Philosophy 307
18 November 2000
Metaphysics
1-1. God is an English word used to identify the notion of a supernatural being. This supernatural being is also worshiped as the creator and ruler of the universe. The concept of God has been molded by our cultural and historical dynamics. The idea of God, as held by any culture tells us more about that culture than it tells us about God.
1-2. These concepts of God have evolved based on the evolution of our own cultures. The symbols, images, and myths that lend themselves to our understanding of the concept of God can only point to God. Our notions of God are in fact conditioned images of our own peculiar traits. The traits while essential to us may or may not be a true reflection of God.
1-3. When we think of God we are in fact contemplating our own mystery of Being. We are asking why we were born and why we must die. It is our realization of death that forces us to ponder our reality. We must in the end take a leap of faith and create meaning for ourselves. The concept of God is in this way a mirror that reflects the image of ourselves back to us from that inescapable abyss.
1-4. The God that can be described cannot be the Infinite God of creation. Those who say they know the truth of God do in fact not know God at all. Each of our concepts is an empty attempt to close in what cannot be closed in. It is our way of trying to explain what cannot be explained. It is the mystery that is a mystery.
1-5. The peculiarity of this unfolding quest is that when we complete the quest we must realize that the whole process of life was a self-knowing process. A process that oddly tries to understand itself by criticizing itself, and in the end learns to value itself as itself. We must embrace this mystery and ourselves. The journey, the quest, for self-knowledge is the end in and of itself.
1-6. To counter the fears of our essential traits we have constructed five prominent traits for our concept of God. These are:
1. Creator of all that is.
2. Immortal being that lives forever.
3. Omnipotent, having unlimited power.
4. Omniscient, having infinite awareness.
5. Omnipresent, being everywhere at once.
In order to understand these beliefs we must investigate their full meaning.
1-7.
The Creator:
1. Is one who creates.
2. One who causes or brings into being that which is.
1. The Creator is in this way the constitution for the qualities of existance. Parmenides as early as five hundred BC stated this idea as; “ That which is there to be spoken of must be. For it is possible for it to be, but not possible for nothing to be.”
2. That which is, is.
3. That which is not, is not.
4. No thing can be nothing.
1-8.1 God as immortal:
1. That which cannot die.
2. Existance cannot be created from non-existance.
The Creator must be the continued process of creation. If the Creator were to end this process, than change would not be possible. Many people envision a God that created the universe than stepped back from that creation. God is not just the Creator but also his creation.
1-8.2 Since God cannot die, than God cannot be alive. Our concept of life includes the concept of death. If God is the Creation, and constitutes all of creation, than no thing in creation can die. This is because God is not alive.
1-9.1 God as Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent;
1. Infinite power over every thing.
2. Infinite awareness.
3. In all places at all times.
The Christian mystic Miester Eckhart said, “ (God) created all things in such away that they are not outside of (God). Every thing that God creates or does (God) creates in himself.” Thus all of creation exists inside of God as creation. God is everywhere because God is literally every thing in existance. God knows all things because God is, all things.
1-10.1 God as the Process of Existance.
All systems can be described from the Macro or Micro perspective. Our perspectives start at the mid point between the micro and macro universe. Where we to examine these perspectives we find ourselves in the center of infinite being. This is because we believe ourselves the center of existance.
1. The
Electro-Chemical level.
This Atom is the smallest particle of a chemical element that can exist alone or in combination. It is made up of the Proton, Neutron, and Electron. The Proton is the positively charged particle of an atom. The Neutron combines with the Proton to from the center of an Atom. The Neutron is also believed to be with out a charge. Finally, the Electron orbits around the center of an atom in constant motion. The Electron is the negatively charged particle, and currently the smallest particle found in an atom. Atoms combine together to form molecules.
Molecules are the smallest particle of matter. They are also the same chemically as the whole mass they form. Molecules take their form from the chemical bonds between their atoms. These structures become the framework for all matter.
2. The Cell is the smallest unit of life.
Cells are made up of very complex structures of molecules. Cells have the ability to function as a whole independent unit. Cells can also combine together to form even more complex groups we call plants and animals.
3. The Universe is the whole body of things observed.
The universe is believed to be Infinite.
God is believed to be Infinite.
The universe is our current concept of God.
Atoms are not alive.
All things are made of atoms.
Nonliving things make up all living things.
No thing is alive.
>Copyright © 2002 Douglas Vaughn.
