don't want to preempt my discourse/discussion here, but let's get some of our thoughts down and deconstruct them and also open them up for discussion in the blog.
FACTS Most people believe in a "God" in the world. There are - 1.8 to two billion Muslims, - 2.4 billion Christians, - 13.3 million Jews, Then there are non adherents of Monotheistic ideas, - Hindus - Buddhists - other... However, if you actually look at the above today most would be Christian's wouldn't describe themselves as Christian and there is a growing faction of Atheists. Most Muslims actually attend a regular meditation and identify as such. But the number of Christians is dwindling quickly. The same for Jews, there is a growing splintering of Jewish people including Hindu's, New Age, Shamanism.....etc. These are man made constructs. Albeit they emanated originally from scripture. More on this in the blog. In the next section, let's just do an observational analysis which allows us to make some quick judgments. . |
more observations....would you pause to reflect if you learned....
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First an explanation of this listing. Hinduism does not believe in a diety or a Supreme Being that has the attributes of the above. They believe in something, but it is largely idolatry. When you speak to a Hindu, they will say they believe in God, but the god manifests itself in an idol. Therefore it breaks the Transcendent attribute, the One attribute and may others. The point of view taken in this table was that a Hindu god is manifested in one idol or another, therefore all the attributes come up null. If however there is a decoupling, then it becomes just a matter of perspective. The point being, that the NOT all the attributes hold true.
Let's take Judaism.
Let's take Judaism.
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Hinduism is largely an idolatry based worship of diety. Where they may have started off with an unknown supreme being, thousands of years ago. Where the message was remembered through inspiration, which is strangely similar to the monotheistic religions, it has, in present day, turned into a largely pagan based religion. |
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