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The following has been written, prepared and edited by Rhys Evans
Is it "TRUTH" or "truth"?
A Scientific Look at an Unscientific Subject
If you don't believe in God or in an omnipotent source of power that created the universe, there is no purpose in reading further. Even those who do believe will have to read with an open mind. Whether you use the name God or Allah or Jehovah or any other designations, the questions will be the same: Who Are We? Why Are We Here? Where Do We Go From Here?
I am admitting that this is my opinion of how things work, and that this opinion, even if true, is not the complete answer by any means, but it should be a provocative step in the process of understanding some important things about our reason for being. If it opens the door for further investigations or theories, it is worth the effort.
For a beginning, we wouldn't be living the way we are if we hadn't accepted the ideas and theories of many people and cultures before us, and sometimes those theories were wrong. Example: Most people in the 13th and 14th centuries (and up until that time) believed that the stars and sun revolved around the earth. The church was so sure of this that it incarcerated Galileo and Copernicus for heresy when they proclaimed that their telescopic observations showed that the earth and planets revolved around the sun. Of course, many also thought the earth was flat. Physical evidence that can be proved can change beliefs quicker than beliefs that are backed only by logical ideas, and all religions are based on logic rather than scientific evidence.
At the bottom of all this is the fact that whatever you believe is true for you. Change your belief, and you change your truth. However, if you believe in God or a universal power, as I do, you should realize that whatever the universal power created is the real Truth and I use a capital "T" (as opposed to a small "t" for individual truths) to indicate this. As I see it, what all of us who believe in God or a universal power are seeking is "T". We will give up all our small "t's" if we can be shown a "T" that we can "prove". Although absolute "T's" are difficult to prove, things such as the force of gravity and centrifugal force would seem to be in the "T" category, and science keeps investigating the universe to try to find more of these "absolutes".
Again, I am not saying that my ideas and theories are "T's", but I am going to use scientific thinking to present them. My main hope is that you will read them with an open mind, because if you believe what you believe and won't listen to anything else, that is your "t", but you have stopped seeking. No problem for me, but we would still be living in caves if everyone operated that way.
To repeat, then, there is a Power by which all things were created. God, Jehovah, Allah, the Force, Great Spirit are only a few of the names for this power. I like to use the term, God.
If God created all things, obviously our human race is God's creation, but we seem to be uniquely different from other creations in that we also have the ability to create. Other species and other things operate mostly by instinct or are merely part of the earth environment that makes earth what it is.
Why are we also creators? Why do we have "free will" to create what we wish including our own beliefs and actions? If we were controlled by instinct, we would in effect be robots. We could indeed "blame" God for whatever happened to us. With "free will" we have to "blame" ourselves. Deep within we know this, but it is so hard to deal with that it often causes emotional and physical problems. So we blame others, or we blame coincidence or things beyond our control. Though other things can cause changes in our lives, how we deal with these changes is completely up to us.
Why is it important how we deal with changes we can't control? It is impossible for any of us to control situations where the input of others affects what happens, but we can control ourselves and our own actions if we wish to. Since we live in a world where billions of us are continually contributing to the outcomes that affect others, if we operated only by instinct not "free will", no worthwhile creation could ever take place.
An example of this is seen in the seemingly endless wars and confrontations that cause misery in the world. When we use our "free will" to create situations where these are eliminated or at least solved without the suffering that usually accompanies them, the world is a much different place. When this actually happens, we see life as it could be when we use our creative ability positively.
Another aspect of "free will" (and possibly the reason we were given it) is to bring about change. In the billions of years before humans appeared, the earth changed only in ways that followed the "T" of life. Built into all living things is a genetic code that keeps a species alive and allows for change by the very slow procedure of mutation. Also, it took millions of years to calm down the earth's inner fire to the point where chemical changes could bring about the combination of hydrogen and oxygen to form water, one of the many changes that created the earth as we know it today. These were all "T" changes. Living organisms and their enfoldment over billions of years were controlled by "T".
Finally, the human species appeared. Whether as a result of evolution or (as religions contend) an Adam and Eve type appearance, the way opened for change to occur in an entirely different way. Each human had the ability to create through "free will" and imagination things that profoundly affected the earth and its environment. It would appear to be God's plan to extend the possibilities of change in an explosive, new way, but why was this necessary?
I will digress for a different look at this problem that might help to explain it.
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In our generation, perhaps because of scientific medical advances, more people than ever before seem to have what is being called Near Death Experiences (NDE). Maybe it is not just medical advances. There have been cases reported throughout history, but they were either not believed, or were "explained" by whatever ideas seemed logical at the time. (Medical people still do this when they attribute NDE's to some sort of neurological experience that occurs when the body starts to shut down).
With the proliferation of books and literature in our times, it is easier for those with NDE's to reach a larger audience and increase the number of those who claim to experience them, because they are now aware that others have experienced them, too. Researchers are investigating claims instead of ignoring them, and a surprising number of claims seem to correlate with each other even though there was no connection between the claimants. Of course, as the books increase there will be greater numbers of false claims, but when NDE experiences were first researched, there was no such opportunity for others to know about similar cases, and yet the information was startlingly similar.
If NDE information can be accepted (and again it is your choice as it may be a "T" or a "t") it would shed light on many unexplained things about our reasons for being, who we are, and where we are going. I will speculate on what may be if NDE's are true parts of our existence.
Although church beliefs for hundreds of years have spelled out an unyielding dogma of who we are and where we are going, it would now seem that some of the doctrines need to be examined more closely. (I would guess that a lot of minds will close at this point, but I will challenge you to read on. It might not be what you expect).
I happen to believe that Jesus actually lived, and that the teachings proclaimed by Jesus are the most valuable the world has known. But I also think that church dogma has taken some of the "T's" and turned them into "t's". (I will be citing examples of this as I go on).
This is not a condemnation of Christian churches or even a put down. All churches and all religions have done an unimpeachable job of keeping all of us in touch with our spiritual nature which the NDE's are now showing as the real "us". If we are not basically "spirits", then who are we? Certainly not an earthly creature run by instinct and chance as were those that came before us.
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What Is Life?
If we can accept the idea that we are really "spirits" living in a physical (or material) body, then a lot of things potentially change. For one thing, focus on material things is not as important as some might think. Certainly, living in a body requires attention to certain things: food, health, exercise, sleep. But there are also things that the spirit living within the body requires: love, happiness, relationships with others, and feeling good about oneself. There are other things, but these are basic.
Notice that none of the "basic" needs of spirit or body include money, possessions, fame, power, or many of the other "needs" that we may think are essential. Or to paraphrase the Bible: If you gain the whole world, and lose your soul (substitute "spirit") what good is it? As the NDE's will tell you, you can't take it with you.
O.K., so what can you take? Feelings for others (love, hate, or ?); memories of the life you have just lived; attitudes and things that seemed important to you while in the body; in short, all the things of the spirit and none of the things of the body. So why do we strive so hard to please the body rather than the spirit in our lives? (I have my answer. Perhaps you can think of yours). If you think the material world is all that is important, it is your "t".
Is this saying that you don't need money, or work, or pleasure, or good times? Not at all. But there are many ways to get them that are helpful, not harmful, to the spirit. If you do work that you enjoy, it can bring you money, pleasure, and good times. However, if the work brings money to you and causes problems for others, it may bring pleasure to you (by earthly standards) and good times, but not much help for your spirit which will have to deal with your actions later.
So, if we are spirits as NDE's indicate, and if our spirit actually keeps on living and learning after our earth life, it might answer the question of why we are on this planet, a place where difficult learning for the spirit occurs. We need to be able to expand our knowledge until we are "one with God" as many religions have claimed is our goal. Some churches have a different way of expressing this, but that is their "t" and this is my "t". However, I know we all hope that being "one with God" is a "T" that is open to all who seek it seriously.
How can we move toward this "oneness" we seriously seek? Recognizing and following the teachings of Jesus as your heart interprets them is a good way to start. However, if you are of a different faith, following the best that your belief has to offer, and not rationalizing some of its precepts would help. For instance, if you believe that we are all children of God and that God loves us all equally, then harming another is not following God's will no matter what logical reason for doing it fits your philosophy. In God's "sight" every person is a "good" person. The things we do because of bad choices can be overcome by changing our choice and proving we have changed by our actions. That would seem to be a logical conclusion no matter what religion you follow.
That leads, now, to another concept that will challenge closed minds who have read this far.
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Reincarnation
True Or False?
Certainly, this idea will be a "t" to many who have accepted the idea that reincarnation is not only false, but is anathema to all who believe it. Would that include Jesus whose belief in reincarnation is only evident if you look closely at Bible stories?
Two examples: In John 9:1 the disciples said "Who did sin, this man or his parents that he was born blind?" Because Jesus didn't answer directly as to who was the sinner, people have ignored the implications in the disciples' question. Obviously, Jesus was the Master and the disciples would not ask a foolish question of him, so they knew that either the man or his parents had caused the blindness by sinning. But how would the man have sinned before he was born? If reincarnation is accepted, the sinning could have been done in another life. Apparently, Jesus and the disciples did accept reincarnation as true. A second example occurs when Jesus is transfigured on the mountain top. Several disciples who were there saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. Of course, Moses and Elijah had been dead for some time. Later, when the disciples where talking to Jesus, Jesus said that Elijah had returned and the people had done what they wanted (killed him). The disciples knew that Jesus was saying John the Baptist had been Elijah at another time, obviously reincarnation (The Bible: Matt 17:10-13). There is a law that states that just one occurrence of anything proves that it is possible. If John the Baptist was also Elijah, then reincarnation is proved.
One more example might be enough. Many of the early church leaders believed in reincarnation. It caused such controversy that the church leaders who didn't believe (led by Roman Emperor Justinian who was head of the church at that time) made the belief anathema at the Council of Constantinople in 553 A.D. Anathema is a church edict that proclaims that you are banished from the church if you believe it, and it automatically sets you on the road to Hell. Certainly, from that time on reincarnation was not accepted by anyone connected with the church, and since the Catholic religion was dominant for another thousand years, no one ever questioned the decision.
However, if we are spirits, and if we wish to grow, the human experience is a good school to attend. Contrary to some Eastern beliefs that make reincarnation something that occurs over and over again whether it is desired or not, Western belief goes with the "free will" that God gives every soul, and so reincarnation is a choice for them like deciding whether to return to a specialty school or go on with a general education. In this way, as in all things, it is your choice that brings about results.
Reincarnation is interesting because it could explain some things that in present day thinking make little sense. Are homosexuals and lesbians a result of genetic makeup, or is it possible that the soul (spirit) may have had a life as the opposite sex last time around and still had feelings and desires left over in the spirit from that experience? Big "T" or little "t"?
Do we explain people whose I.Q. is very low but who have an extraordinary talent (superior to even the best of the high I.Q.'s) as genetic, or could that talent have been achieved by other lifetimes of experience in the specific field?
Can we explain Mozart writing symphonies as a child of 5, by saying he had a "music gene"?
Even though no scientific studies have been able to answer these things, if reincarnation is accepted, it might put them in a clearer light.
So where are we now? In my beliefs the following are my "t's". I would like to think they are also "T", but I am still learning.
- The Power that created the Universe (God) is a Loving Power.
- God wanted companionship. (Remember we as human beings need relationships with others. Our Creator needs this, too. To be alone on our planet would be hell on Earth for us. To be alone in the Universe would be even more shattering).
- We are created for this companionship, but we cannot be God's companions until we discover and live God's "T's". This takes study and effort on our part since we, being creators, too, often tend to go with our "t's" instead of God's "T's". Until we get this straight, we cannot be "one with God", but it is always our choice, not God's.
- One of the good places to "learn" is the physical earth life. With our five senses we can experience pain, joy, happiness, sadness, and all the other feelings at a level that makes changes in behavior more positive and lasting. I often use this statement: "We bang our heads against a wall until it hurts so much that we say, 'Never again!'" Since all mistakes can be corrected by a change in behavior, this is a good place to deal with them.
- If we don't learn, we can come back again, maybe with some attitudes that others can't understand but that are important to our "classwork" this time around. Some of the souls we've known before may be our "classmates" now, although they may sit in a different part of the "classroom". We may also recognize that although we want good grades, being the star of the class or the class clown is not that important.
I'm glad if you have read this. I don't expect my "t's" to be your "t's", but I do hope we will both keep searching for the "T's" that will lead us to the "Promised Land".
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TRUTH or truth 