THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD, PART II

"God is not all-powerful ..."

Neither is God all-loving. She is at Her core, but as the universal consciousness, God necessarily includes both (what we consider to be) good and evil. On a cosmic scale, evil is generally held in check because the universe works better in harmony than in dissonance. Evil is composed of thought carrier particles that we will refer to as vilons for want of a better name. Fortunately, all vilons carry a slight negative charge, so that they tend to repel each other. While they can exist in fields, they cannot accumulate in vast quantities to form a rival core.

God created our world, in the sense that she influenced the physical forces to produce a planet capable of sustaining life. It is egocentric for anyone to believe that we are the only such world, or the first, or the most important one. Our world was not created in a day or a week as we know them, but then God does not measure time the same way we do. For example, it took around two billion years for simple organisms known as cryobacteria to oxygenate our atmosphere. God also created humankind, in the sense that She influenced life to evolve in a manner that resulted in Homo sapiens becoming the dominant species. Yet that is a very recent occcurrence in the history of life on earth. God was not in a hurry.

The Book of Genesis is not incompatible with this Truth. It is simply a story told in a manner that people of a certain era could understand the same thing - that we would not exist unless God had willed it. As with other stories, myths and legends from ancient times, Genesis should not be taken literally. Similarly, the theory of evolution is not incompatible with this Truth. God simply influenced natural selection at several important points, such as the K-T meteor impact that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. Although dinosaurs were entertaining creatures, after 150 million years their brains had not yet developed to a point where they could accomodate souls. Hence, it was time for an evolutionary restart.

So, if God exists and is powerful enough to effect the creation of worlds, why does She permit wars, famine and other human suffering? That is a subject that will be discussed in more detail later, as will the nature of God. For now, allow us to respond with more pertinent questions. When God has provided us with a beautiful world capable of sustaining life, and told us to be good to one another, and given us the intelligence and talents to make it all work, why should we expect more? Are we special, or is it hubris to even think that we should be?

Next: The Truth About Grace