A Position Paper on God
Posted: September 9th, 2009, 3:09 pm
The concept of God is not from Earth. The proof of this is that we’re not still practicing nature worship: sacrificing to deities representing natural forces—the thunder god, the rain god, the sun god, etc. But God with a capital G doesn’t represent any natural force. It represents a supernatural force—a force above nature—a universal force: consciousness. Mind, in other words.
The concept of God was introduced to Earth from outside. It’s not from here. We didn’t originate it. It was brought to us.
The people who designed the Pioneer plaque http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_plaque sought a language someone not from Earth would understand. They language they chose was that of science—mind; consciousness. They included what is intended to be a simple visual representation of the hyperfine transition of hydrogen, the most common element in the universe, in hopes that any mind to see the plaque will understand what is being communicated—i/e, as a primer for interpreting the rest of the plaque.
The single linking component of all life in the universe is mind; consciousness. All life exhibits consciousness to varying degrees. An amoeba shows rudimentary consciousness. Ants show it to a higher degree; wolves, still higher. Whales, higher still. Humans, we assume, are at the pinnacle of consciousness as life on Earth goes. Surely there are life-forms in the universe exhibiting consciousness at a degree higher than humans. Perhaps even at a degree comparable to that between humans and amoebae? Not something comfortable to contemplate, true. How many amoebae have I slaughtered today, I wonder? If there is a consciousness in the universe that were I compared to it I would be on the level of an amoeba to me, maybe that consciousness will slaughter me the way I slaughter amoebae every day just by living. Nonetheless, it’s a factual speculation, one that must be entered into whenever one chooses to ponder the concept of God.
And this concept of God, where did it come from? Could we have possibly dreamed this up on our own? Or is it more likely it was brought to us, introduced from outside, much like we introduced ourselves to the universe through the auspices of the Pioneer plaque? Could it be that this concept of God is an attempt like that we ourselves have made of mind to communicate with mind, only on a much more long term scale than we are prepared to deal with? The Pioneer plaque, it is known, is much more likely to be overtaken by our own future ships than to ever encounter another, non-human, mind. Yet we made the effort anyway, right? We at least tried. Could it not be that another mind—another group of minds—much older than ours made a similar effort in our own deep past? Could it not be that an effort was made to communicate with us such that when we had reached a level of understanding sufficient to grasp the message, the message would still be there to grasp? Is there not just the possibility that this is where the concept of God comes from? Mind communicating with mind, over unimaginable spans of time, across incomprehensible degrees of consciousness? And should we not be paying attention?
Peace,
Barry
The concept of God was introduced to Earth from outside. It’s not from here. We didn’t originate it. It was brought to us.
The people who designed the Pioneer plaque http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_plaque sought a language someone not from Earth would understand. They language they chose was that of science—mind; consciousness. They included what is intended to be a simple visual representation of the hyperfine transition of hydrogen, the most common element in the universe, in hopes that any mind to see the plaque will understand what is being communicated—i/e, as a primer for interpreting the rest of the plaque.
The single linking component of all life in the universe is mind; consciousness. All life exhibits consciousness to varying degrees. An amoeba shows rudimentary consciousness. Ants show it to a higher degree; wolves, still higher. Whales, higher still. Humans, we assume, are at the pinnacle of consciousness as life on Earth goes. Surely there are life-forms in the universe exhibiting consciousness at a degree higher than humans. Perhaps even at a degree comparable to that between humans and amoebae? Not something comfortable to contemplate, true. How many amoebae have I slaughtered today, I wonder? If there is a consciousness in the universe that were I compared to it I would be on the level of an amoeba to me, maybe that consciousness will slaughter me the way I slaughter amoebae every day just by living. Nonetheless, it’s a factual speculation, one that must be entered into whenever one chooses to ponder the concept of God.
And this concept of God, where did it come from? Could we have possibly dreamed this up on our own? Or is it more likely it was brought to us, introduced from outside, much like we introduced ourselves to the universe through the auspices of the Pioneer plaque? Could it be that this concept of God is an attempt like that we ourselves have made of mind to communicate with mind, only on a much more long term scale than we are prepared to deal with? The Pioneer plaque, it is known, is much more likely to be overtaken by our own future ships than to ever encounter another, non-human, mind. Yet we made the effort anyway, right? We at least tried. Could it not be that another mind—another group of minds—much older than ours made a similar effort in our own deep past? Could it not be that an effort was made to communicate with us such that when we had reached a level of understanding sufficient to grasp the message, the message would still be there to grasp? Is there not just the possibility that this is where the concept of God comes from? Mind communicating with mind, over unimaginable spans of time, across incomprehensible degrees of consciousness? And should we not be paying attention?
Peace,
Barry
