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It is a better sign that those believe in God outnumber atheists.
The vast majority of atheists or people who think they are atheists,
when
asked why they don't believe in God, say that it is because they cannot
see
Him - yet if the question is put to them whether they believe in love,
will
say yes, and mean it. We believe in love yet how many of us have seen
it?
Can it be held in one's hands? Can it be weighed? What colour is it?
What
shape is it? Can it be smelt? Or heard? "No", to all these questions. So
how
come that almost every man, woman and child alive believes in love, or
at least knows what we're talking about when we mention the word "love"?
Not
only that, but few people would wish to contemplate living without love
-
without loving or being loved by someone. So, if it is possible to
believe
in unseen love, why is it impossible to believe in God even if we cannot
see
Him? The
same applies to goodness: we all know what goodness is - we love people
who
have goodness in them.
The same applies to all the other qualities like courage, generosity,
joy,
humility, compassion, mercy, kindness, self control, humour, wisdom,
patience, etc... None of these are visible to the physical eye or any
other
physical sense. Yet we know they exist. We know also that human beings
without these qualities would be impossible to live with. We feel them
at
work within ourselves and see them manifested in other people through
their
words, actions, facial expressions and speech. We fall in love with
someone,
and when asked why we love that person we say things like . he's
beautiful,
good, kind, courageous, generous, honest . in short we fall in love with
those abstract qualities.
UNTOUCHABLE, UN SEEABLE
The Highest degree of Truth, Beauty, Honesty, Goodness, Courage,
Patience,
Generosity and so on - would have to belong to a person - superior to
all
human beings. The Divine Being who not only created all these qualities
but
whose very substance, whose whole make up is of goodness and mercy,
truth
and love. Call Him what you will. Most people call Him God - others call
Him
the Divine Spirit -The Cosmic Force - The Creator - The Almighty - The
Omniscient - The Muslims call Him Allah - The Jews call Him Jehovah -
The
Zoroastrians call Him Ahura Mazda. The Hindus call Him Brahman - and you
can
call Him
what you will.
There are other things we can't see but have to admit they exist - we
can't
see air - but without it we would die. We can't see microbes - but they
can
kill us - and only recently have we been able to see them through a
microscope.
EVER SEEN A PERSONALITY?
As for human relationships, no one can say he has seen another person.
When
you and I come face to face, and relate to each other, the truth is you
see
my body - but you don't actually see me, the inner entity that lives
within
my physical body. You hear me talking because I use my vocal chords - so
-
you hear my voice - you see me smile, see my gestures, catch my facial
expressions, but you cannot actually see me, nor can I see you. We see
God
expressing Himself in Nature - when we look at a sunset or some special
scenery we catch our breath and say "Oh - how beautiful". We enjoy the
changing of the seasons, and wonder at the structure and growth of
flowers
and trees and gasp at the miracle of birth, thunder and lightning.. Some
people see these things as God expressing Himself throughout Nature,
creating, regenerating, and sustaining all living things, and know that
though they cannot see Him, He manifests His presence in many ways - the
planet He resides in, is alive, just as the body you reside in is alive
-
because you move it, nourish it and express yourself and communicate
with
others, through speech, action and expression. But just because you
cannot
see me, and can only conclude that I must be there, can you say that I
don't
exist? If you were not in your body, all I would see would be an
inanimate
corpse. When someone dies, we know they are dead - there's no-one left
to
respond - or to communicate with. All the physical parts are still there
-
the brain, lungs and liver, all the other organs and limbs are still
there,
but the actual conscious entity we call the "soul" - has left, passed
over
to the other side. So it is possible to see God in and through His
Creation,
even though our physical eyes are equipped to see only His physical
creation. But we can feel Him inwardly, spiritually just as we can feel
love
inwardly, though with our physical eyes we cannot.
We conclude that there must be an Intelligent Force behind the created
world. All the laws of nature, like the law of gravity, the law of
change -
mathematical laws, laws of musical harmony, etc - could not have been
constructed and sustained by an idiot. If you showed me an expensive
watch
of the latest technology - that not only told the time, but the date,
month
& year, as well as a calculator thrown in, and an alarm that played a
tune -
a watch that was waterproof - able to withstand underwater pressure at
great
depth - and I said to you "this watch must have just come into being on
its
own - nobody made it - it just somehow put itself together" - would you
not
protest? Would you not be amazed that any intelligent person could come
to
such an unbelievable conclusion? You would be right in assuming that I
was a
complete idiot.
JUST BY CHANCE?
Do you not then find it even more astounding that some scientists and a
small group of people spend their time trying to convince others as well
as
themselves that there is no God? No Creator who made the world and
everything in it: that the heavens and the billions and billions upon
billions of stars and constellations - all ordered and obeying the laws
of
gravitation and attraction - just happened to come into being in some
kind
of beg bang? Scientists are still trying to fathom what caused the big
bang.
These same scientists are those who take a flower apart, and teach us
the
names of each section - petals, calyx, stamen, stem, roots, cells, and
sap -
but when asked to put the flower back together again - find they cannot
do
so. On their list, they forgot to mention the most important item - the
life
force that kept the flower together as a living, growing multiplying
entity;
and yet they would have us believe that the whole, ordered, expanding
universe is self made. When you look at a baby - breathing, growing,
functioning perfectly, with every organ knowing its function - with its
breathing, digestive and circulatory systems in perfect working order -
can
you really believe that there is no intelligent Creator who created this
being? Scientists can name and make a list of every bone, every muscle
and
vein and cell and organ.
They are good at dissecting and making lists and publishing their
findings.
But always there is an item missing from their list. How many scientists
do
you know, after vivisecting an animal to discover its parts and what
makes
it work, have been able to put that poor little animal together again to
make it live? No scientist, as yet, has been able to create even a
mosquito.
They can muck around with genes and call it "genetic engineering" but no
scientist has ever produced a living creature out of thin air.
FROM AN ACORN TO A PLANET
How can one hold an acorn in the palm of one's hand, and know that when
it
is placed in the ground it will grow into a huge tree producing
thousands of
new acorns and leaves, without wonder? Yet in the palm of one's hand
that
acorn contains the blueprint of the whole magnificent tree - roots,
trunk,
branches, leaves, fruit - following laws of life, birth, growth and
eventual
decay - with each new acorn producing another fully-functional tree.
Each
dried bean, lentil or seed, however tiny - a magical, miraculous little
box
containing life - and a blueprint that will produce thousands more of
the
same when placed in the soil. Air, sun, water and earth all joining
forces
to help this little speck grow into a living, useful life-giving plant -
which will produce thousands more seeds of its own species. What
intelligence - what a miracle taking place right under our very noses.
No -
the most amazing thing of all is the fact that there are intelligent
human
beings out there who can't accept that there is a living creative
intelligent force behind creation - they can call it God in any language
-
but will not admit that a creator exists - and more astounding still -
they
spend all their spare time and energy trying to convince everybody else
that
God does not exist.
LIFE IS?
Does life exist? Can a scientist convince anyone that life does not
exist?
They never mention it in their lists, because it cannot be seen, cannot
be
measured, cannot be weighed - cannot be touched. They don't teach people
that Life doesn't exist. Why do they insist that the Creator doesn't
exist?
Because He can't be seen, touched, measured or weighed? Neither can
life.
Life - God, love. If life and love cannot be denied neither can God who
works and manifests His existence in His creation, the God who is the
origin
of Life, the origin of Love. What is life? Who made life? Who made love?
Who
or what makes it possible for you to have life or experience love? Life
is
inside you, without it you would be dead - life-less. Love is also
inside
you. How many people can live without loving someone or something -
parents,
lover, child, wife, husband, sister, brother, friend, cat, dog, or other
pet - or oneself. There is love, and like life, without love it would be
impossible to live. Do we all go around saying "there is no life - I
don't
believe in life" or "there is no such thing as love - I don't believe in
love"? Of course not - even plants thrive when treated with love - and
wilt
when love is absent - animals demonstrate unconditional love towards
each
other and human beings. We all know this - but how many of us can give
an
answer even if we are asked "what is life - what is love?" Can you tell
me -
what is life? What is love? You cannot - but you know, you live life,
you
feel love. The same with God - we cannot talk about Him, but we know Him
-
we feel Him. If we contain life and love - we contain God. When you feel
love, you are feeling God. If God were not in you - you would be dead -
He
is part of your Life. But we cannot see Him and you want to see Him with
your physical eyes. Do you expect to see music? No, you accept that
music
cannot be seen with physical eyes, but it can be heard and felt. Do you
throw a tantrum because you can't smell a rose with your eyes?
No - you accept that perfume is experienced with the nose and the
pleasure
felt "inside" (like love). So it is with God - we feel Him - inside. He
is
our intelligence. He is our love, our life, our pleasure, our joy.
Can you define happiness? What is happiness? Can you see it? Buy it?
Paint
it? Photograph it? Weigh or measure it? God is happiness inside you: you
feel it - can't smell it or see it - but feel it. Would you believe
anyone
who said "Happiness does not exits"? Why should you believe anyone who
says
"God does not exist"?
SURGICAL IMPRECISION
At a scientific conference at the University
of California one atheistic
scientist concluded his speech by saying, "and I can honestly say,
Ladies
and Gentlemen, that in all my years as a surgeon, I have looked into
every
muscle and every tendon and tissue and cell, but I have never found what
you
call the soul."
Whereupon another scientist rose in his seat and responded by saying,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, in all the years I've spent as a neurosurgeon
performing operations on every single part of the human brain, I have
never
encountered the mind. Does it then follow that the mind does not exist?
Neither have I been able to find the imagination, nor the faculty of
reasoning. I have never located consciousness or intuition. Does that
mean
that they do not exits either?" and he sat down. No-one refuted his
contribution. He had made his point. We could of course add to his
conclusions by pointing out that hypnotists and psychologists work
exclusively with their patients' minds - healing some extremely severe
cases
of depression, schizophrenia and other mental disorders.
LOVERS
We could also consider the powerful effects of auto-suggestion where one
can
see the power of mind over matter - easily demonstrated by what happens
when
we visualise a lemon being squeezed - we automatically start salivating.
Or
if we hear a sudden noise at night and imagine an unseen danger
approaching:
the immediate effect this has on our physical body is that the heart
accelerates its beat - we perspire - our breathing becomes short and
quick -
the blood drains from our face and we turn pale - our muscles tremble,
the
facial muscles twitch - we lose our voice. In extreme cases we could
throw
up or lose consciousness. But would the neurosurgeon be capable of
finding
the cause of all these symptoms? The fear we felt in the first place? Of
course not. Neither can any surgeon find our soul - our real self, our
spirit - living within the body. It is our soul that preys. It is the
soul
within each human body that expresses a deep desire for love and beauty
and
excellence. We are so critical of things, of people, of places and
events
and actions and works of art or music - because we are always anxious to
encounter excellence. It is the soul that is thirsty for goodness and
happiness, for kindness and all the qualities of the highest possible
degree - in other words for God. The soul is restless until she
encounters
God. We fall in love with someone who expresses beautiful qualities -
but
when we meet someone else who possesses them to an even higher degree,
we
leave the first lover and turn to the second. Constantly restless -
constantly seeking better and higher and more excellent qualities in a
person. When we don't find what we're looking for we are dissatisfied
and
look elsewhere. The only person who possesses excellence to a
super-human
degree is God - all the qualities emanate from Him and permeate
everything
He made. But in this game of hide and seek, the soul looks for Him in
people - in music, art or beautiful scenery. Only when she realises who
her
real eternal, unchanging, ever faithful, loyal loving lover really is,
will
she find lasting peace and joy. If we look at a beautiful landscape, we
feel
a deep sense of peace and pleasure, but as soon as we leave the place
those
feelings go. If, while looking upon that beautiful scene, we are aware
that
the beauty we see is the Beauty of the Creator who instilled that beauty
into the scene, that the peace we feel is because we are aware of the
actual
presence of the Creator in that beauty and harmony, then we realize that
it
is a living Being that is touching our inner being and communicating
with
us, albeit without words - more like the communication of love and
adoration
that lovers can exchange without words - just by looking into each
others'
eyes, just by being in each others' presence. We are all united and
connected by an invisible spiritual thread through which we can transmit
Love, thoughts, feelings and positive healing energy. When we can
experience
this by looking at the world in this way, then we don't lose the peace
and
joy we have found, because we carry it within ourselves. All the time we
remember that the source of all this beauty and love and wonder is right
inside us - it never leaves us. It is a state of mind, a higher state of
consciousness which can transform our whole life. Once we discover that
the
wonderful qualities that make us fall in love with someone, or want to
befriend anyone, are right there inside our own self, indeed make up
what we
are, then we become able to look inwards and commune with our own heart.
WHOLE
Literature, religion, art, poetry, philosophy and psychology tell us
over
and over throughout our lives that, in order to be happy and fulfilled
in
life, we must become integrated, that is to say become whole again,
piecing
together the two parts of ourselves that have come unstuck as it were,
so
that we live in a schizophrenic state. Each study uses a different group
of
terminology to describe the process of putting the pieces together - but
they are in fact describing the same thing. If we had a group of
speakers
addressing a multinational audience about the pursuit of happiness in
French, English, Hebrew, Japanese, Chinese, German, Spanish and Arabic,
each
nationality would understand the speaker that used their own language.
Each
speaker, to an onlooker, would be making a different set of sounds and
noises, but he or she would be talking about the same subject, namely
"The
pursuit of happiness". So it is with psychology, philosophy and
religion. In
psychology the two parts of the self are called the conscious mind and
the
subconscious mind. The two must come together in order to experience the
Superconscious state. Religion calls then God and the Soul - philosophy
talks of Spirit and matter. The mystics talk of the Higher Self and the
lower self or ego. Heart and mind. Mind looks outwardly into the
material,
non lasting unreal world; Heart deals with love and joy and peace - the
lasting, spiritual, real world. They all tell us that in order to
experience
the heaven which lies inside each of us, we must unite the two aspects
of
ourself and become one with the Higher Self. Just as lovers suffer
atrociously when they are separated by circumstances or disagreement,
and
only begin to live joyfully again when they are re-united, so the soul
lives
without joy or peace until she is once more united to her beloved - the
God
who lives right inside her - but because her attention has wandered out
into
the material world and got fixed there, she forgot the way back to her
beloved. Like a bee trapped behind the window pane which keeps trying to
get
back to the rose, but cannot do so until it finds an opening to fly
through - so the soul is for ever trying to get back to God. Man keeps
falling in love with a woman - but it cannot last; woman keeps falling
in
love with a man - but that love can never last. Man keeps falling in
love
with man but that does not last either nor a woman falling in love with
another woman. The only love that lasts is union of the soul with the
real
love in the very heart of oneself. When union takes place - the inner
union
and reconciliation between God and the soul - then only can you feel
deep,
lasting joy and peace of mind.
Then the outer and inner become one. When that happens, the world
becomes a
beautiful place, and we are able to love everyone, and the whole of life
takes on a new meaning. All we need to do is to shift the focus of our
awareness from the busy, frightening, frustrating nightmarish outer
world to
the Loving God waiting within for our return. We can communicate with
Him
and consult Him about problems in daily life, and share with Him all the
joys and delights we experience. That's all it takes - a shift in
consciousness.
Be aware of God's existence inside you. He is the love, joy, peace,
patience, intelligence that you feel in your daily life. Communicate
with
Him, love Him - He is there waiting - waiting, waiting - for a word from
you, for a glance from you, for you are His loved one! He is what you
keep
looking for in human beings and pleasurable experiences. When you walk
through life with God - your heaven has already begun on earth. Try it
and
see!
PRAYER
People who have the habit of praying - talking to God as though He were
their ever constant companion - find comfort, help, protection from
danger
and the solution to their most difficult problems. Millions of people
testify to the efficiency of prayer, millions of people can't all be
wrong -
Prayer works for them and it can work for anyone with faith who is
willing
to give it a try. Almost six billion people cannot all be wrong!
Those who spend a lot of effort trying to unite their soul to God - to
enter
into loving communion with Him - are referred to as mystics.
Many young people who have been lured into taking drugs have had mystic
experiences and will tell you of feelings of being in heaven and of
feelings
of union with God - of seeing lights and colours and beautiful scenery
filled with marvellous flora and fauna - and walking and talking with
heavenly beings.
But they come back to earth with a bump and then do everything they can
-
spend all they've got - to procure drugs so that they can repeat the
experience.
Getting into the higher states of consciousness by taking drugs is like
getting in through the back door - the way in is through loving God,
keeping
His commandments and communicating with Him through prayer. Drugs only
destroy a person's brain cells which can lead to insanity, depression -
ill
health and death. It has however given many young people a taste of
liberation from normal states of earth-bound, materialistic
consciousness,
and an experience of what the state of ecstatic communion with the
Higher
Self is like, and given them proof that the kingdom of heaven really is
within ourselves. Many of them have sensibly come off drugs - and chosen
the
safer surer path of loving prayer.
The human mind is a great mystery - and there are a great many aspects
and
functions of it that we cannot understand yet. Psychology as a science
has
only just begun to scratch the surface in its study of
the human mind. We cannot understand or explain phenomena such as how
psycho
kinesis, telepathy,
prophecy, clairvoyance, Imagination, Intuition or dreams work, or the
power
of mind over matter.
We observe that there is activity inside each one of us which mends our
bones when they are broken,heals our wounds and burns and bruises,
forces us
to breathe in and out, digests our food, makes our heart beat, our blood
circulate and all our organs and glands keep functioning, creates a new
baby
in the mother's womb - causes it to grow and pushes it out to be born
into
the world at the appointed time. We cannot see this force but we can
feel it
working inside us. Some call it God!
Now, people who have achieved Self integration, or Self realization or
God
realization, are the ones who have succeeded through constant sincere
loving
prayer and communication with God, without having recourse to taking
drugs,
have sometimes written books about their experiences in order to help
others - to make it easier for them on their chosen spiritual paths. The
mystic and transcendental poets - the prophets of all ages: they are the
lucky ones who, once having reached the ecstatic state of Super
consciousness, have tried to share their discoveries with us - and
brought
new messages of hope and instruction to encourage us to take the road
back
to God. Some people scoff and reject what they have to say - others take
heed of their words and start a new life in the Spirit. It isn't
difficult
to guess which of the two groups find love joy and peace as a result.
Now that you have read my article I suggest that you close your eyes and
let
what you have read sink in - then read it again. You might find that
with
each reading some other point may have an impact, which you had not
noticed
previously.
This information has just been a short outline to help you eliminate any
doubts and obscurities about the existence of God. I hope it will help
you
find peace - and joy - as you realize his presence in your own self as
in
the world surrounding you.
May God be with you.
May He calm your troubled mind and bring you Peace of Mind.
May He fill your heart with peace and love.
May you find never ending joy.
Place your hand in His.
Place life's burdens at His feet.
Let Him work in your Life.
Rest in His will.
You need not struggle.
Remember Him. Praise Him. Thank Him. Love Him. He will bless and protect
you - Run to Him and He will run to meet you.
From then on your whole life and all your relationships will take on a
new
and wonderful meaning. But see to it that once you acknowledge Him and
open
your heart - that you remain constantly faithful, and He will be
faithful to
you in the same measure as you are faithful to Him.
N.B. When you have a clear picture in your mind - and you feel you want
to
know more about God - you could start reading the Bible, the Old
Testament,
The New testament, The Koran, or The Kabala; or you could study the
Scriptures of whichever religion you already belong to, in order to
deepen
your knowledge and understanding!
DEFINITION OF GOD
To many an article of this sort will be quite acceptable, but others,
who
are a little more widely read, might want to look more closely at the
assumptions behind the text.
To paraphrase the first paragraph, it says that abstract properties
exist
within responsive physical systems - people, such states are not
directly
observable, outside our internal experience, and affect us.
They may be inferred to cause or influence behaviour of others, in the
same
way that they do for the self.
They can be tested when it is possible to interact with the individual
who
possesses them. We are then asked to consider the possibility that such
states exist in nature, beyond the individual, that things seem to be
governed by them. No precise suggestion is yet made as to how these
non-physical states of 'God' will affect the natural world or our inner
world.
Most intelligent people would not expect that there always has to be a
concrete representations of every abstract thing. This is not to say
that it
is impossible to create illustrative examples of most abstract concepts.
To remove this confusion then, perhaps we should start with a definition
of
God that makes this clear.
An abstract non-material information processing system or 'superconscious'
capable of interacting with our minds and physical reality, a collective
consciousness, a system capable of representing and using the Platonic
perfect Forms such as perfect love, joy, peace, patience, intelligence
etc.
If we accept that abstract properties such as courage, generosity, etc
can
exist without being seen or sensed we are left with two obvious
questions.
Where are these concepts represented in a given case and what is their
range
of influence? Some would hold that there are many separate
representations
in our individual brains, that they are caused by influences transmitted
through the sensory modes and they range as far as those who know of the
original outward manifestation, and believe that it represent the truth
of
what is seen. From this viewpoint the individual experiences in
different
brains are distinct and only united if there is ongoing feedback between
the
individuals. This is similar to the communication between the different
parts of the brain that binds them together into one individual.
Others will believe that these abstract properties have a greater
significance. That the beauty in nature has a reality that is perhaps
more
than the sum of the atoms and photons of which the system is composed.
The
presence of an observer is not necessary. In this view, the unobserved
or
chaotic elements of the system are constrained by its abstract
properties.
These higher states, if they have such power, may be able to interact
directly with other such states, possibly those similar ones in the
minds of
people, but they affect the physical system. There may, under certain
conditions, be more than the one way interaction which informs us of
what we
see.
The second paragraph asserts that the Platonic perfect Forms have
significance in this abstract world.
The next paragraph gives some examples of things that were once regarded
as
abstract but are now seen to be physical. This seems to be an ongoing
process in physics today, abstract mathematical concepts are seen as
reality.
The fourth paragraph elaborates on the interaction between the abstract
and
the physical world. It emphasises the importance of interaction when
modelling abstract ideas. It asserts that some believe that abstract
forms
guide the real world. According to this belief system, there are
interactions between the abstract states associated with each natural
object, these are analogous to the nerves in the body. It proposes that
natural processes are influenced by these invisible processes to such an
extent that life on the Earth would cease if they were no longer active.
This picture of all life as a body, or Gaia, then paradoxically seems to
become a metaphor because he says that this has to be felt inwardly
rather
than seen with our eyes.
The next paragraph is rather weakly argued. Psychokinesis is, perhaps,
evidence for an intelligent force; see later. It is open to question
whether
the physical and mathematical laws were created or are sustained. Most
of us
would agree that 2+2=4 has not been constructed because there was no
choice
in the result, similarly there is no maintenance necessary. The same may
apply to the laws of nature. A more interesting case where there may be
more
flexibility is with the actual values of the physical constants. It
might be
a little unwise to draw conclusions about God from speculations of this
type. It does not take any account of recent understanding and inquiry
into
the process of evolution. Lastly it proposes an argument that by
extension
denies the possible existence of God.
Paragraph six. Here we are presented with the existence of a group of
people
who use close-minded thought and ideas that have been internalised
without
criticism. This seems to be an attribute shared by most, if not all,
humans
so is, perhaps, not really very surprising.
We see the argument that sheer large numbers must be evidence. To put
this
in perspective, consider the infinitely greater number of positive
integers!
The next argument is that humans are not technically proficient in some
areas and that this lack of control argues for the idea of God. It is
true
that a religious explanation is more common in societies that have
little
control over their environment.
The idea of a life force is interesting; it has been used throughout
Chinese
medicine. There is some evidence that these energy pathways in the body
may
be responsible for anomalously high transport rates. There are also some
well-authenticated accounts of spiritualist mediums being able to
temporarily reshape some of the matter from their body.
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