In great hope to understand who we are, where we
come from, what the reality is and what our role is here, we turn to religions;
science and some of us do not ask these questions at all for many different
reasons. Most people are too busy
dealing with the responsibilities and distractions of daily life. Some may think
that someone else will ask this, or that it is not important why the universe exists, because without any
evidence, we can only ever guess the answer. But questioning the existence of
the universe is essential, because until we understand our relationship with
the universe, then how can we ever really know who we really are or what we are
supposed to be doing, other than to blindly follow our instincts and attempt to
satisfy our desires. Others might feel strange asking these questions being
afraid that someone will ridicule them, which actually happens most of the time.
This brings me to two possible conclusions to about these people, either to
them the presence of god is so obvious or they are just naïve. But I wonder how
any thinking being would fail to ask themselves even the basic questions in
life, “why do we live or where did we
come from?” do they just don’t want to trouble themselves of the mysteries
of the universe, are they contented of what they are, are they just not curious
or they are afraid of the truth? Probably they do not have the time or the
inclination to contemplate the existence of the universe. When I consider the
short duration of my life, swallowed up in the eternity of spaces of which am
ignorant, and of which know me not, I rest frightened and astonished for there
is no reason why I should be here rather than there. I sometimes wonder whether
we already have all the tools for understanding this. What if the entire
universe is a product of our imagination? What is real if nothing has real
existence? Unfortunately, this debate about the existence of the universe is
still being clouded by popular religious myths that were devised at a time when
we knew very little about the universe. While some people close their minds in
blind acceptance of these myths, others close their minds in blind reaction
against them. We then have been trained what to think but not how
to think. I feel that true understanding comes when you step over your ego;
throw your old mental constructs away when they are of no longer of any use and
make new based on broader information.
It is very easy to say that am religious or I am Christian but harder to
make a greater leap that goes far beyond these childish roles we like to play,
a leap where you appreciate both science and spirituality because the later
might only mean 40% of the unknown universe. I know that science can only
determine what is, but not what shall be, and beyond its realm, value judgments
remain indispensable but on the other hand, religion is concerned only with
evaluating human thought and actions; it is not qualified to speak of real
facts and the relationships between them. Throughout human history man has
plotted an intensive search for answers to his existence and purpose. This
search has led him to recognize that there is a Superior Creator seemingly
involved in the affairs of all men and in order for man to uncover the mystery
to his existence, he must discover a way to get in touch with this
Creator. This search has caused man to establish for himself a system of
religion. Religion is defined as the search for the ultimate. In a
wholesome search for God, many religions have been formed according to each
man’s decided course of approach. These various forms have lead many toward certain
idealistic perceptions of God such as Deism, Polytheism, Pantheism and such
like. The evolution of religion has transformed itself many times over
into various forms of approach toward a supernatural God. Theology is the
study of God Himself, through His own words. These words of God are found
in the many writings enclosed within the book known as the Bible. Theology
takes these various writings and begins a systematic examination of their
meaning, context and intent with the goal of discovering God and the very purpose
of life. It not only rivals the intellectual scholars; it also exposes the
inconsistencies of religious ambiguity.
The goals of Philosophy and Theology are the
same. Each discipline sets out to answer the confounding inquiries of
life. Whether it concerns the origin of man or the orderly structure of the
universe each field of thought attempts to bridge mans unawareness to knowledge
of himself and the purpose of his existence within the earth. Although
the aspirations are the same, each field of thought takes a different approach
to reach an answer. Philosophy’s approach is through the intellect of man,
while Theology’s approach is through the Spirit of man and the results of each
discipline lies within the borders of their approach. Man’s ceaseless
infatuation for obtaining a supernatural encounter with the invisible God has
led him to arrange numerous religious obscurities ranging from religious
superstitions to philosophical assumptions. The problem of finding God now
lies both in man’s desire to find him and the method of his search. Man is
seeking for the ultimate Creator through his own mind’s eye, logic and philosophical
thought. The unstable expressions involved in the various obscurities in
religion have caused man to seek an alternate viewpoint. This alternate
viewpoint has spawned and propelled a diverse speculative opinion in the school
of thought known as Philosophy and logic thinking
Philosophy is an attempt by scholarly individuals to
answer the questions of man’s existence and purpose through an intellectual
process. Philosophy’s main objective is to cause man to impartially
examine his preconceptions, convictions, prejudices, and beliefs while
progressively aiming toward the goal of what is known as
knowledge. Philosophy has become a secular alternative to religion; it speculates
that knowledge, however little the human brain can have and perceive of our
universe, is better than mare belief. With so many variables to the
religious experience, the philosophical approach has made great progress. This
school of thought has not only caused man to question the existence of God, but
it has led him to question his very own existence. The pursuit of a
theistic encounter has been stalled by an aggressive intellectual quest. The
only way to keep man aware of God’s existence and mans purpose is through a discipline
known as Theology. The intellectual approach consists of many variations that
have evolved from within the school of Philosophy. Philosophy has given birth
to other many branches of studies which include physics, psychology,
anthropology, sociology, metaphysics, logic, ethics and much more. Each
branch is formed to address the intellectual aptitude of man through reasoning
and rationalization while negating the propensity of his spiritual
person. The entire realm of philosophical thought views man’s existence as
a total mishap, possessing no internal life force (spirit, or soul);
however, he is conscious of his personal life experiences. David Hume, a
Scottish Philosopher, disputes the notion of a self or rather any persons
having a soul. He believes that possession of a soul is most likely
fiction. “You”, he explains, “are merely a bundle of perceptions. You
have consciousness of a continuing succession of experiences, but not of a
continuing experience”.
.... to be continued
