I have to get this off my mind. People say I think too much, and about irrelevant stuff, and that may be true…but none-the-less, these things really bug me. I have a Jehovah’s Witness friend who often stops by on his Saturday rounds. I make coffee and we discuss things theological, spiritual, and philosophical. It just so happens that I believe in a higher power, but I’m not willing to try and define this entity. I am willing to call it God however, for lack of a better word. For various reasons not relevant to this post, I also happen to believe a man named Jesus existed and had a very close relationship to this thing we can call God. I don’t know if ‘son’ is really the right word for me though. I also happen to believe evolution occurs. We may not have the theory totally worked out, or understand all the exact mechanics of it, but I think we are close. This is a real contradiction to my Joho friend, and he struggles to show me the error in my ways. This week he brought over a pamphlet arguing various points in favour of Creationism. The thing I like about Jehovah’s Witness’s is that they do their homework. The pamphlet talked about the difficulty in suggesting living matter sprang out of non-living matter, the incredible sophistication and complexity of RNA, DNA, and in fact cellular life in general, and it also pointed out the ‘holes’ and ‘misunderstandings’ in the theory of evolution as it pertains to the animal kingdom and humans in particular. I don’t pretend to have answers for all these things, but I have answers for some of them, and have read just enough to know that there are other people who have answers for many of the questions I’m clueless about. So despite my friend’s best intentions, instead of being convinced by the evidence of Creationism, I found myself wondering if there was really any need or rationale for believing in God at all? Then I recalled an old question that has kept me awake many nights, that goes away for a while, but always returns. It’s the question that underlies all other questions; it’s the first question. And it’s the question that sprang to mind when I found myself questioning the existence of God. The real question Creationist’s should be focusing on is, ‘Why is there anything at all?’ Did you just say, “Huh?”
Why is there anything at all?
This question can spin off almost anywhere, and it is as infinite as infinity can be. I think one must conclude that this question starts with two presuppositions. Either 1) The Universe is infinite in time and space, and has always existed, or 2) That at some point there was nothing then, suddenly, there was something. You can spend a lot of time contemplating the ramifications, connotations, and sublime beauty in either of these options, but it seems to me that no matter where you go you start bumping up against the notion of a higher power, something not of this plane of existence. I won’t go down each and every avenue this question leads to, but I will give you a link to get you started if you’re inclined to travel those roads. In a time when the progress of science and our overall understanding of the nature of our existence are leaving less and less room for a God who insists on being our creator, this question still leaves some elbow room for a divine power from some other plane of existence or dimension, to muscle his way into our lives. Until someone explains this one to me, I’m keeping God on my side.
