In my garden a lyrical sound came to my attention. Like a heart beating impossibly fast, the sound of hummingbirds’ wings is high and rhythmic. What is the source of all these wondrous creations? Why did God make the universe? Without hesitation my 11-year-old son replied, “God created the universe out of love”. This parallels my own thought that God was lonely. So then from this desire to share His great happiness and His love the Creator of the Universe began the unfolding process of existence.
You are of course thinking that you have to believe in God to even answer such a question, because you cannot prove the existence of God through empirical thought.” You might say I only believe in science because through inductive and deductive reasoning I can come to real provable results. In that regard may I point to this small fact, that all science is based on belief. “Science is based on this one belief, a first principle, that the human mind is capable of discovering and understanding all the working principles of the universe,”( Dr Philip Snider, University of Houston Biology Dept.) This hypothesis cannot, of course, be proven. So we see that “belief” in science is similar to “belief” in God, in so far as neither can be substantiated. Is this not, after all, the very definition of the word “belief.”
To phrase this in a slightly different manner, most think that science and religion are opposed because they come from different basic premises, but in fact they are the same. You might say that I cannot prove God exists, but I believe that God exists. In the same manner the basic principle of science is that the human mind can know the unknowable. This basic believe has yet to be proven true. A belief is something which cannot be empirically proven. We take a belief on faith. These two words belief and faith are intertwined. In other words that the human mind, thru scientific evaluation, can discover everything there is know about the universe and also understand that knowledge. Hmmm I wonder.
Dr. Daniel Price, (University of Houston Honors College), famously commented, “.....isn't that a sweet way to look at it. ‘God is love.’ What a sticky, emotional idea that is, and also fairly recent I might add.” (I am of course paraphrasing Dr. Price)
Daniel in your recent showing of “Natural Born Killers” what was the one thing that was strong enough to kill a demon? Do you remember what the psychopath said? Coming from the depths of his insanity there arose his greatest insight. The only thing able to overcome the demon was “Love”. So, from the mind of a madman, comes the simplest of truths. This truth is that “love” is not sticky sentimental emotion but rather that most powerful strength emanating from the human spirit.
Wars waged throughout history, employing techniques of violence and destruction, always yield results which eventually crumble. Conquered peoples have risen up and had revenge on their conquerors. The greatest empires built on violence have all faded. They ebb and flow across time like the sea onto the sand.
The most enduring concept human kind has contributed to its own existence is the concept of “Love”. Perhaps one might say this is new in western culture. A mere 2000 years ago Christ brought this message to the West. The Gautama Buddha, 500 years earlier, delivered it to the Orient. Buddhists speak of the four Noble truths, and an eight fold path. Christ asked us to love one another. Both these great thinkers have spoken simply of the concept we call “empathy”. Empathy is of course the wellspring of love for others.
Hinduism, with its roots extending far into prehistory, and its traditions passed down orally for 5000 years, focuses on “daily morality”, “karma”, and “right living”. Within these three concepts is the core concept of Love”.
Great nations, great empires, all seem to have God on their side. When in truth God is on the side of the individual. God is within the individual. The individual is part, and the same, as is that eternal Spirit to which we give the name God. Modern intellectuals tend to shy away from using the word God. I understand their inclination. They are hesitant to put their faith in any other than themselves. This is the bias of analytical thinking.
Personally, on the field of athletic competition, I have learned one thing. When I put my complete faith in myself I fall short of my goals. When I allow my faith to reside in a power greater than my own I succeed. In other words, when I accept that my analytically based physical training has limits but my spiritually based belief has no limits, I am able to succeed beyond my wildest dreams. Scripture tells us God would never put a dream in our hearts without also putting the ability there to achieve that dream. All we need to do is believe. This is the simplest of acts. And yet it is the most profound.
A man is living one moment, dead the next. What is the difference in that physical being we see before us? He may still be warm, his blood may still be flowing, and he may even have some brain wave activity. It is his eternal Spirit which has left his mortal body. This is why the man is now dead. And no matter what we might do to revive him our efforts would be futile.
Is there a high art, low art? What is art? Is art that which touches us deeply? Is it those things made by human hands, inspired by human hearts, which touch the human spirit, how we define art? If the human spirit is a part of the spirit of God then isn't the creation of art that loveliest of endeavors.
Joe
No comments:
Post a Comment