The God Realm

I'm not a scientist, but as a Christian, I see the world, the universe and humanity in a different way, and things that seem obvious to me, the scientific world seems oblivious to (and vice versa).  One of the things I see is the necessity for God as an explanation for the incredible functional organization exhibited throughout the universe.  I marvel at humanity's attempts to explain this without God, and I am humbled at the thought of trying to explain it myself - a feat that is entirely impossible for a mortal being.

When it comes to physics; quantum entanglement, the holographic universe and the multiverse are things I've been hearing a lot about lately.  These things are making their way into pop culture and becoming part of the fabric of society.  They are seemingly accepted with limited explanation.  To me, the obvious explanation is that God, and an immaterial world outside of space/time - a.k.a. the “God Realm” - are real and are tied to this universe.

The God Realm would be an eternal continuum, distinct yet connected to the temporal universe at every level, with the finite material universe being fully contained within the infinite immaterial realm.  It would qualify as the mysterious "singularity" of the Big Bang theory - the dimensionless, timeless, single point from which all energy, matter, time and space originated. The difference being that this singularity would continually exist - it did not become the universe, the universe sprang from it.

Graphically, this could be represented by the image above: a finite hyperbolic curve - with the orange line representing our universe within the confines of space/time (blue lines) - plotted within an infinite sphere - representing the God Realm.   There would be a defined beginning (red dot) and ending (orange and blue dots) for the universe, space and time.

This representation is flawed, however, in that it cannot adequately convey the properties of a dimensionless realm. It's really impossible to depict this. How do you draw something dimensionless? It would have to be an infinitesimal, immeasurable point that touches everything - a point that, if we could measure it, would measure both 0 and infinity.  In the drawing above, it would be both the red dot and the infinite sphere. Our minds cannot comprehend this.  A dimensional universe is the only one that can be depicted.  This coincides with what we observe now: it appears as if only the material universe exists, but at the same time we are starting to recognize that something else is required.

This "something" is God himself.  For the God Realm is not an empty realm: the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God is the substance and essence of it.  And, the realm is a spiritual place with spiritual beings and spiritual laws, all of which also sprang forth from God.  For God is the Eternal Constant, the One, the Singularity from which all creation sprang forth.  He is the timeless, dimensionless, ‘infinite zero', that cannot be measured or comprehended; the Truth, the explanation for everything.  

Science, of course, cannot measure the immeasurable, it cannot quantify the unquantifiable, nor can it comprehend the incomprehensible.  So what does science do?  It ignores those things and attempts to make sense of the universe without appealing to "nonsense".  Perhaps this is why science is limited in its understanding and keeps running into roadblocks.  What scientists are slowly discovering is the need for something beyond what we can observe; something beyond what we can measure; something beyond the limitations of time and space.

Take then, for example, quantum entanglement; where two quantum particles, even light years apart, are linked together such that both change to the same state at the same time.  The only way that quantum particles - separated by time and distance in our realm - could be directly coupled together would be if there were no space/time restrictions.  This is mysterious and spooky unless you consider that the coupling takes place in the God Realm, which is behind the temporal universe; and that space/time is fully contained within it to the extent that "light years apart" becomes meaningless.  

Next, take the holographic universe; the idea that our known universe is essentially a hologram projected from another universe with different dimensions.   If this were correct, then time, space and the material realm would essentially be an illusion and all of the incredible organization we see would have to be projected like a movie from some other source.  That source, would itself have to be able to account for the organizational properties of everything from quantum particles, to galaxy formation, to life itself.  All of this, like a movie, would need a writer, a director, some sort of intellect at its core.  Within the God Realm, the "hologram" (i.e. space, time, matter and energy) would be "projected from" (i.e. created and held in existence by) the omniscient God himself. 

Then, there's the multiverse; the theory that there may be infinite universes - or "every possible universe" - existing simultaneously.  Again, the fact that physicists are willing to accept other parallel universes in order to explain our universe points to the need for there to be something besides our universe.  This also easily fits within the God Realm, only it would not be “every possible universe” but rather another universe with “every possibility” due to it being immaterial with God at the center of it.  

One final thing: this model suggests that the material universe is not a closed system, that there is constant interaction between the physical and spiritual realms.  This would mean that the spiritual realm that so many experience, and that is the basis of all of the world's religions, is based on something real; that things that are viewed as "superstitions" and "imaginary" may actually have a basis in reality - spiritual reality.  A prediction of this model then, would be that evidence will point to the fact that these interactions actually do occur.

Is Evil the Will of God?

This world is evil.  That is beyond dispute.  Governments are corrupt, run by a lust for power, riches and control.  The rich are protected and given carte blanche while the poor are exploited and oppressed.  Racism and bigotry, terrorism, wars, mass murders and genocides all point to the intolerance and brutality of humanity.  Cancers, heart disease, diabetes, genetic defects, and all manner of other diseases take countless lives daily, and natural disasters indiscriminately kill and maim thousands.  

So is this “the will of God”?  

The short answer is “no”, evil is not from God, nor is it the will of God.  God is good, and all that is good comes from God.  He only wants good things for us.  

God is love.  He loves us with an undying love.  How can evil be his desire?  

Consider this: Jesus instructed us to pray “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”.  If God’s will were being done on earth, would we pray like that?  Wouldn't we rather be thanking him that his will was being done?  

“Surely God is all-powerful,” some will say, “so everything follows his will”.  While it is true that God is all-powerful, it is decidedly not true that everything follows his will.  So, did God make these things evil?  Or, are these evils the results of choices made by others?

That's the key here - choices.  God has chosen to create beings with the freedom to make their own decisions.  

In 1 John 5:19, the apostle John says that, “the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”  The “evil one”, the “Devil” or “Satan” is also called the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11).  

Did God choose to make Satan evil?  Or, did Satan rebel against God and become evil?  Christian theology holds that Satan became evil by rebelling against God.  It was not the will of God, it was the will of Satan.

What about us humans?  Did God make us evil?  Or, do we choose to do evil things?  Again, Christian theology says that we have all chosen evil.  The evil that we do is not the will of God, it is our own free will.  The Bible tells us that in the beginning, humans lived together with God in paradise, but they fell away from him through sin - and this world was cursed because of it.  He gave them a choice between a blessing and a curse and they chose the curse.  Death, disease and natural disasters resulted from that curse - from that choice.  They chose to follow Satan and not God.   And, less we blame Adam and Eve for all of this, we must remember that every one of us has done the same - none of us have followed God without failing.  

“But”, some will object, “God knew all of this would happen, so why did he allow it to be so?  Can’t he stop it?”  Yes, of course he can, but only if he takes away our freedom.  He would have to make us automatons, who blindly follow him without alternative.  We would have no individuality, no personality, no autonomy.  Apparently, he doesn’t want that for us.   Although God is all powerful, he has chosen to rule, not as a dictator, imposing his will upon cowering subjects, but rather as a loving Father, giving us absolute freedom of choice, but with guidance.  For he has given each one of us a conscience that resonates with the good and is troubled by evil.

So, there is evil and there is good.  The will of God is good and rejection of his will is evil.  If it were not so, there could be no judgement, no standard by which to quantify good and evil, and justice could never be carried out.  If the holocaust were "the will of God", then Hitler would not stand before God condemned, but would rather be rewarded for doing "the will of God".  But make no mistake, there will be a final judgment where everyone will stand before God and give an account of how they lived their life and the choices they made. 

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.  And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.  Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”  Revelation 20:11-15

Nobody gets away with anything.  Everything we’ve ever done is written in the books of God and will be brought to light on judgment day.  God will punish sin, but he has also made a way for us to be forgiven.   God is merciful.  God is love.  God is forgiving.  He loves a world that disobeys and hates him.  He made a way for this evil world to be forgiven and reconciled in the sacrifice of the human body of Jesus.  Everyone who trusts in him will have their name written in the "book of life"

Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  John 10:10

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”   John 3:16

“the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”  Luke 9:56. 

And, lest we think that we suffer alone and he is immune from evil, let’s remember that Jesus was mocked, beaten and brutally murdered by evil men.  But in doing so, he bore the punishment for the sins of all:  

1 John 2:2, "He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

2 Corinthians 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 

Galatians 1:4, “who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.” 

Galatians 3:13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us, because it is written, 'cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'.” 

Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

So what is the will of God, then?

It is really only one thing - to believe in Jesus.

Jesus said, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:40

Jesus is the central figure in human history.   More than that, he is the central figure of the universe, for he created it, he encompasses it and he redeemed it with his own blood.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him all the fullness should dwell, and by him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his cross.” Colossians 1:15-20

If we believe in Jesus, we will love, help, and forgive one another

“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”  Luke 6: 27-38

This requires an eternal mindset.   Jesus speaks often of rewards in the gospels.  He says of those who choose this world, that “they have received their reward”, and of those who choose to follow his way, that “their reward shall be great”.  It is all about a future reward.  We must realize that God is eternal, and as such, his will is an eternal will.  He exists outside of space and time and sees all of time at once - from beginning to end - like a yardstick.  Our lives are but microscopic specks of dust on that yardstick, yet we fight and claw, argue and kill, for our piece of that insignificant dust.  If our focus is on this temporal world and our temporal existence, it is very easy for us to blame God for the evils we see instead of recognizing his eternal goodness.  It sets us up to miss the reward he has prepared for us.  We must try to see things through God's eyes.  We must see time as he sees it, and our existence in it as fleeting.  We must adopt "the 1000 year stare": ask ourselves if this thing we find so consuming, so demanding of our attention, will even matter in 1000 years. 

Be assured that the reward he has prepared for those who choose him is beyond our imagination.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.'”  Revelation 21:1-4

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”  1 Cor. 2:9 

Self Organization - God or Magic?

You watch intently as the magician fans out the cards revealing it to be a normal 52 card deck. You keep a close eye on his hands as he gathers the cards back into a stack, turns the deck over and taps it with one finger.  As he fans out the cards again, you’re amazed to see that every card is now an Ace of Spades! How did he do it, you ask, what is the trick?

Any rational person knows that this is not done by “magic”. We know that there is a rational explanation, that it is an illusion, using slight of hand. We know this because we know that cards do not spontaneously rearrange themselves into other cards.  We can confidently conclude that the illusion was carefully crafted and carried out by the magician.

But what if we were able to film the trick in super slow motion and examine the card deck under the highest powered microscope and observe as the cards actually do reorganize their molecules into Aces of Spades?  Would we believe it was magic then?  Or, would we still hold that there was a trick to it and that the magician must have come up with an as-yet unknown invention to induce the cards into reconfiguring themselves?  I would certainly hope that it would be the latter!  To believe it to be magic, with no rational explanation, would be intellectually lazy and foolish.

So what of the universe and all of its observed self-organization?  What is the rational explanation for that?  Is it magic?  Or, is it carefully crafted using an as-yet unknown method?  I would certainly hope that it would be the latter, as to believe it to be magic, with no rational explanation, would be intellectually lazy and foolish.

From the Fifth Way to Omniscience?

Is it possible to infer from the workings of the universe the omniscience of God?

Thomas Aquinas argues in his Fifth Way that it is impossible to explain the determinations (teleology) exhibited by natural things without appeal to intellect.  My question is – can we go beyond that?  Can we, through examination of observable phenomena, reasonably infer the necessity of an omniscient being?

If we can infer intelligence from the behavior of mindless nature (as Aquinas argues), can we then look at the complexities of nature as a whole and – from that – infer omniscience?

It seems like it should be possible.  If you look at nature, there’s a lot going on.  Pretty much everything is busy doing something that fits into the giant puzzle somehow.  If you take all of it into account – every relation, of every thing, in every system, one to another – and consider the fact that the intelligence required by the Fifth Way would have to know and understand all of it, I sincerely think the case could be made.

Does God Have Any Potential?

(Disclaimer: These are the ramblings of an amateur philosopher and thus these thoughts -- while new and exciting to me -- have probably been answered thousands of times already by real philosophers throughout the ages.  That said, I’m just going to say them anyway!  So here goes…)

Question:  Would something that is pure actuality necessarily have all active potentiality?

Aristotle defined two types of potencies: active and passive.  Active potency is that which is intrinsic to the thing because of its nature – it requires no external source of activation (an acorn has the active potential to be a full grown tree.)  Passive potency requires an external source of activation in that it is not in the nature of the thing to actualize (a tree has the passive potential to be a chair.)

My thoughts on that are these:  When an acorn becomes a tree -- although it exhibits many physical changes -- its nature does not change.  Thus active potency entails no change of nature.  In fact active potency is derived entirely from the nature.  The two are inseparable.  A thing’s nature entails all that it is and all that is in its nature to do or be.  In fact, it can be argued that the nature is the 'being' and the changes are not 'new beings' or 'changes of being' but rather actions stemming from the 'actual being'.  Thus, when an acorn ‘changes’ into a tree, it is not a change of being at all but rather the acorn acting according to the active potency of its nature.  The development into a tree is the nature of the acorn in action.

Now God is shown, through the five ways, to be a necessary, purely actual being whose essence just is to exist.  God is said to have no potential – active or passive.  This doesn’t make sense to me.  While it is certainly true that God can have no passive potential, I think the case can be made that -- because of his purely actual nature -- God necessarily has all active potential.  If active potency encompasses all that a being can do, then God -- who can do anything that is possible -- has the active potency to do all things.  In other words God has pure active potency.  The acorn can only do the things necessary to grow into a tree, it cannot do things to cause itself to play golf, nor can it read a book.  God, on the other hand could conceivably do all these things.  What’s more, if God has no active potency, then his ability to do anything is incoherent unless he is actually doing all possible things at all possible times – which is itself incoherent.  If God is not actually doing all possible things, all the time, his ability to do so when he chooses must be described as “pure unlimited active potential”. 

Thus, I’d argue, the nature of God -- which is purely actual -- necessarily possesses all active potential. 

[Postscript:  I brought this up in a post over at Edward Feser's blog and he confirmed that, not only has this issue been hashed out a long time ago, but none other than Thomas Aquinas himself said the same thing I'm saying!!!  (See Summa Theologiae I.25.1:)  Thank you Dr. Feser!]

A Reasonable Faith

It is reasonable, (as shown extensively by Thomas Aquinas and others), to believe in God.

It is reasonable to believe that God is absolute goodness.

It is reasonable therefore to conclude that all other beings are necessarily less good than God.

It is reasonable to believe that a God who is absolutely good would have to be absolutely just.

It is reasonable to believe that an absolutely just God would have to punish every instance of evil (i.e. lack of goodness.)

It is reasonable to believe that an absolute good and an absolute just God would also be an absolutely forgiving God.

It is reasonable to believe therefore that God would offer a solution that would satisfy both His justice and His forgiveness.

It is reasonable to believe in Jesus.

Intelligent Design According to Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas, (arguably Christianity's foremost intellect since the apostle Paul), famously submitted five proofs of Gods existence.  (See Article 3. "Whether God exists?" here)  Of the "Five Ways", my favorite - and the one most relevant to ID - is the Fifth Way.

In Aquinas' own words:

"The fifth way is taken from the governance of the world. We see that things which lack intelligence, such as natural bodies, act for an end, and this is evident from their acting always, or nearly always, in the same way, so as to obtain the best result. Hence it is plain that not fortuitously, but designedly, do they achieve their end. Now whatever lacks intelligence cannot move towards an end, unless it be directed by some being endowed with knowledge and intelligence; as the arrow is shot to its mark by the archer. Therefore some intelligent being exists by whom all natural things are directed to their end; and this being we call God."

What Aquinas is saying here, put simply, is that:

A) We observe in nature, things with no mind or intelligence, acting as if they have intention, purpose or goals.

B) It is a truth that only a being with a mind can truly have intentions.

C) Therefore, an intelligent being must be responsible for the intentionality we observe in nature.

There, in just a few sentences, Aquinas submits a rational proof that all of nature is intelligently designed!  There is no need to argue, as most ID proponents do, that it is complexity and sophistication in nature that requires design.  No, to Aquinas; even the rocks cry out "Design"!  And this is true of nature everywhere we look!  Everything we see, everything made of matter, has bits and particles within it whose job seems to be simply to maintain and sustain that very thing that they are a part of.  There is absolutely no materialist explanation for this.

It's a beautiful thing.  What's more, if one understands the full implications of Aquinas' simple proof, the designer must itself be outside nature.  You can't cite nature to explain all of nature - so the explanation must be something separate from nature.  Hmm... an intelligent being outside nature... I wonder who that could be?

Which leads me to the other attractive aspect of Aquinas Fifth Way: the fact that it points explicitly to God - not some other being who "may or may not be" God (as ID theory is so fond of saying.) 

It's refreshing to be able to unequivocally say that all of nature (not just the complex stuff) is designed and that this designer must be God.

The further implications of this is that it reduces questions of evolution and abiogenesis strictly to scientific inquiry.  Whether or not nature can produce a lifeform from non-living material has no implications philosophically or theologically.  Either way, God was behind it.  The same goes for the evolution of new biological types.  It's all design, all the way down.