To Have and to Hold

The atheist understands that people have always reached out to believe in a benevolent creator for a number of reasons. This is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. As a result, building a world of peace in these early generations, circa 2000-2500 is likely to be impossible simply because of the diversity and non-inclusive nature of many of the world’s religions. But, what happens after the year 2500?

The theist reaches out to a concept of God to help him understand the universe. The atheist simply reaches out to the universe itself. They both seek knowledge of the nature of physical, psychological, political and cultural entities. Some of these are listed below:

• The nature of the universe
  • An identification of the smallest possible particle leads the thinker to wonder how it can be further subdivided.
  • An identification of the size of the universe leads the thinker to wonder what lies beyond.
  • An identification of the age of the universe leads the thinker to wonder what happened before it began.
• The nature of death
  • Is it possible that a loved one can suffer after death and if so, what can be done to provide relief?
• The nature of birth
  • When holding a newborn in ones arms, one can find oneself extending gratitude towards the heavens for such a magnificent gift.
  • If indeed we are created, it could have been in a different manner.
  • Instead, we find ourselves continuously entrusted across all of the generations of man.
  • We see our children then as a most overwhelming expression of love and benevolence towards us from our creator.
  • We begin to understand that our wish to express gratitude is best met in the manner in which we raise the innocent under the sight of our beloved God.
• The nature of conflict
  • Man, standing on different sides of a battlefield, have always emboldened themselves with separate notions of a God who is urging them forth to battle in the name of all that is good.
• The nature of race
  • In our infancy and toddlerhood, before we have learned that colors can have names, we have no concept of race and no problem in considering any child to be as one of us.
  • Somehow, we get from there to here where racial distrust is the norm.
  • We learn this from our parents, siblings, classrooms and cultures.
  • If we are created, we are left to wonder why we are created in races.
  •  How can we learn to love each other as naturally as we did when we were children?
• The nature of culture
  • Man evolves in the separate cultures inherited from his ancestors.
  • Man develops a sense of debt and honor with regard to the work accomplished by his parents and the founding generations of his culture.
  • Man sometimes carries this to an extreme in an adoption of a belief that their ancestors could not have been mistaken in their published notions of God.
  • Born and raised under the cultural norms of their era, the children given to us as perfect find it impossible to trust and love each other across the cultural divide.

The atheists will have developed rationale to deal with all of these concepts and the theists can benefit if they will learn to listen. The atheists are invaluable for the theists because they observe the universe with unprejudiced eyes.

The theists will work with the atheists to engineer an epoch where political decisions are entrusted to the atheists who are the middle ground, unencumbered by divisive religious notions.  Before that can happen however the theists need to understand the concepts that the atheist use as their moral guide. For example, one might consider that it was theologically inspired notions such as “Love they neighbor” and “Do unto others” that enabled freedom to begin to flourish across the earth. While those theological associations with general advice can bring with them divisive political thought in the various interpretations of the remaining multitudes of the scriptures, still, the general notions have served as a reliable guide.

What moral guide is proposed by the atheists and for what reason is it proposed? The atheist will consider that the theist’s assumption as to the existence of a benevolent God can indeed serve to suggest rational modes of conduct for man whether or not she does indeed exist.

Once that future state exists, another state can begin to exist, one where theists and atheists are trusted partners in government.  The atheist might consider the ultimate state as one where the thinker no longer needs a concept of God. At the same time, he himself will understand the theist view when he holds a newborn in his arms. There is nothing left to do but to get along.

So, how do we get from here to there? Before one can answer that question, one must strive to discern the most accurate definition of that future state. This would include a definition of the political state.

• Is there a true equalization of opportunity for each newborn child?
• Are resources shared equally?
• Is there an equality of education available to all?
• Are the rights of children spelled out, including the rights against psychological manipulation towards one belief system or another?

The atheist and the theists will today disagree on many of the details but the broad picture is starting to take shape and we can start to see clear paths and directions towards which we can begin to evolve. Perhaps it can be only a few hundred years.

We are absolute beginners, peering through time to envision a future state and we are making our plans to get there. And when we get there, our progeny will look back at us, here in the years 2000 and they will see clearly the path that we followed and so we know the path is there, we just have to find it.

And all the while, if indeed we are created, Thea nudges us forward, expressing her belief in us with each newborn child. Our ancestors look on as well, frustrated at our notion that the things they said and wrote were perfection, waiting for us to observe the universe with our own eyes instead. We will join them someday. Will we have improved things in this respect?

That child in your arms is innocence personified. Will you corrupt her or will you keep her?

Suffer not the little chiildren

A photograph of a religious figure surrounded by a group of men, one is reminded of Jesus and the apostles. This man is Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shiite Muslim cleric who leads a large faction of fundamentalist Muslims. His lineage can be traced directly back to Mohammed.  He is on the move to rise in the political circles of Iraq.

He is dressed in the traditions of his culture.  A Western observer might get the impression of a fundamentalist cleric who is prone to deny the rights of women and children and on the march to deny the rights of non-believing men.

The atheist might see yet another deluded group, bringing sorrow to the world in the name of their non-existent god. The Christian might consider further that Muqtada al-Sadr and his men are no less than evil.

Alternatively, one can observe the whole man, including his history.  In theamology, we perceive the universe without preconceived notions. The first thing that is plain to see is the perfection of his infancy.  If one can shut his eyes and see Muqtada al-Sadr as a newborn, one sees nothing less than innocence and beauty in his very being.  And so, back then, we would have seen ourselves as truly gifted by our creator with this child and even more, we would see ourselves as entrusted with his care.

Was he deluded at the age of three?  Was he a fundamentalist at the age of five?  Was he evil at the age of seven?  Like many fundamentalists, he inherited his religion from his father, a cleric, and his culture.  In truth, he never had much of a chance to observe the universe with unprejudiced eyes.  The psychological binding in early childhood, coupled with the violent cultural response to apostates left him magnetized toward the direction he follows today.

So,  in this or some other manner we got from there, gifted with his creation, to here in mutual distrust, and this is what theamology is all about.  Generally, we will have arrived, all of us, the atheists and those that see themselves as created, when we can get to there, considering ourselves as repositories of trust for one another, and stay there,

In 500 years we can get there, if we start the patient work today.  We can collaborate with the next generations by gradually improving their states of mind.  Perhaps we should not teach our religions to our children.  We can answer their questions about our beliefs and we can describe our contentment with same.  But, as repositories for their trust, we must tell them everything and lead them to knowledge of atheism as well as the diverse religions. We must tell them that when they reach an age of reason, it will be time for them to decide on their own set of beliefs, whether or not they are our own.

Perhaps we will someday discover and establish on the earth  the rights of children, including the right to an unprejudiced mind free from psychological constrictions. As a theist, how can one consider these gifts of God as such that should be psychologically coerced or constricted in any way?   What kind of response is that to the creation?  The atheists will agree with us on this manner of raising children.

The fundamentalist believes that to fail to enforce his religion within  his children is a great dishonor to the work of his ancestors.  And in truth, one should not light-heartedly discard all of their works and writings. But if one truly believes in the things they wrote, enough to believe that the ancestors live on somewhere and are watching us, then imagine their anguish if they see that we suffer because of our abject belief in some mistaken notion that they said or wrote.

Our ancestors were never God, they were once infants and then children and then men and women and they made their human mistakes. Let us honor them and give them peace by correcting them.

I see you brother, trapped within your religion and your culture.  You face a crowd of zealots, ready to hate violently any group you wish to propose.  You feel you are being driven by destiny, that a tidal force of man is turning.  At the same time, I see someone thinking, right there, in your eyes.   A man can speak of blind belief in the laws of Sharia yet still speak silently with his creator who would never cripple his thinking children with any prescribed beliefs. We don't need a book or scripture to see this, we just observe the things that have been done in the creation.

Now look again at those before you, waiting for a signal, how will you heal them?  It will take generations my friend, long after you are gone, but you must take the first steps, as wisely  as you can.  That is who you are you know, a repository of trust for the children of the God who loves us all.

And I know that you will agree with me, silently, when you have had enough time to think, and then you will laugh out loud at your predicament! You can hardly make a move! And you will understand why I sometimes think of her as woman, a man would not have the heart to leave you there!

We are all so lost, are we not?  We are like sheep without a shepherd. She leaves it all in our hands. Some of us will just have to rise.  Jesus rose you know, not from death, but from life, he rose within his religion and corrected it where he could.  He sought to help his people and he became trapped against the tide of  man.  He saw it coming and he delivered his message in brilliant form that still rings out today, does it not?

As theists or as atheists, we are thinkers, we observe the universe and discover our own truths and compare them with our siblings and as such we deserve that gilded age of understanding that lies at the end of our path. Suffer not the little children, we shall raise them in all knowledge.

Absolute Beginners

Words can be sung
Across all of time
To that glowing generation
From out of the darkness
Of the path where we stand
We are absolute beginners
Absolutely loving
The generations of man



David Bowie at Amazon

Theamology: A Definition

The meaning of the word theamology can be derived from its Greek and Latin roots:

• The, (Greek) God
• Amo, (Latin) Love
• Log, (Greek) Word

Theamology is the study of God and love.  The field of study includes discussions as to the existence of God, the love that God has for mankind, and the love mankind has for God.

The Confessional

When hearing confession
One must close one's eyes
And remove all distraction.
And I am far too catholic
And too far from Italian
To hear anything other
Than a young man praying,
And the intercessor re-voicing,
Triumphant over every sin.

Il Volo at Amazon

The Psychological Impact of Pronouns

The Big Bang is it.
God is he.
Thea is she.

Either one of these could have caused all of this.
(By this, I mean this universe of thinkers in which we live).
And depending on one's view one might state the proposition as one of these:

It caused the existence of the universe of thinkers.
He caused the existence of the universe of thinkers.
She caused the existence of the universe of thinkers.

But try switching the pronouns:

The Big Bang is he.
God is she.
Thea is it.

Now state your chosen proposition once again.

Now try these instead:

The Big Bang is she.
God is it.
Thea is he.

Our minds are engraved with pronouns.

Ordination

Wait to hear the whispers.
For prayers, wait still again,
Then hear the silent sounds of hope
A single no is sung

If you hear these as their confessions
If you hear innocence instead of sin
Then you are a priest or priestess
In Theamology, you begin