Aaaah, the big three . Always and forever lodged in the human beings mind, like the Universe thinking about itself.

1. "Why does anything exist instead of nothing"?
2. "Is death (of a single being and also of this universe) the true end"?
3. "Is there a God(s)?"

Will we ever be able to truly answer these three? Are we even supposed to? We are beings that try to analyze a system from within , trying to put ourselves "without" whereas this is impossible.

At least, for most humans, some of you seem to be able to go "without".

As to the first question, it is the most complex and the most unanswerable. Where does the "big bang" come from? From a singularity of energy, some say. Where, then, does the energy come from? Why did it manage to evolve in such a complex way that the mathematical probablitiy of a relatively stable universe that we have now is close to Nil? Some scientists say that there are multiple universes and that through "trial and error", this one worked, but to my mind this is as much a belief as any other - you cannot prove a universe "without" our own. You can only speculate.

It is just as likely and possible that a great creator force, some being living in a multidimensional way, has structured the universe in a certain way. This would count as "God" to us.

Some of you have knowledge that transcends "normal" knowledge. All we 99% of other human beings have to accept, I belive, that we can NOT answer these questions completely. In fact, we are no further to an answer than Plato or Sokrates were. We still know that we know: Nothing. All the time, new and exciting facts about our existence put everything in a new context (quantum physics, e=mc2 etc.). This will continue to happen I believe.

And this is the great vexing and beautiful point of our existence. We are a part of God`s mind - of the great Universe - thinking about itself. Is it not great? Is it not wonderful?

It is so wonderful that we exist, that we are self-aware, that we can ask these questions. Let`s hope they will, some day, put us to great heights of love and life.

chrwe

With regard to Inventech's proposal that the law of evolution invalidates Alan's theories of intelligent design (and ipso facto, evidence that there is a God) I have much to say.  This a perfect example of what I like to call scientific nihilism.  Scientific nihilism occurs when we use our observational senses, produce reproducible "facts" from them, and then theories which describe physical reality.  The end product is then the gradual belief that only this type of evidence is valid or true.  When science is used as a tool for gathering information about the physical world/reality, and is used as a tool for conscious thought, it is a practical technique that adds information onto pre-existing information - building a huge database of knowledge about the physical world.

The scientific nihilist makes the mistake of misusing the scientific method of inquiry as the only true method of gathering information, so that instead of acting as a tool of the conscious mind, the method itself becomes "the law," and consciousness is ignored, or written off as an aberrant part of the physical world. 

In my mind, there is nothing as sad as the scientific nihilist, for they can't see the forest because the trees get in the way.  You see, anyone who uses enough introspection, meditation and exploring discovers that consciousness is primary  - our true existence is that of a perceptive consciousness inserted into the physical plane.  Physical reality, then becomes secondary and a manifestation of consciouness; this concept is what made my old friend on this board, Dave-MBS once  coin the phrase "the primacy of consciousness." 

The primacy of consciousness means that we exist as pure thought on the spiritual or mental plane, and are incarnated into the physcial plane.  When we die, we slough off our physical bodies, but our consciousness persists and explores other realities.  Scientific nihilists base all their information on physical reproducibe data and sensory evidence in the physical plane.  As such, they willingly close themselves off to metaphysical meaning, or other realities that we know stem from the primacy of consciousness.

Yet, in order to dismiss intelligent design in the universe and concepts such as a creator behind physical bodies, scientific nihilists are left with a big dilemma; they can not explain the "how" and the "why" behind what is going on.

Evolutionary theory is invoked, by the observation of natural selection.  Yet the theory of evolution is never explained or explainable.  Yes, we can all understand how a giraffe with a longer neck might reproduce its kind in greater numbers, based on physical advantages.  But the major jumps in evolution, such as the first coherent single celled organism, or the development of a multi-cellular multisystemed organism,  controlled by a conscious brain can not be explained as to the "how" and "why" questions which come up.  To state it simply is a law of nature, is to evade the big question. 

Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to bring two people together when one is a scientific nihilist and the other believes in the primacy of consciousness.  Since consciousness in the mental/spiritual plane operates apart from objective evidence gathered in the physical world alone, it sometimes seems that the nihilist simply can not or will not understand the different language of one who believes that consciousness is primary and creates physical reality.

And so, as Alan poetically wrote, and as we all see, it is so obvious that the universe is a manifestation of a living breathing consciousness; that we human beings are complex entities defying the physical laws of entropy and that these bodies acts as vehicles for conscious manifestation in the physical plane. 

To me, it is sad beyond measure that the scientific nihilist misses all of this.

Matthew

Bets...truer words were never spoken...I appreciate your ability to respond with calm...mine is usually a little too bombastic for my own taste...

Matthew, your missive was wonderful, clear and enlightening, as usual...I truly appreciated its message, and feel lucky that I was present for the lesson...some we do not want to miss...

Alan, your raw production of extensive input is priceless...do not stop, for all our sakes.

Love and light...

Scott