Se also determinism, and free will
You were only mentioned to me in passing. Yet, It has been in the back of my mind. I understand we physically resemble each other and I too did not believe in God.
I began today trying to understand determinism, coincidences, and the Biblical understanding of it, and ended writing to someone I don’t know at all.
I went to Catholic schools yet never a believer. About 4 years ago I began to understand for the first time what Christianity was all about. I have come to learn that Christians are like fingerprints all come from the same hand but each see Christianity in a different way, so this is only my opinion.
I can not say that what I am about to say is correct, only that its the way I see things at the moment. The word of Christ is complicated and it can be easily misinterpreted, that is why we seek the community of other Christians.
I am 57 years old and wept when I understood Christ. I wept because I recognized I had lost most of my life. I recognized I had been an old fool for so long. I can say that my coming to Christ has given me happiness, tranquility, and most of all understanding, something I had only wished for in the past.
Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
This passage is not only a significant verse to denote the deterministic nature of God but is very appropriate to us today.
These are the words of God to the captive Jewish people in Babylon. This passage should particularly resonate to Christian gentiles today, for you need not look far to see a similar captivity today.
Freewill, Time Space as Alpha Omega
Do we really have free will?
Consider the Alpha and the Omega as a concept for God.
It's almost an impossible truth to accept, but what we know today of the physical universe, its appears that it is in-fact a deterministic system. Today you need faith to believe that you have free will.
According to the theory of relativity, the universe is as deterministic as any math equation can be. In order to change something in the future the entire equation of past events must be recalculated. This would mean that each day when I say I have free will and directly change the future I have also changed my father, grandfather, Napoleon for that matter. I am no physicist but as I understand this is called entanglement in Quantum mechanics.
Consider the Alpha and the Omega as an interchangeable concept for God or space time.
There is nothing mystical about this Alpha and Omega it is simply reality from "the first to the last moment ", and that should be acceptable to any atheist.
As a Christian faith in God is faith in Christ. If you have faith then you are one with Gods calling, which is his word. If not, then of course you do not believe in word of Christ and you are still part of the first and end of time... you are just not with what God has called for.
For me I could not accept the word of Christ as this eternal truth, the central part of the universal construct. That Christ was God, this all was difficult to accept. But I did accept this, and my only regret is that wasted most all my life not getting it.
Here is the rule as I see it... God is the Alpha and Omega and only God has true free will. The Trinity of your sprit (in God), Jesus Christ, and God is the only way to correctly navigate through existence. In fact all the evil we see is because forces have conspired to prevent man from knowing the truth, ergo Martin Luther, and the others of the reformation.
Alpha, Omega, Infinity, Geometry and a Dead God
Our minds, nor our math can understand the eternal or infinite. It turns out that in order to comprehend large scale math, variables of uncertainty must be entered to make them work. There are things that can not be directly measured yet can be understood, tested and used. Cantor, Boltzman and Turing have written proofs to demonstrate this.
God is also not something we are not capable of directly measuring yet we can understand and use.
It is my opinion that soon we will come to understand even better how nature physically works through some form of fractal geometry. Fractal geometry creates an infinitely repeating pattern that has many similarities to concepts from multi-universe, through biology, genetics, and quantum mechanics. A box inside of a box, inside of a box, for infinitum. The Egyptian understanding "As above so below", may have a geometric natural composition.
I wanted to speak of Fractals only because they can demonstrate the possibility of seeing how infinite geometric structures could apply to us thereby making us part of a larger creative force. Made in the image of God.
In many cases it has been our recent scientific understanding that has taken us away form faith in God. A little knowledge and power can make the best of men proud.
I once would stand on my soap box and explain Nietzsches’ eternal re-occurrence and that could not God exist if all would repeat. The argument is simple… matter is finite, time is infinite... in time things will re-occur. This exact life will occur again and again and again... as well as many other versions of it.
Then they calculate that dark matter and energy is 95% of the physical universe, and we have no way to see it. This fact alone would make us practically invisible and certainly dominated by a larger force.
Reality as we know it with all its physics is an immense organism, an entangled reality we call God. When I could no longer prove that God did not exist I began searching and found Jesus Christ. Other religions are fine, and very interesting, but the word of Christ fits precisely to my western reality, to my understanding of human nature and my universe.
Can one brain cell change our direction through time.
One neuron has an idea and nudges the next.. what was the original causal effect on that neuron, original sin, God, Chaos? A leaf falls at the precise moment and your head turns to see it and that changes your life for ever. Did God move the leaf?
A neurologist would explain that life is like a stone thrown through the air, it has no choice where and how it goes. Yet, part way in its trajectory , say adolescence; it says to itself .."I am going there" , "I am parting the wind," then it falls, and it dies. Are we not just poor players upon a stage?
There are more than 100 trillion cells in the human body and ten times that many bacterial cells. Bacterial cells are much smaller. This comes to about 1000 trillion cells. Now , consider estimates of stars in our Galaxy that range around 100 billion 1011. Estimates for the amount of stars in the Universe are from between 1022 and 1024 (10 sextillion and 1 septillion) stars.
This relationship show’s the complexity of one human life. Comparing stars to cells one human is relative to 1000 galaxies such as ours.
Looking at life on our planet, we humans have more living cells than all the stars in the Universe.
The function of this mental exercise is first to give a sense of the value of one life, the value of God's creation. The value of your life.
We can not only be seen in perspective of the larger Universe, but we are connected from the small in a very significant way, from the genetic, atomic and quantum levels. When our best instruments can only detect 5% of matter, the reality we so proudly say we dominate is but an illusion.
Careful attention and study of this physical universe will surely wash the pride off almost anyone. It may bring us directly back to God, to Jesus Christ, and to love of neighbor. To the love of what God has created.
If we are aware at most of only 5% of our reality, we are clearly part of a much larger metaphysic world. Life on earth is but a false illusion based on money, power, vanity... things that are worth less within the larger metaphysical reality we can not see.
Love of God on the other hand is what Christ teaches... and how do we love Christ.
John 21:15
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
Love that person next to you, especially the sinner each has more value than we could ever understand. The word of Christ is filled with abstinence and giving to others. It is a revolutionary message to abandon money as you goal and adopt love of the other, the stranger.
Our physical, social, and historical reality is explained so well through the word of Jesus Christ that it’s a fantastic coincidence or a Good God attempting to teach us.
We live in a world of opposites, we have made greed the fulcrum of economics when Christ asks for altruism. Advertising without vanity and lust? Sales with modesty and truth? Banking without usury? Its all counterintuitive and after 2000 years we still don't get it..
The word of Christ paints a true picture of how things should be. They are clearly are not that way, but when you see the truth in these words you don't feel abandoned. The world around you may be going to hell, yet you feel safe. You feel that although you are still human, you are still a sinner... you have seen the truth and you are on the right path.
For if you have the good fortune to known the word of Christ, you gain the tranquility that comes from knowing, and you know you are not alone.